Perspective

A 6 point lead on second place with 5 games to go. Wow.

Sometimes it's hard to realize just how much this team has accomplished.

Vermont is fighting for their lives, so don't expect it to be any easier tomorrow night. That's what the home stretch is all about.

I wanted 8

Just kidding, good point, but tonight still hurts

If you think we're disappointed, consider UNH, which was tied by Northeastern at 19:59 of the third period and then beaten in OT.

Ok, now I feel better )

Of course, Northeastern have their own reasons to be disappointed, considering how close they came to stealing the Beanpot from (Screw) BU.

ditto.
i for one just want to say that these past four weeks had been truly amazing.

may another winning streak begin tonight! let's go red!

On the whole, despite the loss, there is more positive news than negative -- on the statistical front:


BAD:

-- The longest-in-17-yrs. 8-game win streak has been ended.

-- ...by Dartmouth! ...in a shut out!!

-- Team Offense has plummeted to #20 in the nation.

-- The power play unit continues to be unproductive. Clarkson has overtaken Cornell for #1 in that (ECAC) category.

-- The loss happened just as it seemed like the whole country was starting to pay attention to us (via the barrage of media coverage).


GOOD:

-- There's still time to put together a 5-game win streak to finish up the regular season!

-- We only need a reasonable 2-2-1 in the last 5 games to be assured of the regular-season league title (...can't remember the trophy name...).

-- Team Defense is out of 1st place by the thinnest possible margin (0.01 GA/G), behind Michigan State. The Spartans have a big showdown with Michigan tonight (duel between the CCHA co-leaders and the two best P.K. teams in the nation), so we have a decent shot (please?!) at taking over the #1 spot (if we can shut down the Vermont goal-scoring machine...).

-- We may have been shut out, but Undy's 1-goal-allowed performance has moved him into a tie for 3rd in the nation (tied w/Cam McCormick, who allowed 5 goals against B.U. last night). If you apply a "save-percentage tie-breaker" to the standings (as I will now do!), then Undy is #3 outright. That means that Cornell now has two of the top three goalies in the nation (Lenny at #1 still!).

-- The special teams, even with an out-of-sync power play, are still in good shape, NCAA-rankings-wise (PP: #5 / PK: #3).

-- Sam Paolini is still tied for the ECAC lead in PP goals!

-- The Big Red are still leading in 3 out of the 4 major ECAC team-stat categories (Team O, Team D, PK)

-- Our 1.47 team GAA in the ECAC is simply incredible!!! (The all-time best ECAC GAA was 1.45 (Cornell, '68)). (And the distance between us and the 2nd-place team, Clarkson (2.41), is also amazing!)

-- Cornell can still finish the ECAC schedule with the fewest losses since '73 (also the last time we had a regular-season title)

-- As mentioned before (on another thread), this loss WILL re-focus the team.

poop. team/individual stats mean so little in comparison to a loss. no one is ever gonna look back and say, wow they were damn good on the powerplay that year. i want a freaking banner! and you would think that the shoddy play at princeton, and the slightly-shoddy game at yale would have been an indicator to the guys that we're not playing up to par. i think this loss just reinforces what ive been feeling for the past 2 games.

i think the only valuable stats are team stats that have significance for the playoffs...and RS title.

I totally agree, littleredfan. The main purpose of my big, stat-laden post (above) was a selfish need for therapy following the loss. I am "hard-wired" (from the "good old days"?) to look upon Dartmouth as a "perennial ECAC doormat". Dammit, that's just where they belong! (Along with Brown and Union! So there!! What's happening to my world?!?)

I have shared your sense of foreboding over the past few games. I was actually worried going into Princeton/Yale -- for good reason, as it turns out.

The main "statistic" to keep in mind for the near future is the plummeting effectiveness of the offense. We seem to be falling back into last year's form. I don't even want to look up the last time we were shut out by the Big Green -- has that ever happened?!? Ugh. (OK... I couldn't resist... I believe it was '60 (twice: 0-12, 0-11)).

