Cornell @ Colgate

No line up changes, injuries we do not know about besides Espo? Cornell looks like they are skating in sand. Defense is terrrible for both sides into the middle of the second period. Power play may have scored but not good, no one is front of the net most of the time during power play.

Worse loss of the year. Beaten down and uninspired team.

No words. When was the last time that Colgate swept us?

What WAS that third period?! I can't imagine the 3 goals not giving us a win AND giving up 4 goals in one period...

When was the last time we let a team hit for the cycle on us in the third with a even strength, PP, SH, and EN goal?

This really hurts our record against TUC, and after next week we should have the required 10. Will be interesting to see how things fall from here out.

snert1288
This really hurts our record against TUC, and after next week we should have the required 10. Will be interesting to see how things fall from here out.

Guess we're just going to have to win our Conference. Lucky number thirteen?

Aaron M. Griffin

snert1288
This really hurts our record against TUC, and after next week we should have the required 10. Will be interesting to see how things fall from here out.

Guess we're just going to have to win our Conference. Luck number thirteen?

Agreed. Given that the only teams in the ECAC that have an outside chance at an at-large bid are we, Colgate, and Union, it seems much more likely than not that the lone ECAC rep this year will be the league champion.

PS '97 got swept by Clarkson, '02 got swept by Dartmouth, '09 and '10 got swept by Yale. It happens. (And if this year is an '02 analogue, I'm fine with next year being an '03 analogue. Some teams seem to learn best through "the agony of defeat." )

Scersk '97

Aaron M. Griffin

snert1288
This really hurts our record against TUC, and after next week we should have the required 10. Will be interesting to see how things fall from here out.

Guess we're just going to have to win our Conference. Lucky number thirteen?

Agreed. Given that the only teams in the ECAC that have an outside chance at an at-large bid are we, Colgate, and Union, it seems much more likely than not that the lone ECAC rep this year will be the league champion.

PS '97 got swept by Clarkson, '02 got swept by Dartmouth, '09 and '10 got swept by Yale. It happens. (And if this year is an '02 analogue, I'm fine with next year being an '03 analogue. Some teams seem to learn best through "the agony of defeat." )

I'm left with the empty feeling that it didn't have to be this way. The ECAC will prove Sullivan's "Big Three" argument correct if it can get only one team into the NCAA Tournament this year. The season is not yet lost, but if we continue to play like we did during Friday's first and second periods, and Saturday's third period it might as well be. As I said, speechless.

The swing through the capital district has taken upon new and perhaps unpredicted importance for this team. A win in Schenectady is nearly a must next weekend.

The ECAC final four is not even a given anymore. This year's team needs to be ECAC champs to go anywhere. But I do not sense any improvements since the CC series, retrogression is more like it, sadly to say.

Aaron M. Griffin
No words. When was the last time that Colgate swept us?

If anybody still cares, that last happened on Jan. 30 and 31, 2004. After which the Big Red went on a 13-1-4 tear against Colgate, including a couple playoff wins in Albany (one was a consolation game, I think) and games in Estero and Newark. That streak ended Friday night.

We're now tied for 18th in the pairwise rankings. It seems pretty likely that we're going to need to win the ECAC tournament to make the NCAA tourney. I suppose we still have an outside chance at an at large bid if we win the Cleary Cup but to do that I think we're going to need to get at least 3 points against Union, maybe even 4. With the way we've been playing lately and the fact that we're playing Union next weekend I don't know if that's going to happen.

jtn27
We're now tied for 18th in the pairwise rankings. It seems pretty likely that we're going to need to win the ECAC tournament to make the NCAA tourney. I suppose we still have an outside chance at an at large bid if we win the Cleary Cup but to do that I think we're going to need to get at least 3 points against Union, maybe even 4. With the way we've been playing lately and the fact that we're playing Union next weekend I don't know if that's going to happen.

Basically, we need to win all of our games before Atlantic City to secure and at-large. Based on what I saw this weekend, not sure if we deserve it even if we did get a bid.

jtn27
I suppose we still have an outside chance at an at large bid if we win the Cleary CupBedpan

FYP

Seriously, what has it come to, that Cornell fans are talking about that spittoon like it's a real trophy?

jtwcornell91

jtn27
I suppose we still have an outside chance at an at large bid if we win the Cleary CupBedpan

FYP

Seriously, what has it come to, that Cornell fans are talking about that spittoon like it's a real trophy?

