Recruits 2024 and Beyond

Time for a new recruiting thread.

Goalie Erick Roest, who’s a 2024 recruit, was the starting goalie for Canada West who won gold at the World Junior A Challenge in Nova Scotia. Roest stopped 30 of 32 shots in the championship game as Canada West beat Canada East 7-2. Roest stopped 37 shots in Canada West’s 4-3 OT upset over the U.S. in the semifinal.

Fellow Cornell recruits Aiden Long, a forward, and Nick Wolfenberg, a defenseman, also won gold, but I don’t believe either of them got a point during the tournament.

Both wins were upsets. Canada West was 4 of 5 in the group round.

If I'm reading this right, neither Long nor Wolfenberg were on the final roster. They and Roest all made the 2022 Canada West roster and played.

Trotsky
Both wins were upsets. Canada West was 4 of 5 in the group round.

If I'm reading this right, neither Long nor Wolfenberg were on the final roster. They and Roest all made the 2022 Canada West roster and played.

Ok, that makes sense. I misread the 2023 roster.

Forward Parker Murray from Chilliwack of the BCHL has committed to Cornell. He’s a 20 year old 6’5” power forward who has a heavy shot. He’s the son of longtime NHLer Glen Murray.

Seems like we have a lot of guys set to come in and not many set to leave, curious to see what happens.

scoop85
Forward Parker Murray from Chilliwack of the BCHL has committed to Cornell. He’s a 20 year old 6’5” power forward who has a heavy shot. He’s the son of longtime NHLer Glen Murray.

2 inches taller than our last Murray with a heavy shot. Sounds good to me.

From Manhattan Beach, CA, like Ian Shane. But no apparent overlap of teams.

Nice article despite the mention of Boston.

Trotsky
Nice article despite the mention of Boston.

Parker Murray
“I want a school that will give me an opportunity to be able to be me and not transform me into someone else.”

I dunno. When he comes to Cornell, Mike is likely to want him to improve his defensive game.

Perhaps he wants to be a great two-way player and have a 12-year NHL career like Manderville.

Swampy

Trotsky
Nice article despite the mention of Boston.

Parker Murray
“I want a school that will give me an opportunity to be able to be me and not transform me into someone else.”

I dunno. When he comes to Cornell, Mike is likely to want him to improve his defensive game.

Maybe he means that he wants to go to class.

ugarte

Swampy

Trotsky
Nice article despite the mention of Boston.

Parker Murray
“I want a school that will give me an opportunity to be able to be me and not transform me into someone else.”

I dunno. When he comes to Cornell, Mike is likely to want him to improve his defensive game.

Maybe he means that he wants to go to class.

video: [giphy.com]

Murray scored 4 goals in a bchl playoff game last year. Not bad.

And then he scored 4 more goals in the very next game.

Can we have this version of him, please?

Renovation from Cornell Sports.

marty
Renovation from Cornell Sports.

Looks great.

That was really done well. Damn, Derraugh looks amazing. Dude hasn't aged a day in the last 20 years.

abmarks
Murray scored 4 goals in a bchl playoff game last year. Not bad.

And then he scored 4 more goals in the very next game.

Can we have this version of him, please?

Whoops

CU2007

abmarks
Murray scored 4 goals in a bchl playoff game last year. Not bad.

And then he scored 4 more goals in the very next game.

Can we have this version of him, please?

Whoops

whoops?

abmarks

CU2007

abmarks
Murray scored 4 goals in a bchl playoff game last year. Not bad.

And then he scored 4 more goals in the very next game.

Can we have this version of him, please?

Whoops

whoops?

He meant to post in "Other Sports".

A mid-season update on our listed recruits:

• Erick Roest, G, Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL) -- 28 GP, 2.75 GAG, .909 save pct.
• Alex Pelletier, LW, Avon Old Farms Prep -- 12 GP, 15 G, 8 A
• Cole Tuminaro, D, Sioux City (USHL) -- 20 GP, 0 G, 1 A
• Aiden Long -- LW, Madison (USHL) -- 27 GP, 4 G, 4 A
• Giovanni DiGiulian -- C, Kent School Prep -- 13 GP, 13 G, 10 A
• Connor Arsenault -- C, St. Andrews Prep -- 30 GP, 13 G, 14 A
• Hudson Gorski -- D, Chicago (USHL) -- 29 GP, 0 G, 3 A
• Michael Sandruck -- RW, Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL) -- 4 GP, 1 G, 0 A; previously, Bishop Kearney Selects 18U AAA -- 34 GP, 19 G, 24 A
• Nicholas Wolfenberg -- D, Salmon Arm (BCHL) -- 14 GP, 0 G, 5 A
• Charlie Major -- C, Chicago (USHL) -- 31 GP, 14 G, 14 A
• Donovan Hamilton -- D, Cedar Rapids (USHL) -- 23 GP, 1 G, 2 A
• Justin Katz -- G, West Kelowna (BCHL) 7 GP, 3.11 GAA, .891 save pct.
• Chase Pirtle -- RW, Victoria (BCHL) -- 54 GP, 32 G, 24 A
• Tyler Wishart -- RW, Merritt and Cranbrook (BCHL) -- 19 GP, 3 G, 9 A