(2-7-1 against 'em over the last 5 seasons... HUH?!!)

i hear you....i need therapy too. im actually slightly worried going into uvm. does anyone else feel me?

Vermont has a lot more riding on this game than Cornell, and they're at home. Hopefully, the team won't lose their focus. After all, Conschafter has turned in some pretty remarkable games as well.

If all the away teams (Cornell, RPI, Harvard, Colgate Brown, Union) win:

- We win

- Harvard and Colgate become TUCs

- Dartmouth is 2 games away from not being a TUC

- Union and RPI soldifiy themselves fruther as TUCs (hopefully we'll sweep them again)

So we should root for all the away teams. Now the thing to hope for is that all the other ECACs become TUCs and Dartmouth drops out.

The main "statistic" to keep in mind for the near future is the plummeting effectiveness of the offense. We seem to be falling back into last year's form.

>Team Offense has plummeted to #20 in the nation.

Maybe someone can enlighten me as I am a relative newcomer to serious hockey fandom. Cornell under Schafer seems as if it has always had a defensive focus, which makes sense since he and all his asst. coaches were defensemen as players (except McNiven).
So is it that Cornell has not snagged pure goal scorers (recruitment issue), or that the coaching has not emphasized goal scoring over playing well defensively? Is this a weakness in coaching? Are players not reaching their fullest potential as scorers in a defensively minded team? How much does a coach matter? Does Cornell need an offensive genious on its coaching staff to get to the highest level?

Anyone out there who can play the part of Yoda?

So these[] act as quasi tags?

This year's team is probably getting more out of the offense than anybody has a right to expect. The team is built from the goal out, with emphases on defense, size and toughness. There is not a great amount of speed or natural goal scoring talent. Some, yeah, but it's not a team strength.

Last year the team averaged about 2.00 goals per game; this year they have improved to more than 3.50, which is remarkable considering they didn't add a blue chip goal scoring prospect -- they are just getting more out of the same guys.

Schafer is definitely a "defense first" coach. (1) Schafer was a tough defenseman himself. (2) Schafer did his first assistantship under Brian McCutcheon, who emphasized defense both when his team was outgunned (when he needed to) and when he had dominant squads. (3) Schafer did his next assistantship at Western Michigan in the CCHA at a time when that conference was something like rollerball -- slug em around for 55 minutes and score the winner over the bleeding corpse. He also has to do without the most highly recruited firepower (they follow the scholarships). Every Ivy coach expect perhaps Harvard's must face that defense and size are more recruitable because they are more common.

So, Cornell's defensive orientation is equal parts coaching philosophy and playing the cards you're dealt (which itself is equal parts philosophy and supply). After last year's awful offense, the staff does seem to be looking for a little more speed and production in the next set of recruits.

It's not a bad problem to have (note the standings). Guys like Doug Murray, Stephen Bâby, and Mark McRae seem to share two characteristics: they skate poorly, and they win games. We'll probably see more guys in that line.

>Guys like Doug Murray, Stephen Bâby, and Mark McRae seem to share two characteristics: they skate poorly, and they win games.

OK, thanks, that helps. So, regarding the above, I have one more chance to see a live game this regular season.
Who should I look to for an example of a good skater? who are the best skaters on the team?

Time to turn in, but I hope I have more insights waiting for me tomorrow.

Murray is definitely not the best skater, but I disagree about Bâby. While obviously not the most agile guy on the ice, I think he skates extremely well given his size.

Mark is defiantly not a poor skater. . .might not be the fastest on the team but his position and vision are much more valuable than being an exceptionally fast skater. . .and "Yes" they do win games, which we are all for!!!

Ben '03 wrote:

Mark is defiantly not a poor skater. . .might not be the fastest on the team but his position and vision are much more valuable than being an exceptionally fast skater. . .and "Yes" they do win games, which we are all for!!!

Agreed. I'd have to say Mark and Matt are among the best skaters on the team, along with Vesce.

> I'd have to say Mark and Matt are among the best skaters on the team

I think you're making my point for me.

