2009 CU Hall of Fame class includes two hockey players

Twelve new members have been elected to the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame, including Bill Duthie '71 and Jason Elliott '98.

Sign o' the times:

Also selected to be enshrined in October are William Duthie '71, ice hockey; Jason Elliot '98, men’s ice hockey ...

ugarte
Sign o' the times:

Also selected to be enshrined in October are William Duthie '71, ice hockey; Jason Elliot '98, men’s ice hockey ...

It would be a misnomer to say "men's ice hockey" for Duthie, seeing as how he played for the men's team and subsequently coached the women's team for a number of years.

Josh '99

ugarte
Sign o' the times:

Also selected to be enshrined in October are William Duthie '71, ice hockey; Jason Elliot '98, men’s ice hockey ...

It would be a misnomer to say "men's ice hockey" for Duthie, seeing as how he played for the men's team and subsequently coached the women's team for a number of years.

Ah.

ugarte

Josh '99

ugarte
Sign o' the times:

Also selected to be enshrined in October are William Duthie '71, ice hockey; Jason Elliot '98, men’s ice hockey ...

It would be a misnomer to say "men's ice hockey" for Duthie, seeing as how he played for the men's team and subsequently coached the women's team for a number of years.

Ah.

So this isn't like having one national championship banner for RPI and another for Rensselaer?

Is anyone surprised that Jason Elliot is on this list? When I think of all the great players since the last hockey HOF inductee (Joe Nieuwendyk/Doug Dasdwell '88), I'm a little surprised that Elliot made the cut (14th on Cornell career GAA at 2.89, 8th in career save % at 0.910, 45 career wins) but a player like Doug Derraugh with over 150 career points hasn't been honored. Not trying to create a flame war, Jason was a great goalie. One would think that this bodes well for Matt Underhill.

RatushnyFan
Is anyone surprised that Jason Elliot is on this list? When I think of all the great players since the last hockey HOF inductee (Joe Nieuwendyk/Doug Dasdwell '88), I'm a little surprised that Elliot made the cut (14th on Cornell career GAA at 2.89, 8th in career save % at 0.910, 45 career wins) but a player like Doug Derraugh with over 150 career points hasn't been honored. Not trying to create a flame war, Jason was a great goalie. One would think that this bodes well for Matt Underhill.

I think to a large extent, Jason Elliott's mediocre numbers are a product of his era. When Mike Schafer began coaching the team in the fall of 1995, the team was not designed to win 2-1 hockey games like it is now. It took a few years for the Cornell hockey team to drastically cut down on the number of shots and goals against.

One thing that Jason Elliott has over either Matt Underhill and Doug Derraugh is two ECAC Championships. Plus, Elliott was a key figure in the team's resurgence from 8th and 9th place finishes in 1994 and 1995, and two consecutive league titles the following two seasons.

Doug Derraugh is Cornell's last thirty-goal scorer, and I'm sure he'll get his due soon. I also figure that Matt Underhill being an All-America goaltender one season will help his candidacy for the CU Hall.

That said, if I had to vote for only one of either Elliott or Underhill, I'd choose Elliott without hesitation.

I agree with Craig. Elliott gets a lot of credit for stellar performances during the post-seasons in '96 and '97. How valuable he was to the team became crystal clear when he got hurt mid season in '98, leaving Ian Burt to get shelled (admittedly thrown in to the fire with no prior experience).

KeithK
How valuable he was to the team became crystal clear when he got hurt mid season in '98, leaving Ian Burt to get shelled (admittedly thrown in to the fire with no prior experience).

Jason Elliott's heroic return for the RPI series, just three weeks after suffering a significant knee injury, is another reason why I would have voted him to enter the CU Hall of Fame.

Good point.

Which raises a question about Hall of Fame selections. In the pro sports world I think post season performance ought not to be weighted heavily in assessing aplayer's career. I see the post season as a small bonus point that's worth considering for borderline cases. In the case of college sports, should does it make sense to weigh the post season more heavily because you only have four (or three) years of performance to consider as a career. Plus, PS stats "count" in stats the same as RS stats (at least in hockey).

Cornellians need to be nominated before they are considered for Hall of Fame induction. It is hard to weigh the relative merits of players without knowing what individuals are on the list of nominees.

In a fanboy kind of way, I'd vote for Elliott based almost entirely on his ripping off his helmet in disgust during the ECAC finals against Clarkson in 1997 in Lake Placid and berating the refs for the noncalls on him getting hammered by players in the crease. At that moment, it was clear to me that a goalie could be the true leader of a team.