I believe Katz has been battling injuries the past couple of seasons, while Roest, who is a recent commit, is having an excellent season. As for the guys likely to be coming in next year, Pirtle and Major look to be the most promising of the forwards. As for the defensemen, it doesn't appear that this group is as offensively gifted as our current group, but I'm just going by the stats. The prep school guys are putting up big numbers, but those tend to fall off when they hit the junior ranks. I know DiGiulian is on the NHL Central Scouting mid-season list, but I don't believe any of our other recruits made the cut.

scoop85
A mid-season update on our listed recruits:

• Erick Roest, G, Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL) -- 28 GP, 2.75 GAG, .909 save pct.
• Alex Pelletier, LW, Avon Old Farms Prep -- 12 GP, 15 G, 8 A
• Cole Tuminaro, D, Sioux City (USHL) -- 20 GP, 0 G, 1 A
• Aiden Long -- LW, Madison (USHL) -- 27 GP, 4 G, 4 A
• Giovanni DiGiulian -- C, Kent School Prep -- 13 GP, 13 G, 10 A
• Connor Arsenault -- C, St. Andrews Prep -- 30 GP, 13 G, 14 A
• Hudson Gorski -- D, Chicago (USHL) -- 29 GP, 0 G, 3 A
• Michael Sandruck -- RW, Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL) -- 4 GP, 1 G, 0 A; previously, Bishop Kearney Selects 18U AAA -- 34 GP, 19 G, 24 A
• Nicholas Wolfenberg -- D, Salmon Arm (BCHL) -- 14 GP, 0 G, 5 A
• Charlie Major -- C, Chicago (USHL) -- 31 GP, 14 G, 14 A
• Donovan Hamilton -- D, Cedar Rapids (USHL) -- 23 GP, 1 G, 2 A
• Justin Katz -- G, West Kelowna (BCHL) 7 GP, 3.11 GAA, .891 save pct.
• Chase Pirtle -- RW, Victoria (BCHL) -- 54 GP, 32 G, 24 A
• Tyler Wishart -- RW, Merritt and Cranbrook (BCHL) -- 19 GP, 3 G, 9 A

Any relation to Jean-Marc Pelletier ‘99?

scoop85
A mid-season update on our listed recruits:

• Erick Roest, G, Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL) -- 28 GP, 2.75 GAG, .909 save pct.
• Alex Pelletier, LW, Avon Old Farms Prep -- 12 GP, 15 G, 8 A
• Cole Tuminaro, D, Sioux City (USHL) -- 20 GP, 0 G, 1 A
• Aiden Long -- LW, Madison (USHL) -- 27 GP, 4 G, 4 A
• Giovanni DiGiulian -- C, Kent School Prep -- 13 GP, 13 G, 10 A
• Connor Arsenault -- C, St. Andrews Prep -- 30 GP, 13 G, 14 A
• Hudson Gorski -- D, Chicago (USHL) -- 29 GP, 0 G, 3 A
• Michael Sandruck -- RW, Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL) -- 4 GP, 1 G, 0 A; previously, Bishop Kearney Selects 18U AAA -- 34 GP, 19 G, 24 A
• Nicholas Wolfenberg -- D, Salmon Arm (BCHL) -- 14 GP, 0 G, 5 A
• Charlie Major -- C, Chicago (USHL) -- 31 GP, 14 G, 14 A
• Donovan Hamilton -- D, Cedar Rapids (USHL) -- 23 GP, 1 G, 2 A
• Justin Katz -- G, West Kelowna (BCHL) 7 GP, 3.11 GAA, .891 save pct.
• Chase Pirtle -- RW, Victoria (BCHL) -- 54 GP, 32 G, 24 A
• Tyler Wishart -- RW, Merritt and Cranbrook (BCHL) -- 19 GP, 3 G, 9 A

I believe Katz has been battling injuries the past couple of seasons, while Roest, who is a recent commit, is having an excellent season. As for the guys likely to be coming in next year, Pirtle and Major look to be the most promising of the forwards. As for the defensemen, it doesn't appear that this group is as offensively gifted as our current group, but I'm just going by the stats. The prep school guys are putting up big numbers, but those tend to fall off when they hit the junior ranks. I know DiGiulian is on the NHL Central Scouting mid-season list, but I don't believe any of our other recruits made the cut.