The McRaes are average skaters by league standards, which makes them below average for being the team's leading skaters. Vesce is flat out a good skater, no argument. Bâby on the other hand is an aircraft carrier. He's better than Joel Prpic, but probably only because he's 3 inches shorter.

Age -- how does eLF magically know to circumflex the Bâby? (oy!)

There's a difference between being a great skater and being able to be in the right place at the right time. Gretzky is the poster child example. He was an average to below average skater, but he had the ability to watch the play develop and be in the right place. I'm sure there are rebounders in hoops, defensive backs in football, outfielders in basball with that same ability. Likewise, there are guys on Cornell with good instincts, and Schafer appears to be able to teach great positional play (special teams is a great example), but nobody in red is going to win any skating contests. Well, maybe if we pressured the judges.

The best skating team in the conference is probably Harvard, so the recent game at Lynah is a good demonstration of how great physical play can put lightning right back in the bottle.

Don't forget Travis Bell. He's one of the fastest guys on the team, and he doesn't get knocked off the puck very much. I think Iggulden and Knoepfli move pretty well for their size, but it's tough to compare Cornell skaters because the whole team emphasizes positioning over using skating ability to catch up. Of course, if they didn't emphasize positioning, I doubt the team GA/GP would be so low. . .

It's tough to say much about a guy like Hornby, since he's such a pinball out there, but it seems like he moves pretty well, too.

The smoothest skater is probably Ladoceur, and Kozier also has good balance and some nice moves that he doesn't seem to use much.

As mentioned, Vesce might well be the best overall skater on the team.

Also, Bâby moves reasonably well for his size, and he's improved tremendously over the last two and a half years, but he's still not a good skater.

Yale's top line (particularly that Higgins character) skates very well, so if you were at that game that wouldn't be a bad example either.

agreed...you can skate around like a korean short-tracker all you want, but you won't win any games unless you are willing to pay the price, crash the boards, crash the net, and finish your checks...these are four traits that define our team and the whole Schafer mantra. LGR!!!

>The smoothest skater is probably Ladoceur, and Kozier also has good balance and some nice moves that he doesn't seem to use much.

maybe I am biassed since some of my friends in the women's hockey team always picked on DL's skating stride, but I was never impressed by Ladoceur's skating. He is strong on his skates, but he never struck me as being quite smooth. Kozier is a remarkable skater when healthy (i remember seeing him flying his sophomore year before being jammed into the boards against Niagara)...but understandably, your skating prowess is severely affected by repeated major knee surgeries (not to mention the psychological effect that has on you...unfortunately, i know it first hand)...i like Paolini's skating...choppy, yes very, but he is fast, hard to knock down, and extremely good at cutting...just my two cents...go Svenska!!

> you can skate around like a korean short-tracker all you want

We all know the winning strategy is to hang back like an Australian.

> I was never impressed by Ladoceur's skating. He is strong on his skates, but he never struck me as being quite smooth. Kozier is a remarkable skater when healthy

Of course, you could say the same thing about Ladouceur. The big hole in the offense last year was due in part to the team's best two natural skaters and scorers having had their careers redirected by injury. Ladouceur, at the beginning of his career, skated beautifully.

LOL!!! They have it all, the Foster's, Paul Hogan, and now a Winter Olympic GOLD!!!

just wanted to chime in my 0.02. was surprised when i read that Greg thought Mark wasn't among the best skaters on the team. would put him near the top of my list, just behind Travis ( that boy can friggin fly). Judy and I were just talking about the team defense and how when we see Travis and Mark out there we rarely worry about the opposition scoring because of their speed (and their tendency to stop the puck in any way possible).

Thankfully our defense isn't in the poor shape that Canada's Olympic team defense is in (or hopefully about to be out of). Watching the Friday game (we just popped in the tape after missing the game to follow Cornell on the road) all I can say is, "This is pathetic!" They might as well have had the defensemen sit on the bench the entire game. Definitely don't think that CuJo deserves all the blame!

I think you are missing Greg's point. Without scrolling back through all of these emails, he was saying that even if Mark is the fastest on the team, that doesn't make him fast for a college hockey player.

