Cornell 4 at Brown 1 (postgame)

Three wins in a row. Announcers say Cornell is jelling now. I’d say luck had a lot to do with it. We still seem shakier on offense than an ECAC threat can afford to be.

Power Play (2x20 going in) woke up with 3 PPGs. It would be nice if we could manage 1 a game from here on.

We’ve got a real sensation in Riley Nash. Let’s hope he doesn’t want to play baseball at Vermont, too.

Not that this stuff matters, but a shutout and a 1-goal game would have given Ben Scrivens an inside shot at ECAC player of the week.

3 stars of game from the radio:
3. Scrivens
2. Greening
1. Riley Nash


Worrisome stat for the weekend

Week 3 shots on goal
              Them     Us      
At Yale       25       19
At Brown      31       21
Sorry total   56       40

billhoward
Let’s hope he doesn’t want to play baseball at Vermont, too.

LOL!!!

how many even strength goals have we allowed in 5 games? between power plays, empty net and penalty shots thats most of what we have allowed.. of course we havent done much better either..

billhoward

We’ve got a real sensation in Riley Nash. Let’s hope he doesn’t want to play baseball at Vermont, too.

Let's just hope he wants more than one year at "My Old Cornell".

We looked a little scary at times but 4pts is 4pts. Bring on SUCKS!!

billhoward
Not that this stuff matters, but a shutout and a 1-goal game would have given Ben Scrivens an inside shot at ECAC player of the week.

Sucks' Richter put up back-to-back shutouts this weekend.

billhoward
Let’s hope he doesn’t want to play baseball at Vermont, too.

I'd hate to revive the months-long Milo debate, but this isn't a fair comment. I have no doubt that Milo would have rather stayed at Cornell and played both sports.

That said, I'm enjoying this four-point weekend. I'd love to carry this momentum to Sucks next Friday.

billhoward
Power Play (2x20 going in) woke up with 3 PPGs.

The last one was the most impressive individual effort I've ever seen by a Cornellian.

redhair34

billhoward
Power Play (2x20 going in) woke up with 3 PPGs.

The last one was the most impressive individual effort I've ever seen by a Cornellian.

Now that we're on a winning streak, it's easy to quibble about the nature of our success. For instance: If Riley Nash got by three Brown defenders to score to score when it's even strength, that's awesome and worthy of the highlights film. But on a power play, if a player has to muscle by three people in order to score, maybe the finesse part of the power play is still coming together.

Speaking of Nash and awesome play: When was Cornell's last ECAC rookie of the year? (What about outside goaltenders?)

I haven't seen the goal, but the description it sounds not quite as nice as Peter Shire's against UNH(?) in 1972(?). Shire cut out of Cornell's end, deked out two defensemen, zipped down the right wing, swung right-to-left across the offensive zone, showing the puck on his backhand, pulling the goalie completely out of position, spun around at the edge of the left face off circle and fired a forehand dead center into the open net: hockey night in Canada goal.

redhair34

billhoward
Power Play (2x20 going in) woke up with 3 PPGs.

The last one was the most impressive individual effort I've ever seen by a Cornellian.

Wouldn't go that far (but, then, I've seen a lot of great individual efforts by Cornellians in 47 years of watching Big Red hockey) but it was something to see. My first reaction was that it reminded me of Joe Nieuwendyk. I'd gladly take another Joe N.

[www.uscho.com]
[www.uscho.com]

So can someone explain how Chip McDonald managed to ref both our game at the Dartmouth-RPI game at the same time? Are there really two Chip McDonalds in ECAC Hockey?

Al DeFlorio

redhair34

billhoward
Power Play (2x20 going in) woke up with 3 PPGs.

The last one was the most impressive individual effort I've ever seen by a Cornellian.

Wouldn't go that far (but, then, I've seen a lot of great individual efforts by Cornellians in 47 years of watching Big Red hockey) but it was something to see. My first reaction was that it reminded me of Joe Nieuwendyk. I'd gladly take another Joe N.

That play reminded me of Joe N. too. The kid seems so calm with the puck it looks like he's seeing slow-mo compared to everyone else.

abmarks

Al DeFlorio

redhair34

billhoward
Power Play (2x20 going in) woke up with 3 PPGs.

The last one was the most impressive individual effort I've ever seen by a Cornellian.

Wouldn't go that far (but, then, I've seen a lot of great individual efforts by Cornellians in 47 years of watching Big Red hockey) but it was something to see. My first reaction was that it reminded me of Joe Nieuwendyk. I'd gladly take another Joe N.

That play reminded me of Joe N. too. The kid seems so calm with the puck it looks like he's seeing slow-mo compared to everyone else.

