Is it October yet?

So on the eve of the first day of classes, I thought I’d post a few thoughts on the upcoming season:

Keys:
1) Special teams. I think this will be the single most important aspect of the season. If the PP and PK can return to the form we have come to expect in recent years, it is hard to believe this team won’t be successful.
2) Maintaining intensity. Hockey is a game where passion is often more important than skill, and has been an area where Cornell has typical thrived, we all know about the teams extraordinary record when leading going into the 3rd under Schafer, however last years team didn’t have the same killer instinct. Hopefully the team can develop a strong identity under the new captains.
3) Winning out of conference games. Sure, ECAC games may mean more in the standings, but OOC games often have much stronger affects in the PWR come tournament time. As usual, many on this board are disappointed at the relatively low strength of schedule, however none of this matters if we can’t beat teams like Sacred Heart, Wayne State, Niagara, etc…

3 Things not to worry about:
1) Goaltending. We all love to talk about goaltending because it is the most individual position on such a team sport. I think we can expect solid but unspectacular goaltending from Davenport this year, which will be more than enough. All you can ever expect from a goaltender is to put you in position to win the game. Regardless, I don’t think the individual performance of Davenport or Scrivens will substantially affect the team.
2) 5 on 5 defense. After graduating only Glover and Salmela, I expect the blue liners to be consistent in their own end and contribute on offense as well.
3) Depth. This team will thrive late in games where we can legitimately skate all 4 lines without a major production let down. Even without significant contributions from the freshmen class, this team will be as deep as they are talented


3 games I have circled on my calendar:
11/17 at Dartmouth
11/24 BU
1/20 Clarkso

I'd say the difference between this year's team being contender for a bye and a contender for an NCAA at large bid is goaltending. Davenport/Scrivens seem like D'Alessio/Crozier. If one of them can have a breakout year, then we're talkin.'

Doug '08
3 Things not to worry about:
1) Goaltending. We all love to talk about goaltending because it is the most individual position on such a team sport. I think we can expect solid but unspectacular goaltending from Davenport this year, which will be more than enough. All you can ever expect from a goaltender is to put you in position to win the game. Regardless, I don’t think the individual performance of Davenport or Scrivens will substantially affect the team.

The difference between solid but unspectacular and excellent, let alone spectacular, is all the difference in the world. The top HE and WCHA clubs last year all had goaltending far superior to Cornell's, and that was true even the year before (heresy, I know).

Great college goaltending wins not just championships, but entry to the tournaments. Without it the rest of the team has to be extremely good at every position, on every line. Cornell doesn't have the recruiting draw for top to bottom exceptionalism, so it has got to have truly great keeping for NCAA aspirations.

I think that I Our D needs to do the fundamentals, block the shots and hit HARD. Stay in shape and wear the others out. Last year we did not intimidate the opponents, and it showed.
Hmm.. and some higher point production would be nice- Topher, Ray I need to see closer to a 1 point per game out of you two. Half that for Tyler Roeszler- I know you can do it and still keep up on your D.
Riley Nash, could be good for 20 goals- if he is, we are going to be a bunch of happy lil' Big Red fans this year.
Goaltending is not as big a concern for me this year. We know what we have, and I think the tandem will be stronger this season. In reality, they were both rookies last year. Platoon them this year, unless one emerges as the obvious #1, and run with it! I think the D'Alessio/Crozier analogy is perfect here, but could it turn into Underhill/Leneveu with some luck?

We’ve been spoiled here at goaltender U. While a breakout year from Davenport would obviously be excellent for the team, if we are relying on any one single player to put up All-American-type numbers to determine the fate of the team, well…

Doug '08
We’ve been spoiled here at goaltender U.

That we are. Since 1982, we have had seven different First Team All-American goaltenders. The rest of the current ECAC membership have had eight. Harvard and Clarkson have had zero.

Trotsky
I'd say the difference between this year's team being contender for a bye and a contender for an NCAA at large bid is goaltending. Davenport/Scrivens seem like D'Alessio/Crozier. If one of them can have a breakout year, then we're talkin.'

The difference is that D'Alessio started out as a stud goaltender his first year and most of his second. It was only when he came down with mono before his junior season that the goaltending didn't quite get the team as far as we hoped. Davenport and Scrivens have yet to reach the level at which Corrie played early on.

CUlater 89

Trotsky
I'd say the difference between this year's team being contender for a bye and a contender for an NCAA at large bid is goaltending. Davenport/Scrivens seem like D'Alessio/Crozier. If one of them can have a breakout year, then we're talkin.'

The difference is that D'Alessio started out as a stud goaltender his first year and most of his second. It was only when he came down with mono before his junior season that the goaltending didn't quite get the team as far as we hoped. Davenport and Scrivens have yet to reach the level at which Corrie played early on.

Wasn't D'Alessio's freshman year ('88) the last year for a while that we didn't make the ECAC semis in Boston?

Beeeej
Wasn't D'Alessio's freshman year ('88) the last year for a while that we didn't make the ECAC semis in Boston?

Clarkson knocked off Cornell at Lynah that year, because they won the stupid minigame after splitting the QF series 1-1. The winning goal was by one of those irritating Finnish brother combinations -- Kekelainen or Tuomainen or something.

Trotsky

Beeeej
Wasn't D'Alessio's freshman year ('88) the last year for a while that we didn't make the ECAC semis in Boston?

Clarkson knocked off Cornell at Lynah that year, because they won the stupid minigame after splitting the QF series 1-1. The winning goal was by one of those irritating Finnish brother combinations -- Kekelainen or Tuomainen or something.

It was the Tretowiczes. Thanks for ruining the rest of my week.