For instance, Danny Schayes was the best Jewish player in the NBA for a while. You decide if the title is worth having.

speed doesn't necessarily translate perfectly into great skating, though it is a huge component. theres other factors invovled, including stability strength, and agility, and as a whole, we aren't really a great skating team--i think yale REALLY showed us up in that last home game.

and last year, i would argue that we were a really subpar passsing team, and that seems to have gotten better by leaps and bounds this year-a big reason for the dramatic increase in goals scored. but still, the skating, especially while moving the puck towards the goal, is kind of weak. it actually seemed a lot better earlier in the year though.

i got greg's point. i totally agree. was just posting what initially popped into my head when catching up on the week-end posts. whoever said it before was right on track....mucho volume!!!

also agree that speed doesn't necessarily mean great skating but speed definitely makes certain peple stand out when you start thinking about good skaters. tho cornell might not be a great skating team i don't think that they are (at this point) the slow, non-skating team that others have generalized them in past years. and the passing has DEFINITELY improved over last year. I think that this year's team in November was better in passing than last year's team was in March. It was great to see this im[provement!

For instance, Danny Schayes was the best Jewish player in the NBA for a while. You decide if the title is worth having.

On the other hand, when you consider how long it took him to mature in college and how many years he lasted in the pros, say nothing of his money (especially when compared to what his father was able to earn in the NBA), I'd be willing to take that title any day.

There goes another of those damn sentences with too many commas.

hmmm...skating teams, thanks everybody for kinda clearing up this whole concept. Now here's a question, and it may sound stupid...Harvard's always been referred to as a skating team, yet it seems like everytime I watch them play (against Cornell, I know, small sample size), someone's always falling for no good reason, and so I was confused as to why skating team if they have trouble even staying on their feet.

Separate thought...is it just me or is Doug Murray getting slower and slower as the season progresses? Earlier this season, he seemd to be an elephant on skates when he's the lone defenseman trying to chase down the opponent from the neutral zone into our end. Now he seems to be moving at the speed of an iceberg...

Without a doubt Danny Schayes had an enviable career. I would trade my career for his in a heartbeat. Dad didn't give me the 7' genes, though.

It seems to me that Murray has been getting progressively slower since his freshman year. However, it may be that the team is getting faster around him, or that he's a little bit hurt, or that he's pinching deeper and has more ground to make up, or I could be just crazy. So, basically, I have no idea - although I do think he has been pinching much more, and much further, than he used to.

tom: not enough swedish meatballs, swedish fish, etc.

ooooohhhh. . .I love swedish fish!!!!

anything swedish is good...especially Victoria Silvestedt...LGR!!!

yes. . .and her too!!!

RE Murray -- if you will recall, he had a knee injury last season that kept him out of a bunch of games late in the season. He occasionally looks pretty gimpy on the ice, and often seems to be favoring one leg as he skates to the bench, so my guess would be that he aggravated the old injury but is unwilling to miss any games.

Good eyes, Anne. I hadn't noticed him gimping around on the ice.

Hopefully it's not anything as bad as aggravating an old injury, and it's just a big contusion or something.

Greg Berge wrote:

Age -- how does eLF magically know to circumflex the Bâby? (oy!)

Heh. I was wondering how long it would take before someone noticed that

For similar reasons, I was never particularly excited about the title "Sexiest Man in Ithaca Radio."

Beeeej

> It seems to me that Murray has been getting progressively slower since his freshman year.

I don't see him every weekend, but I have two suggestions.

1. He's being "helped." He has guys hanging all over him and impeding him, which tends to slow a guy down.

2. The rest of the team is a little faster than they used to be, so he looks slower by comparison.

Of course, he may just be on the Gary Cullen Three Pack a Day training regimen...

circumflex the Bâby?

edit: oh i see now that IS pretty neat... i wonder if it distinguishes if i say.... "My baby is crying right now....i must go"

edit2: i guess it does

But how about "Bâby, you are so fine" a la Barry White?

Hey, cut that out.