Yale - Cornell post-game

Ok I'll start this thread - give credit to both teams for playing very hard and tough game. Thought teams were pretty evenly matched....
Yale keeper played very well as did McKee.

I'd pick Mark McCutcheon, Jared Seminoff, and Chris and Cam Abbott as our top players tonight but almost everyone played well.

OK Lynah forum freinds - have at it
P.S. Should have said I thought Mugford was awesome!

Bad bad bad bad bad game. In the third period, it seemed like there was a penalty on Yale that should have been called but wasn't. This was right before they scored their second goal to tie up the game. I didn't really see what happened, but our players were flipping out at the ref after they scored. Did anyone see anything?

Anybody have an alcoholic friend in rehab who can't stay on the wagon for more than a week at a time? Last week, Cornell lights up the scoreboard like they're still playing junior hockey. This weekend past, Cornell falls down and plays at the level of the league's weaker teams on defense ... and on the second night goes into a scoring drought on offense. Hic.

How much of the five overtime minutes was the Moulson line out for? It's our best line and with Moulson on the ice it's a great defensive line ... and at the same time, the numbers say there's just one even-strength goal from the team's best forward after 20 games.

We wuz lucky twice over ...
1) Yale failed to score on the penalty shot. A penalty shot is about a 50-50 proposition. The replay shows McKee appeared beaten but his right pad argued otherwise.
2) That may be the finest, and hardest, goal McCutcheon scores in his life. The Yalie defender could have ridden him off the play and there would have been no goal ... or McCutcheon simply could have failed to get around him ... or more likely he could have run out of time to get his stick down once he and the puck arrived at the goal crease. Most electrifying Cornell goal since the our man short goal against Minnesota in the NCAAs last spring.
... otherwise this could have been a 3-1 Yale victory.

Yale's two goals seemed less works of art than Cornell behind-the-cage lapses.

Let's hope Ryan O'Byrne is okay, whether he reinjured himself or suffered something else at the end.

You can't from the video that much about the officiating. It does seem our concerns seem amplified in close games we don't win.

Colgate weekend is crucial. We need both games, or a home win and an away tie (with our quirky luck it'd be the opposite) to stay more or less even starting off the final month. The No. 1 seed of course gets the weakest opponent and the home team advantage in every playoff game (final line change on faceoffs).

FWIW, I was out Saturday night and watched the Webcast Sunday morning w/o checking the outcome beforehand. It's scary seeing the archive running 2:40 when most of the time it is maybe 2:15 or 2:20, assuming the go live at 6:55 (hah) and sign off 5 minutes after the game ends typically at 9:10 ... so you suspect the worst, that it was't a bunch of game-delaying fights, but rather a game that got pushed into OT, and the outcomes are not good - a Cornell win (nice but it didn't need to be that close), a tie, or the unthinkable. Sheesh!

billhoward
Colgate weekend is crucial. We need both games, or a home win and an away tie (with our quirky luck it'd be the opposite) to stay more or less even starting off the final month. The No. 1 seed of course gets the weakest opponent and the home team advantage in every playoff game (final line change on faceoffs).

Considering that the hallmark of this team seems to be playing down to its opponent's level, are we sure that we WANT the weakest opponent?

I don't really agree that Cornell played poorly. Cornell outplayed Yale for a large portion of that game but they didn't generate enough quality chances. It baffles me how little flack Moulson gets for having one even strength goal this year. He did nothing last night in a game where he needs to be the difference offensively. The team is not generating enough offense. It can't just be the powerplay but the real difference last night was when Cornell didn't convert on that golden 4-on-3 powerplay in the third period. Need a lot more from Moulson, Bitz, Scott, Cam Abbott, Pegoraro. They aren't doing enough. I never thought I'd be saying that McCutcheon has been the team's most consistent offensive player.

It seems that the combination of Chris Abbott and McCutcheon are filling the roll of Iggulden last year, scoring all the big goals.