Outside of Pirtle/Major/DiGiulian, no one is really jumping out among the recruits based on publicly available information. Roest might be good, but .909 sv% in the AJHL isn’t earth-shattering. I hope the ‘05s and ‘06s put up better numbers in their next year of juniors (other than Pirtle, who I would guess will come next year despite being an ‘05). Arsenault was on the fall Central Scouting rankings but wasn’t on the midterm rankings. Obviously, I haven’t seen a single one of these players in action. Just going off of publicly available info.

Shoot the puck, Aiden Long! (I don't know anything more than "point a game for a forward seems cool."

Wolfenberg was listed in last year’s final NHL Central Scouting rankings. He may be injured this yr (has played only 14 games with 5 points).

A few days ago, I read an article about Charlie Major.

In my listing I forgot to include our new recruit, forward Parker Murray. In 17 games with Penticton and Chilliwack of the BCHL he has 4 G, 6 A.

And today we got a commitment from Michael Dec, a forward from St. Andrews College who turns 17 in a couple of weeks. In 28 games Dec has 11 G, 12 A. Hopefully he goes on a growth spurt, as Elite Prospects lists him as 5’7” and only 134 lbs.

scoop85
In my listing I forgot to include our new recruit, forward Parker Murray. In 17 games with Penticton and Chilliwack of the BCHL he has 4 G, 6 A.

And today we got a commitment from Michael Dec, a forward from St. Andrews College who turns 17 in a couple of weeks. In 28 games Dec has 11 G, 12 A. Hopefully he goes on a growth spurt, as Elite Prospects lists him as 5’7” and only 134 lbs.

He's only 17. Late puberty strikes again.

Since Cornell also gets players from the BCHLwhich left Hockey Canada, this may be of interest.

[bchlnetwork.ca]

ursusminor
Since Cornell also gets players from the BCHLwhich left Hockey Canada, this may be of interest.

[bchlnetwork.ca]

Interesting development for sure. The BCHL and stronger AJHL teams have for years been producing more high level D1 talent than the eastern Canada Junior A leagues, and this move seemingly will exacerbate that trend.

scoop85

ursusminor
Since Cornell also gets players from the BCHLwhich left Hockey Canada, this may be of interest.

[bchlnetwork.ca]

Interesting development for sure. The BCHL and stronger AJHL teams have for years been producing more high level D1 talent than the eastern Canada Junior A leagues, and this move seemingly will exacerbate that trend.

That's fascinating. Spruce Grove and Brooks have dominated the AHJL lately.

YEAR    CHAMPION                	RUNNER UP
2010	Spruce Grove Saints		Fort McMurray Oil Barons
2011	Spruce Grove Saints		Camrose Kodiaks
2012	Brooks Bandits			Fort McMurray Oil Barons
2013	Brooks Bandits			Spruce Grove Saints
2014	Spruce Grove Saints		Drumheller Dragons
2015	Spruce Grove Saints		Brooks Bandits
2016	Brooks Bandits			Spruce Grove Saints
2017	Brooks Bandits			Whitecourt Wolverines
2018	Spruce Grove Saints		Okotoks Oilers
2019	Brooks Bandits			Spruce Grove Saints
2022	Brooks Bandits			Spruce Grove Saints
2023	Brooks Bandits			Spruce Grove Saints

Among our AJHL players:

Rego (Brooks)
Scrivens (Spruce Grove)
Vanderlaan (Fort McMurray)
Holowatiuk (Sherwood Park)
Lopatka (Fort Saskatchewan)
Craig (Okotoks)
Mallott (Brooks)
Kary (Spruce Grove)

Our commitments:

Aiden Long (Whitecourt)
Erick Roest (Sherwood Park)
Nick Wolfenberg (Okotoks)

official announcement with no new details [bchl.ca]

scoop85

ursusminor
Since Cornell also gets players from the BCHLwhich left Hockey Canada, this may be of interest.

[bchlnetwork.ca]

Interesting development for sure. The BCHL and stronger AJHL teams have for years been producing more high level D1 talent than the eastern Canada Junior A leagues, and this move seemingly will exacerbate that trend.

So the 5 teams moving to BCHL so that players... don't have to wear a full face protection? It's going to make the league more competitive, but that is one part I don't understand. Is Major Junior still playing with visors/half shields?

