strategy

Coach Schafer has again created a team with exceptional defensive skills. The problem with this strategy is it assumes the opposing team will control the puck more than half the time.

Hooking
Coach Schafer has again created a team with exceptional defensive skills. The problem with this strategy is it assumes the opposing team will control the puck more than half the time.

????????

I don't know where you get the assumption that good defense means you can't also have the puck. Have you watched the team this year? They are much more aggressive on offense. Considering that he stated before last weekend that every healthy player was playing, I think they have done quite well.

But of course I'm the optimist and not everyone will feel the same.

Jim Hyla

Hooking
Coach Schafer has again created a team with exceptional defensive skills. The problem with this strategy is it assumes the opposing team will control the puck more than half the time.

????????

I don't know where you get the assumption that good defense means you can't also have the puck. Have you watched the team this year? They are much more aggressive on offense. Considering that he stated before last weekend that every healthy player was playing, I think they have done quite well.

But of course I'm the optimist and not everyone will feel the same.

Well, we don't have a lot of the puck, as I've pointed out on numerous occasions. But you are right that being good on defense doesn't mean you don't have the puck. See the LA Kings of this entire decade. They have so much of the puck because their neutral zone defense is so good opponents cannot get in their zone. This is why they have been either the best or the 2nd best NHL team of this decade.

I'm not sure 2 follows from 1, but it is important to realize that possessing the puck is basically the best thing you can be doing in hockey, and Cornell hasn't done enough of it to be an above-average team thus far.

I've been to only Harvard and the MSG games this year. From those games, I thought our defense has gotten slightest worse from previous years and our offense has gotten significantly better. Some stats from the previous decade against this team. Offensively in the past 10 years, we've only been this good once for an entire season (09-10). Defensively, we're right around average compared to our past 10 seasons. The big question is can we maintain the offensive surge while keeping our defensive steady.

Scoring offense Average/game:
2016-2017=3.00
2006-2016(Spring)=2.58
St.D=0.35

Scoring defense Average/game:
2016-2017=2.27
2006-2016(Spring)=2.32
St.D=0.22

Scoring margin, average/game:
2016-2017=0.73
2006-2016(Spring)=0.27
St.D=0.45

I think we are giving up a few more scoring chances because the D is still a bit shaky at times, but we are creating far more scoring chances than the last few years, can that continue and will that lead to more goals? the PP is not producing but even so the quality chances are there even if we dont finish them. We dont have great team speed, but its decent and we dont have a sniper but we will be pretty balanced in how we score.

The potential is there, if we get lucky we add a few more bodies over the break and that might help too.

the Miami series was interesting. We probably got lucky with a win on friday as miami showed much more speed and skill for large stretches of the game, then we played a solid 10 min and pulled it out.. On sat, from about the 10 min mark until the mid 3rd Miami could do almost nothing, a complete flip of game one for how we controlled it.

we are probably done with seeing a new kid every night so that should also help with a more consistent lineup.

upprdeck
The potential is there, if we get lucky we add a few more bodies over the break and that might help too.

Are we going to get bodies back? The four currently out are Tschantz, Kubiak, Bliss and Buckles. I have not heard of any plans for any of them to be back by January, while Jason has sometimes seemed to hint "don't hold your breath" about any of them. These do not seem like dings, they seem pretty critical.

It's remarkable how well the team has played without them, but we've been razor's edge with unassuming opponents. Great to have won five straight, but when we get into games against the North Country and Union we're going to need more to compete.

On a more optimistic note, CHN has Jake on Face-offs on Saturday as 16-4 and for the weekend as 29-12. That's Nieuwendyk territory.

If you control the puck and are not on offense what are you doing, playing "keep away"?

well it says Kubiak played vs UNH.. His name was mentioned during the game.. He has stats. did he play? maybe it was just a typo?

I heard 2 others are likely, 1 not. this was Coaches comments before the UNH game, "senior forward Matt Buckles, who is not likely to return until Miami at the earliest, according to Schafer."

so he sounds likely at some point.

We have another month or more before league games again.

upprdeck
well it says Kubiak played vs UNH.. His name was mentioned during the game.. He has stats. did he play? maybe it was just a typo?

Kubiak definitely did not play vs. UNH.

Buckles will definitely be back soon. Schafer has said Kubiak will be back in January at the latest (unless that's changed). Bliss and Tschantz less clear, don't think Schafer has publicly commented on them.

BearLover
Schafer has said Kubiak will be back in January at the latest (unless that's changed).

Do we know whether "in January" is closer to 1/1 (misses 2 more games) or 1/31 (misses 9 more games) ?

Really glad to hear about Buckles. We seem to be at the point where a scorer or two could make an enormous difference, and Buckles is definitely that.

The advantage of Kubiak coming back might just be that it saves Weidner from being double-shifted to death by mid-February.

Plus, obviously there will be other injuries as we go, and right now they're very thin.

The other team can't score if we have the puck.

The Rancor
The other team can't score if we have the puck.

Dave Crombeen begs to differ.

D.C. is correct, but concern about "own goals" should not shape the strategy of a hockey team.