My apologies. Allow me to rephrase what I said earlier. I suppose we still have an outside chance at an at large bid if we're the number 1 seed in the ECAC tourney.

jtn27

jtwcornell91

jtn27
I suppose we still have an outside chance at an at large bid if we win the Cleary CupBedpan

FYP

Seriously, what has it come to, that Cornell fans are talking about that spittoon like it's a real trophy?

My apologies. Allow me to rephrase what I said earlier. I suppose we still have an outside chance at an at large bid if we're the number 1 seed in the ECAC tourney.

Except nobody really expected that at the beginning of the year, did we? Most of us who were being realistic figured us for top 3 or 4 but not for #1. And up until this point, we hadn't played the 2 best teams (by winning percentage).

Could we have beaten Colgate both games? Sure. Was it expected? Not from me.

Jeff Hopkins '82
Except nobody really expected that at the beginning of the year, did we? Most of us who were being realistic figured us for top 3 or 4 but not for #1. And up until this point, we hadn't played the 2 best teams (by winning percentage).

Could we have beaten Colgate both games? Sure. Was it expected? Not from me.

You are what your record says you are, and up until this weekend our record was great. 1 loss in 12 conference games coming into the weekend and Colgate having hit a rough spot? Put it this way: I am far more surprised by 2 losses than I would have been by 2 wins.

I usually make fun of people who rend their garments after a loss, but there's something about the way we lost these games that is disturbing. Colgate dictated the play when they needed to. Cornell did not take the initiative. That is Extremely Un-Schaferian.

The only positive I take from this weekend is better it happens in January than in March.

Trotsky
I usually make fun of people who rend their garments after a loss, but there's something about the way we lost these games that is disturbing. Colgate dictated the play when they needed to. Cornell did not take the initiative. That is Extremely Un-Schaferian.

I tend to avoid the mindsets of "doom and gloom," and "all is lost" after losses. I was not claiming that all was lost when Cornell lost (unexpectedly, in my mind) to UMass in Estero. I looked toward CC as redemption. I considered it a much bigger game for us. However, these two losses against Colgate were not merely losses, they represented an embarrassment of our team and utter exploitation of our shortcomings. Colgate dominated Cornell in every aspect of the game at Lynah. Then, Cornell surrendered a nontrivial lead in the third period at Starr. Others on here keep emphasizing that this team has been unSchaferian in its inability to lock down on a lead heading into the third period. I have seen no game more unSchaferian than Saturday's outing. There was no excuses for the turnovers and sloppy play that led to opportunities that Colgate exploited readily.

Trotsky
The only positive I take from this weekend is better it happens in January than in March.

We all knew on some level that we could not continue without losing, but the manner in which these losses occurred is troublesome. I am glad that a collapse like this occurred in January rather than in March during the ECACs or NCAAs (I am optimistic still). I remember well how it feels for a team that was utterly dominate on offense and stingy (an understatement) on defense to collapse before ours eyes during the 2010 NCAAs against UNH to lose 6-2 surprisingly.

However, the 2011-12 team has showed no such dominance on offense as of late. It is still shocking that we went so long unbeaten without a wake-up call such as this past weekend. Let's hope that is what this is: a wake-up call. Another characteristic of Schafer-coached Cornell teams is regrouping successfully after a loss. This team has done it once after the loss at Brown in November. Let's hope that they can do it again.

In Schafer we trust.

Trotsky
I usually make fun of people who rend their garments after a loss, but there's something about the way we lost these games that is disturbing. Colgate dictated the play when they needed to. Cornell did not take the initiative. That is Extremely Un-Schaferian.

After the loss @ Brown, I commented that seeing a Cornell team wilt with a 3rd-period lead twice seemed very foreign. Other than Friday's home loss to Colgate, EVERY point this team has dropped (loss or tie), Cornell has had a lead or a tie with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. 3 of our 4 ties were a result of a blown late lead.