His brother seemed to skate the same way at times last season...very slow and steady, but graceful and impossible to knock off the puck at the same time.

Another pretty even game where Cornell had the edge in chances. The Brown goal was soft but Cornell rebounded nicely. Last year, they would completely fold after one of their goaltenders would let in a beachball. This team is harder working and far more focused than last year's.

The defensive zone is now a team effort instead of Romano trying to stickhandle out of the zone. The forwards are coming lower and supporting the pretty weak defense quite a bit. It is not pretty at all to watch this team in the defensive zone, but they are working extremely hard, and doing all the little textbook things you need to do for very good team defense.

Nash is the best forward I have ever seen at Cornell. The score he scored tonight was the greatest individual effort I have seen on a Cornell goal. His ability with the puck is already at an NHL level as is his hockey sense. He could improve on his speed and first couple steps. I'd like to see him be more physical as well which was his reputation in juniors.

Greening is in the top five forwards I have seen at Cornell.

There is a pretty significant drop off after those two but everyone was pulling this weekend.

Mike Devin has excellent composure for a freshman defenseman and I think even though he was highly regarding coming in, he was still underrated. He has All-America potential in his career. Very smart, patient, and has excellent offensive instincts.

Berk needs to seriously work on his foot speed though he didn't get caught much.

Rosen was outstanding tonight for the first half of the game, making a couple of dynamic post-to-post saves. I said at that point that Cornell is going to need to generate a lot more traffic so he loses track of the puck a little bit. Sure enough, on the next powerplay, there was a huge scrum in front of the net, shot from the blueline, and it squirts out to Scott.

I liked Joe Devin on the line with Scott and Gallagher because he is pretty good along the boards and a consistent physical presence. No clue why he was taken out for the too small, too tentative Roezler.

The Kennedy's had a good weekend.

Scott and Sawada are working hard but they need to elevate their games. Same goes for the other senior, Krantz.

As I said last night, nothing will come easy to this team. They will need to fight hard every night to win, period. The ECAC has reached a point where a lot of the teams look pretty similar to one another. Dartmouth and Harvard will be better but similar teams to Brown and Yale. This Cornell team seems to be built for winning tough road games so hopefully they can keep it up.

billhoward
Speaking of Nash and awesome play: When was Cornell's last ECAC rookie of the year? (What about outside goaltenders?)

Kyle Knopp, 1996. There has never been a Cornell goaltender ROTY.

Edit: Um, except McKee that is.

I totally agree on the Scott, Gallagher, Roeszler (perhaps he should be added to the spelling guide?) line. They did a couple of nice things, but I thought they were more impressive Friday night. The bigger body of Devin certainly helped. I thought, for his size especially, Roeszler looked slow tonight. As this is the first time I've seen him in person, is this others' impression as well? For him to provide anything to that line it would need to be grit, speed, or least finishing ability, and I didn't notice any of those things at first glance. I also thought Scali looked particularly slow tonight and could see him being replaced when Mugford comes back.

I thought Fontas had a particularly strong weekend. He looked great defensively and was impressive carrying the puck. Definitely a stabilizing force on that line that would have little chance at anything but a chip-forward/dump-in offense.

Barlow's improvement, in all facets of the game, has been remarkable. Kudos to him, he must have put a lot of work in.

Pumped for Harvard, Let's Go Red!

The ability to win close games is tremendous... says a lot about a team.

As far as Nash goes... will teams with top defenses be able to bottle him up or is he that step above already? (haven't seen him play yet)

So all I keep hearing about is this amazing Nash Goal. Ari liked it more than I think I've ever seen him like anything.

Does ANYONE have video of it? Some photos? One giant cotton photo-rug from Wegmans?

Some great comments and observations have already been made on the two postgame threads from this weekend. I'll probably wind up combining my thoughts from both Yale and Brown into this post...

First and foremost: Colin Greening and Riley Nash are just getting comfortable playing with each other, and when they finish learning and start knowing...instinctively knowing...what the other is going to do and where the other is going to be, this is going to be a very special line. They're already a force. Those two were far and away the best forwards on the ice this weekend, and when you throw in Barlow to be the "banger" on this line...to clear paths, direct traffic, take care of bodies, and generally clean up trash while his linemates are doing their thing...oh, I love this line. I think Chartrand-Cooney of 1996, but with two Chartrands. I get excited when I see these guys on the ice. They simply play "bigger" than everyone else facing them. By the 2nd half of this season, this could be one of the great lines of this decade in the ECAC. I never want them broken up. This is your reason to buy tickets to see this team, IMO.