Like last night, McKee comes up with the huge penalty shot save and McCutcheon used that energy and momentum to score an amazing goal to pick the rest of the team up.

As for Moulson, I think Yale did a pretty good job on him last night. They had a player glued to him for most of his shifts. Maybe that really is the product of Hynes leaving, there isn't anyone on the line to protect him. Until Bitz or Carefoot shows they can score goals consistently why would anyone ever leave Moulson any room to operate? I've noticed that this year all his goals are coming on slap shots or in close on rebounds. Has he scored one of his patented laser guided wrist shots yet this year? I'm not claiming to be any expert, so am I correct in saying this is probably because he's getting space when he's on the ice.

I could be totally wrong here, but he's got such a great shot that he needs to use it more. On plays when the team is rushing into the zone, instead of Mouslon going wide down the boards, why not cut to the middle and let Bitz or Carefoot drive to the net. Moulson can shoot and score from the point area, and the added traffic will create a difficult save situation and a possible rebound. That looked like it was an option a few times last night, but it was passed up.

oceanst41
As for Moulson, I think Yale did a pretty good job on him last night. They had a player glued to him for most of his shifts. Maybe that really is the product of Hynes leaving, there isn't anyone on the line to protect him. Until Bitz or Carefoot shows they can score goals consistently why would anyone ever leave Moulson any room to operate? I've noticed that this year all his goals are coming on slap shots or in close on rebounds. Has he scored one of his patented laser guided wrist shots yet this year? I'm not claiming to be any expert, so am I correct in saying this is probably because he's getting space when he's on the ice.

I could be totally wrong here, but he's got such a great shot that he needs to use it more. On plays when the team is rushing into the zone, instead of Mouslon going wide down the boards, why not cut to the middle and let Bitz or Carefoot drive to the net. Moulson can shoot and score from the point area, and the added traffic will create a difficult save situation and a possible rebound. That looked like it was an option a few times last night, but it was passed up.

I agree with basically everything you said about Moulson. Yale mugged him every shift. And yes, until Bitz or Carefoot start to score or even threaten why should the opposition stop cloaking Moulson? There were a number of times last night when Moulson would get the puck in the neutral zone with Bitz along the right boards and instead of carrying it into the zone he would pass off to Bitz. Bitz carried the puck into the offensive zone the Yale defencemen cut off the passing lane to Moulson and Bitz takes a low percentage shot just outside of the slot. Moulson needs to be much more selfish with the puck. I think Moulson has proven over the last two years that he doesn't need someone (Vesce) to feed him the puck. He's a more dynamic offensive player than that. I'd even take Moulson from the point any day over a Bitz version of the "Matt McRae BC game-winner." Bitz has really stepped it up the last two weekends, but I'd like to see Moulson be more selfish.

Moulson has a great shot but he does not have a quick release. He needs a ton of time to get it off if it is to be accurate.

Was it just me, or did it seem that we really couldn't get our normal rhythm on the powerplay last night. It seemed that we made some bad passes and didn't take the shots when they were there. Pokulok tries to do way too much, as well. Yeah, he's the point man on the powerplay, but often a feed inside would be more effective that a slapshot from the top.

Also, what happened to coming out physical that they said they wanted to last weekend?

Trustnduzt
It seemed that we made some bad passes and didn't take the shots when they were there.

I would say bad passing and squandered chances were the theme of the entire weekend (despite a respectable 64 total shots on goal for the weeeknd). We're lucky we didn't give up more bad turnovers.

calgARI '07
Need a lot more from Moulson, Bitz, Scott, Cam Abbott, Pegoraro. They aren't doing enough.

The player we need a lot more from is McKee. Despite the stop on the penalty, he's average, at best. A team like Cornell is not going anywhere with average goal tending.

Anyone see if the waved-off goal was in?

Last night?

No, that goal was not in -- Richards trapped it under his pad after it hit the post.