Date          Opponent          Result     3rd Period Status
Sat Oct 29    MERCYHURST        4- 5 L     CU 4-3 lead until 10:42 into 3rd, GWG @ 12:49
Sat Nov  5    at Brown          4- 5 L     CU 4-3 lead until 12:04 into 3rd, GWG @ 13:23
Sat Nov 26    Boston U          1- 2 L  OT 1-1 tie at 11:06 into 3rd, GWG @ 2:48 of OT
Sat Dec  3    CLARKSON          0- 0 T  OT Scoreless
Sat Jan  7    at CC             3- 3 T  OT CU 3-2 lead from 11:54 to 19:30 of 3rd
Sat Jan 14    at Princeton      3- 3 T  OT CU 3-0 lead to start 3rd, tying goal @ 12:14 of 3rd
Sat Jan 21    HARVARD           2- 2 T  OT CU 2-1 lead until 12:17 into 3rd
Fri Jan 27    COLGATE           1- 2 L     2-1 Colgate lead to start 3rd, 1 Cornell shot
Sat Jan 28    at Colgate        3- 5 L     CU 3-1 lead to start 3rd, tying goal @ 6:15, GWG @ 14:54

Also of note is the recent Dartmouth game, where DC tied the game 9:46 into the 3rd, before CU won in OT. And in two games, CU got GWGs in the 3rd: the 1-0 win vs. Niagara (@ 9:03 of the 3rd) and the game @ QU, where Cornell was the team to turn a 3rd-period deficit into a win (2:17, 12:28)

Very uncharacteristic. Sure, blown games happen, but these 3rd-period failures have happened too much for my taste to use a "these things happen" excuse. I always like looking at the per-period scoring stats, which can tell part of the story about where the strength of a team lies. From College Hockey Stats:

Scoring/Shots (Overall|Conference)  | 1st 2nd 3rd OT  TOT | 1st  2nd  3rd  OT  SOG | 1st 2nd 3rd OT  TOT | 1st  2nd  3rd  OT  SOG
Cornell                             |  20  21  19  1   61 | 166  183  134   7  490 |  15  15  11  1   42 | 117  120   74   6  317
Opponents                           |  13  11  22  1   47 | 163  188  178  19  548 |   8   8  12  0   28 | 107  123  118  12  360
Difference                          |  +7 +10  -3 +0  +14 |  +3   -5  -44 -12  -58 |  +7  +7  -1 +1  +14 | +10   -3  -44  -6  -43

One can argue that shot total trend is due to a defensive team going into a shell. But there's something head-shaking about the goal differentials by period. The 3rd-period "lockdown" that is a hallmark of Schafer teams is not present this year. I don't know if it's poor conditioning, not doing enough to "wear down" the opponents earlier in games, or overall bad defense. Seeing firsthand the pressure that both Quinnipiac and Princeton put on in late-game flurries, we were pretty fortunate to not have those games end with worse results. During the 3rd period vs. Harvard, the team appeared listless to me and the PP was non-existent. Maybe with their fast start, we started relying on freshmen too much. Maybe there are injuries. But we used to be Mariano Rivera in closing games out. This season, we're Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams.

Just remember that Wild Thing got to the World Series. We're good enough to be playing with leads in most of our games.

Aaron M. Griffin
I tend to avoid the mindsets of "doom and gloom," and "all is lost" after losses.

All is not lost, of course. Excellent teams do have crappy weekends: the indomitable 2003 team dropped both games in Estero -- true without LeNeveu, but also playing pretty badly; the 1985 team went into the Yale-Brown weekend with 10 straight wins and was swept in two of the worst games any Cornell squad has ever played; the 1991 team had that horrendous final home weekend where 1 point would have given them 1st place; the 2010 team -- I don't think I'll ever get over Macho Grande.

We'll learn a lot next week. RPI has pulled their head out and Union right now looks like (grimace) the best team in the conference. We all know Cornell has the talent to get four points and the inconsistency to get zero.

RichH
This season, we're Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams.

This just made this past weekend ten times worse for me...

Trotsky
We'll learn a lot next week. RPI has pulled their head out and Union right now looks like (grimace) the best team in the conference. We all know Cornell has the talent to get four points and the inconsistency to get zero.

That sums up concisely my hopes and fears for this weekend.

A win over Union has the added benefits that it will help with our PWR (repair some of the damage from last weekend?) with Union's wins over RIT, Michigan, and Merrimack. RIT might not be a TUC by season's end, but the other two are not likely to drop out of being TUC.

Oh for God's sake, just stop looking at the PWR. It's not going to happen.

CowbellGuy
Oh for God's sake, just stop looking at the PWR. It's not going to happen.