Now on Riley specifically. Wow. I can count at least three times this weekend where he went into a crowd of 3-5 people and calmly cut and weaved right through them all to emerge with puck possession and ready to make a play. The 3rd goal at Brown was an obvious example, but he also did this in the 2nd carrying the puck behind the Brown net (and made a brilliant pass on the other side), as well as another weave through slot traffic at Yale followed by an undressing of the Y goaltender...he misplayed his shot just a bit and it slid wide of an open goalmouth. I must say I was skeptical of Nash's hype from what I saw in Red/White and Princeton, but I can now say he's a little above average. I think he's still getting used to the pace and learning where the "sweet-spot" is for physical play in this league, but yeah...I think he's a keeper. (Again, ) Smooth and effortless in stick-handling and skating ability, like his brother. I'll even throw in a freshman-year Pokulok comparison also. But this guy is a forward. I'm looking forward to seeing him develop. With that goal tonight, I don't think I've ever seen the group of people I was with not leap into the air with a goal, but just blink with a look of slack-jawed amazement and say "what just happened?" We basically forgot to celebrate, it was so good.

All the lines: Hard working. Each one of them. Good to see. I'm reminded of a Herb Brooks-ism: "We don't have the talent to win on talent alone." That's pretty much how I feel about this team. But if they continue to put in the effort that they showed this weekend, I'll be very satisfied at the end of this season, no matter what the end result.

Defense: Worlds better than what they showed vs. Princeton. Blocking shots, and sacrificing their body. It was all there. Positioning and picking off the free opponent still needs work, but it's getting better. The breakout and transition game, I fear, will always be a soft spot with this team. But honestly, the shot totals for the weekend didn't perfectly reflect the game. Save for several periods of sustained pressure where Cornell had difficulty gaining possession and clearing, many of the shots that made it to Scrivens were low-percentage. Yale seemed to have some suspect shot-counting in general.

Scrivens: Can't complain at all. I think his performance in the 3rd tonight showed he can be a big-game goaltender, in the sense that he made all the saves he was supposed to make. In a 1-goal game, Brown put on some very good pressure and he didn't make mistakes in the 3rd. I'm usually fine with his roaming tendencies, but his flub in the 2nd was a big one and cause for concern. I still don't know how Brown didn't score on what seemed to be a tap-in opportunity.

I think the book on Rosen was to shoot high, because we did that a lot. Greening finally picked off that spot late in the 2nd. Cornell was also more effective than they have been in creating traffic in front of the net to get the puck deflecting around a bit, but didn't cash in until Topher happened to be swooping by at the right moment after it squirted free.

Crowds were generally subdued as others have said. Good to see a standing CU student group at Brown. Also good to see some face-painted Brown fans who actually give a crap about their team. The band was missed, but it was the final home football game. A last-week attempt to organize an alumni band for Yale fell through, unfortunately.

Really?? Not one ref-bashing post on eLF??! I'm in shock. Officiating was pretty good all weekend. Didn't see the hit for the major at the end of the Brown game, but c'mon...Roger Grillo is in the house. I think this is the first Brown game I've been to in a while where there hasn't been some sort of a significant scuffle.

My 2 cents now back home after a great weekend. Scrivens played very well, but I still have to stop breathing whenever he starts skating away to play the puck. It's only a matter of time till he gets burned.

I'll second everybody's comments about Nash's goal. Nobody in our area didn't cheer, of course we were sitting right in front of his family. They came down (and over) from British Columbia for last weekend and this weekend. Unfortunately they can't stay for next weekend. At the game Al made the comment about it being like Joe Nieuwendyk, and I have to agree. Yes the Shier goal was wonderful, but you just realize that Nash will be doing a lot more of these.

I really like what Fontas is doing this year, his play is solid and he really looks like he belongs, not so last year.

Our biggest problem, like all have said, is being bottled up in our own defensive end. This has happened too many times. I'm used to us doing it against others. With better opponents, like skating out of the net, this will come to haunt us. I don't know what the problem is, as it's happening with all lines. I can't remember how many times I was wishing for an icing.

That said, this team looks so much more together than last year. These frosh, unlike some others, seem to have bought into the system. As good as their offensive skills are, they all are willing to check. I just get the feeling they will fix it. I worry it won't happen by next weekend, and that could lead to a sad time. I can't see us beating Clarkson at this point. Fortunately our schedule is good to us and we don't see them till next year.

Having the band makes a huge difference, and as I said in another thread, your financial support, even $10, can help their travel costs. I thought the crowd at Brown was more into it than at Yale. Maybe practice helps us as well.