However, the goal last weekend agains SLU was, in fact, a goal. What's funny is that we had that goal called off because of the net coming off the posts, or whatever, and Brown had a similar goal this weekend where the defender rammed into McKee, but nothing was said.

Weird.

I sat in sect. o puck was over the line ref screwed us!!!!!

Really?

Damn...

really !!

Oat
Bad bad bad bad bad game. In the third period, it seemed like there was a penalty on Yale that should have been called but wasn't. This was right before they scored their second goal to tie up the game. I didn't really see what happened, but our players were flipping out at the ref after they scored. Did anyone see anything?

I was pretty sure Yale was a few feet offsides right before they scored the tying goal. That could be why they were flipping out. (I haven't watched the archive - anybody who has want to comment?)

Beeeej

Ken '70
The player we need a lot more from is McKee. Despite the stop on the penalty, he's average, at best. A team like Cornell is not going anywhere with average goal tending.

I was pretty hard on McKee earlier in the season, but I'm not gonna point a finger at him for this weekend. Can he play better? Definitely, but he isn't playing nearly as badly as he was in November. I think he made some big saves this weekend and the only goals he's getting beaten on are scrambles around the net and enormous defensive breakdowns. The second Yale goal last night looked a lot like the third Brown goal where they just stopped playing down low.

The most noticable aspect of the game, from my point of view, was how physically dominant Yale was. They outhit Cornell all over the ice. McCutcheon's goal was one of the nicest I have seen in a long time. I agree with others' sentiment that Cornell was the better team. They had more shots, more opportunities, and carried the play. If Cornell played Yale 10 times, I'd expect at least 7 wins.

Yeah, one of our players was crosschecked into the boards behind the net which left him on the ice. This freed up one of their men to put in the puck. At the very least, i thought the penalty should've been called considering Hansen was looking right at it.

I do think we should give Yale some credit for their penalty kill. Actually, it was one of the best I've seen against use all year. We couldn't get many shots off that weren't through traffic.

By the way, does anybody know why we tried leaving one man at the point instead of two on the powerplay? We tried this once or twice but it seemed Schafer abandoned this pretty quickly.

mjh89
The most noticable aspect of the game, from my point of view, was how physically dominant Yale was. They outhit Cornell all over the ice. McCutcheon's goal was one of the nicest I have seen in a long time. I agree with others' sentiment that Cornell was the better team. They had more shots, more opportunities, and carried the play. If Cornell played Yale 10 times, I'd expect at least 7 wins.

You should have seen the game at Yale - they thoroughly thoroughly dominated Cornell physically in that game, moreso than any other team I've ever seen during the Schafer era.

Does Yale seem like a very big team to you? They looked huged compared to us, and were very physical.

Drew
Does Yale seem like a very big team to you? They looked huged compared to us, and were very physical.

I believe that the era around 2002-03 changed the way much of the league thought about recruiting.

A lot of Yale's physical dominance came from their getting away with crosschecks and hits from behind.

That being said, a lot of it came from them just hitting us hard.

Do the "woofing gods" read minds? I was listening to the game at work while doing a somewhat repetitive task and by the third period my mind started to wander. I was thinking "Gosh, it is only a one goal came, but it feels ok. Cornell seems to have most of the momentum and are controlling the play. I wish they would get another goal, but I think they will hang on to this lead."

Then Yale scored.

In the future, I will try to keep my mind on a shorter leash.

And somewhere in a mobile home park outside Memphis there's a person who still regrets the day she thought aloud, "So the King put on a few pounds ... he's still the King forever ... he's immortal."

That's not the woofing gods who did you in. It was the Big Red defense that took a momentary time-out. That happens. It's a long season. 'course, it's a longer off-season, too.

Yes, the woofing gods read minds. They are omniscient. That said, thinking that things are ok is not woofing. Woofing is thinking that and then telling your Yalie co-worker that Yale sucks and Cornell is going to mop the ice with them. (To which the Yale co-worker would likely say, what are you talling about?)