Amen! I've been saying all season that if we finish first or second in the ECAC and make it to the title game, we have a good shot at getting into the tournament. As it turns out, we may now have to win the title game. But in any case, it's an exercise in futility to keep wringing our hands over our PWR and whether teams we play or have played are TUC or not TUC. Plain and simple -- we control our own destiny.

dbilmes
But in any case, it's an exercise in futility to keep wringing our hands over our PWR and whether teams we play or have played are TUC or not TUC. Plain and simple -- we control our own destiny.

During the season I think about the ECAC and even the Ivies more than the NCAAs. The NCAA tourney is this fun but extraneous exhibition stuck on the end of great years to give us more hockey. Not something to fret about.

CowbellGuy
Oh for God's sake, just stop looking at the PWR. It's not going to happen.

Forgot that the season doesn't really begin until March and that the only way to extend our season is with an autobid.

Now, with that being the case, we all need to ask ourselves why we waste time watching hockey games that are irrelevant because every team gets into the ECAC Tournament.

dbilmes
But in any case, it's an exercise in futility to keep wringing our hands over our PWR and whether teams we play or have played are TUC or not TUC. Plain and simple -- we control our own destiny.

I agree. I'm usually not the PWR-obsessing type.

Aaron M. Griffin

CowbellGuy
Oh for God's sake, just stop looking at the PWR. It's not going to happen.

Forgot that the season doesn't really begin until March and that the only way to extend our season is with an autobid.

Now, with that being the case, we all need to ask ourselves why we waste time watching hockey games that are irrelevant because every team gets into the ECAC Tournament.

This gets Age exactly backwards.

Don't obsess over the PWR because we have to win our way in to the tournament - the criteria aren't our friends anymore. But that has nothing to do with the season beginning in March. The games are only irrelevant if relevance is tied to the postseason - but I'm going to speak for more than myself here, I think, and say that isn't how we judge relevance. A lot of us on eLF were watching Cornell hockey during the Skazyk Era when the postseason was talked about like Sanctuary in Logan's Run; a few remember earlier bleak periods. We didn't think watching the games was irrelevant then either. We watch because we enjoy watching; we enjoy MORE when the team is winning because... duh.

Edited to turn this back into English. The gibberish lives on in the blockquote below.

Logan's Run..........nice.

ugarte

Aaron M. Griffin

CowbellGuy
Oh for God's sake, just stop looking at the PWR. It's not going to happen.

Forgot that the season doesn't really begin until March and that the only way to extend our season is with an autobid.

Now, with that being the case, we all need to ask ourselves why we waste time watching hockey games that are irrelevant because every team gets into the ECAC Tournament.

This gets Age exactly backwards.

Don't obsess over the PWR because we have to win our way in to the tournament - the criteria aren't our friends anymore. But that has nothing to do with the season beginning in March. The games are only irrelevant if relevance is tied to the postseason - but I'm going to speak for more than myself here, I think and say that isn't how we judge relevance. A lot of us on eLF were watching Cornell hockey during the Skazyk Era when the postseason was talked about like Sanctuary in Logan's Run; a few remember earlier bleak periods. We didn't watching the games as irrelevant then either. We watch because we enjoy watching; we enjoy MORE when the team is winning because... duh.

Fair points all. I guess that my era of Cornell hockey fans has grown spoiled with frequent appearances in the NCAAs (2009, 2010). I would support Cornell hockey were another dark age to descend upon the program as well. The dedication of the Faithful is not about statistics or winning, even though sometimes many of us get caught up in either or both of those at times. Last year I didn't pay any attention to the PWR, well, for obvious reasons. The only reason that I have even made remarks this year about PWR is because this team seemed set for an at-large bid. So, I became what I used to mock. It is just daunting for a team to have to get to the NCAAs through the ECAC Tournament Championship. I know, unlike a few posters on here, that Cornell fans's expectations have to be tempered by that fact that we have elevated academic standards unlike some other powerhouses in college hockey, but this year seemed like an "NCAA year," up until the manner in which Cornell lost last weekend. I know all is not lost and I look forward eagerly to what I hope will be an exciting weekend (wins or losses) in the Capital District.

Why do we worry about what people obsess over? If you have to pick one, PWR is a pretty benign one.

What Ugarte said. I'm just saying saying that by the time we lost to UMass in Florida, an at-large bid was an extremely-unlikely possibility, somewhat undone by an unexpected weekend in Colorado, but then pretty quickly redone of late. Math is your friend. I'm saying don't obsess over it now because it's too late.

Math is only your friend until you have kids.

Hey, they're young.
If they don't all defect there's always next year!!