Well off to bed. I hope not too much of this while doing this.

calgARI '07
I liked Joe Devin on the line with Scott and Gallagher because he is pretty good along the boards and a consistent physical presence. No clue why he was taken out for the too small, too tentative Roezler.

Agree wholeheartedly. Without Devin that line gets pinned in its own end for long periods. Last night such a situation led to Gallagher finally taking a penalty in a vain attempt to end Brown's possession, and nine seconds later Brown scored the game's first goal on the subsequent power play. Devin, or one of the other bigger forwards, should play with Scott and Gallagher.

Schafer on the goaltending rotation (from the USCHO recap of Friday's game against Yale):

"For Schafer, evening the record is a product of consistent effort, not only in the offensive zone, but also from Scrivens. The Big Red came into the season returning two experienced goaltenders, but a lackluster 2006-07 season left the job up for grabs.

“'This is back-to-back games that he’s played very well. It’s exactly what we wanted, for one of those guys to take charge, and that’s what Ben did here tonight,' said Schafer."

RichH
Crowds were generally subdued as others have said. Good to see a standing CU student group at Brown. Also good to see some face-painted Brown fans who actually give a crap about their team.

Face painting at Brown needs to be done carefully and with sensitivity.

Jim Hyla
I thought the crowd at Brown was more into it than at Yale. Maybe practice helps us as well.

Providence is only 50 minutes from Boston, and it was the Saturday game. I suspect that while the roadtrip fans were consistent across the two games, the "local" alums may have made the difference.

Besides, the Hayeseses and the DeFlorios were at Brown but not Yale....

jeh25
Besides, the Hayeseses and the DeFlorios were at Brown but not Yale....

And we're glad to see you inching closer to Cape Cod, John.

And thanks for the Beeeej intro. (Hope I got the number of "e"s right.)

I am just getting back into Ithaca this morning. I can't say I have anything new to add to this discussion, other than that Cornell was outworked in the 1st period and was lucky not to have been down going into the second. It was great to see some other students at this game as well. Even without the band, our fans provided far more support that the skeleton Brown crowd.

Obviously a 4 point weekend is great result, although that being said I wouldn't say Cornell dominated either game, instead playing just good enough to win. I will be posting more of my thoughts in a column-style format that I will submit to Age later this evening or tomorrow.

A few thoughts from the game, now that I've finally seen one in person this year...

Considering the type of team Cornell has this year, they played a pretty good start to the game. Brown obviously came out and tried to throw their weight around, and to Cornell's credit they didn't back down or get goaded into penalties.

They did get bottled up at times, but again did a good job, for the most part, at avoiding any calls. They also did a great job of team defense, especially the Brown PP with 10 min left in the 2nd or 3rd. Mike Kennedy lost his stick and it was effectively a 5 on 3 for 30-45 seconds. Nobody panicked, and eventually Kennedy was able to dive and push the puck out of the zone for the clear and a very important line change.

While there were a number of PPGs last night, they PP still isn't moving a whole lot. Topher's goal resulted off of some good traffic in front, but prior to that they were just passing around the outside, feet firmly planted. The second PPG was much better, where Greening was able to work into the middle of the defensive box and Nash found him. I'm hopeful this can lead to more confidence and therefore more movement on the PP from now on.

Finally, looking at the box score, I'm shocked Brown outshot Cornell. It didn't feel that way while watching the game. And while Brown has a lovely shots on goal scoreboard, it was not functioning for this game. Cornell did a good job at keeping Brown to the outside for most of the game and the majority of those shots were more or less dump ins. That being said, and I'll echo what others have said here, the chances were pretty even. Brown put the pressure on in the 3rd and Scrivens made some nice stops (the poke check on a partial Brown breakaway to start the 3rd sticks out in my mind right now).

Looking forward to next Friday.

yeah I wouldn't look too much into the shot count of either game, there was definitely some home ice bias in both of those totals.

oceanst41
Finally, looking at the box score, I'm shocked Brown outshot Cornell. It didn't feel that way while watching the game. And while Brown has a lovely shots on goal scoreboard, it was not functioning for this game. Cornell did a good job at keeping Brown to the outside for most of the game and the majority of those shots were more or less dump ins. That being said, and I'll echo what others have said here, the chances were pretty even.

My sense is that Schafer has a different approach to away games (whether any of us likes that or not). Here's a quote from the Ithaca Journal after the Yale game on Friday:

"'It was a big opportunity for us to go on the road and keep it simple, and that's just what we did,' Cornell coach Mike Schafer said."

My sense is that on the road he wants the team to take few chances that might lead to odd-man rushes and therefore limit the good scoring opportunities for the home team. If we catch a break (see Nash's goal against Yale) that can lead to a win because the game is likely to be close. I'd say the result of that approach is reflected in your comment about "keeping Brown to the outside for most of the game" and therefore giving them few good scoring chances, despite the apparent shot advantage.

Al DeFlorio
"'It was a big opportunity for us to go on the road and keep it simple, and that's just what we did,' Cornell coach Mike Schafer said."

I hope Schafer realizes that with the group he has, they will need to keep it simple no matter where they are playing to be successful.

BCrespi
I also thought Scali looked particularly slow tonight

He took a lot of punishment from the Brown players, which I think had a lot to do with him looking a step or two slower than normal.

Thoughts:

- I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but how about the discipline this weekend? What a turnaround.

- I don't like Gallagher and Berk on the point during the PP when we have a 1 goal lead in the third period.

- the turning point in the game was that 4x3 pp at the end of the 2nd period. I found it very interesting that Schafer decided to call a timeout. I had mixed feelings about the decision at the time. But, kudos to the coach as it seems like the decision paid off.

- the team (and especially the 4th line) misses Mugford

- Unlike others, I feel a lot better about the PP than I did last year. I've seen huge strides since the RIT game. They're doing a good job working the puck down low (which is opening up space up top), and they're making quick decisions with the puck. It's not perfect, but it's moving in the right direction.

- The guys took a physical beating all weekend, but did a great job gutting out 4 points. This is definitely a team that you want to cheer for.

- Thanks to the Brown security staff for not tossing Doug after he took his "weapon" out (translation: played the cowbell) in the 3rd period.

redhair34

BCrespi
I also thought Scali looked particularly slow tonight

He took a lot of punishment from the Brown players, which I think had a lot to do with him looking a step or two slower than normal.

I thought it was unusual too, especially since Scali usually seems to be flying all over the place. He also won the fastest skater contest in the skills challenge IIRC,, but then again, it's slightly different being able to skate fast in a speed competition versus a real game.

Scrivens's save percentage up to .925 after the weekend.

This link to an HFBoards thread may have been posted before but it's interesting to read after seeing Riley Nash in early action. (You do have to wade through a bunch of childish BS, however, to get to the end.): [hfboards.com]

Al DeFlorio
(You do have to wade through a bunch of childish BS, however, to get to the end.)

Well, that statement neatly sums up the entire internet.

Doug '08
yeah I wouldn't look too much into the shot count of either game, there was definitely some home ice bias in both of those totals.

Those totals are shots on goal that get through to the goaltender (or behid him). If Cornell had a lot of shots taken that were blocked by the defense, that'd make it seem as if Cornell had as many shots as the opponent. But I don't know if that's the case.

That was our *defensive* card early in the decade.

Al DeFlorio

jeh25
Besides, the Hayeseses and the DeFlorios were at Brown but not Yale....

And we're glad to see you inching closer to Cape Cod, John.

And thanks for the Beeeej intro. (Hope I got the number of "e"s right.)

You did, and it was a pleasure finally meeting you.

jeh25

Jim Hyla
I thought the crowd at Brown was more into it than at Yale. Maybe practice helps us as well.

Providence is only 50 minutes from Boston, and it was the Saturday game. I suspect that while the roadtrip fans were consistent across the two games, the "local" alums may have made the difference.

Besides, the Hayeseses and the DeFlorios were at Brown but not Yale....

Yes and shame on you, all.

Does anybody know if Mike Devin has entered the NHL draft? or if he is still eligible for next years draft?

i think both him and Joe have been eligible for the last two years.

Nash, quoted on HFBoards
"I got to get a better stride," he said. "I'm not quick enough. And I need a better shot, all NHL players have great shots."

Jim Hyla
Having the band makes a huge difference, and as I said in another thread, your financial support, even $10, can help their travel costs. I thought the crowd at Brown was more into it than at Yale. Maybe practice helps us as well.

Well off to bed. I hope not too much of this while doing this.

Speaking of bands, we really should thank the Brown band for their timely rendition of Gary Glitter. I'm sure their intent was to liven up the Brown fans (I counted 6 or 7, including Willie Nelson. I'm not sure how to categorize the Brown coeds who were way more into their Chinese food than the game), but it was as if they did it on cue for us. Next time Cornell is in town, they might want to rethink firing up the crowd when their goalie is in front of our fans. I'm sure Rosen loved it. Come to think of it, didn't we tie the game moments later?

RichH

Al DeFlorio
(You do have to wade through a bunch of childish BS, however, to get to the end.)

Well, that statement neatly sums up the entire internet.

I beat the internet. The end boss was really hard...