I dont know the answer to this 100% but remember one of the Cornell coaches at some point saying that commits are admitted students who then use their deferral to go play juniors. So does that mean that kids who get de-committed still matriculate at Cornell?

scoop85
A mid-season update on our listed recruits:

• Erick Roest, G, Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL) -- 28 GP, 2.75 GAG, .909 save pct.
• Alex Pelletier, LW, Avon Old Farms Prep -- 12 GP, 15 G, 8 A
• Cole Tuminaro, D, Sioux City (USHL) -- 20 GP, 0 G, 1 A
• Aiden Long -- LW, Madison (USHL) -- 27 GP, 4 G, 4 A
• Giovanni DiGiulian -- C, Kent School Prep -- 13 GP, 13 G, 10 A
• Connor Arsenault -- C, St. Andrews Prep -- 30 GP, 13 G, 14 A
• Hudson Gorski -- D, Chicago (USHL) -- 29 GP, 0 G, 3 A
• Michael Sandruck -- RW, Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL) -- 4 GP, 1 G, 0 A; previously, Bishop Kearney Selects 18U AAA -- 34 GP, 19 G, 24 A
• Nicholas Wolfenberg -- D, Salmon Arm (BCHL) -- 14 GP, 0 G, 5 A
• Charlie Major -- C, Chicago (USHL) -- 31 GP, 14 G, 14 A
• Donovan Hamilton -- D, Cedar Rapids (USHL) -- 23 GP, 1 G, 2 A
• Justin Katz -- G, West Kelowna (BCHL) 7 GP, 3.11 GAA, .891 save pct.
• Chase Pirtle -- RW, Victoria (BCHL) -- 54 GP, 32 G, 24 A
• Tyler Wishart -- RW, Merritt and Cranbrook (BCHL) -- 19 GP, 3 G, 9 A

I believe Katz has been battling injuries the past couple of seasons, while Roest, who is a recent commit, is having an excellent season. As for the guys likely to be coming in next year, Pirtle and Major look to be the most promising of the forwards. As for the defensemen, it doesn't appear that this group is as offensively gifted as our current group, but I'm just going by the stats. The prep school guys are putting up big numbers, but those tend to fall off when they hit the junior ranks. I know DiGiulian is on the NHL Central Scouting mid-season list, but I don't believe any of our other recruits made the cut.

Heisenberg has deleted Wishart from our recruit list. Justin Katz was recently traded to Powell River.

Still shows as Cornell on Elite Prospects, but there appears to be an X tweet where he announces for RPI.

Pghas
I dont know the answer to this 100% but remember one of the Cornell coaches at some point saying that commits are admitted students who then use their deferral to go play juniors. So does that mean that kids who get de-committed still matriculate at Cornell?

I know of at least a couple instances where a player who was at one point recruited for the Cornell hockey team ended up matriculating anyway, in some cases playing for the club team. So, if you’re asking about Wishart, unless there is some atypical reason why he decommitted, my guess is that it will be his own decision whether he would like to matriculate at Cornell and not play varsity hockey, or alternatively try to play college hockey elsewhere.

Trotsky
Still shows as Cornell on Elite Prospects, but there appears to be an X tweet where he announces for RPI.

I think what you see on X is him retweeting another kid who announced his commitment to RPI

Dec looks like a good recruit. He seems to be the second most productive first year player on St. Andrews (elite Canadian prep school) varsity team. The most productive first year player is Aiden Lane, Harvard commit.

Recent recruits from St. Andrews:
Connor Arsenault (coming in 2024 or 2025)
Luke Devlin
Jonathan Castagna
Justin Ertel
Matt Stienburg
Morgan Barron
Matthew Galajda

Outside of Galajda, who was one of the best few college hockey goalies all four years, every single one of those players who was eligible to be drafted ended up getting drafted by an NHL team. Did I forget any recent St. Andrews products?

Wishart is not an RPI recruit.

On a separate topic, as of 2/1/24, 5 AJHL teams including Sherwood Park formally switched to the BCHL. They begin playing under the BCHL auspices on 2/2. [bchl.ca] So you can switch Roest to BCHL.

scoop85

Trotsky
Still shows as Cornell on Elite Prospects, but there appears to be an X tweet where he announces for RPI.

I think what you see on X is him retweeting another kid who announced his commitment to RPI

Oh, OK, thank you!

I'm not down with Xitler so I can't see the actual content, only some peripheral data.

BearLover

Pghas
I dont know the answer to this 100% but remember one of the Cornell coaches at some point saying that commits are admitted students who then use their deferral to go play juniors. So does that mean that kids who get de-committed still matriculate at Cornell?

I know of at least a couple instances where a player who was at one point recruited for the Cornell hockey team ended up matriculating anyway, in some cases playing for the club team. So, if you’re asking about Wishart, unless there is some atypical reason why he decommitted, my guess is that it will be his own decision whether he would like to matriculate at Cornell and not play varsity hockey, or alternatively try to play college hockey elsewhere.

Yes, thats why I am asking - I know of another kid who plays for the club team now after a similar scenario, and was at a Cornell recruitment weekend with my son over the summer and vaguely remember something about kids being admitted and using a deferral to play juniors. thanks all.

We seem to be bouncing back and forth between threads a bit here…hope this is the right one.

Had the opportunity last night to watch Gio DeGiulian play. He’s going to be a great player for us. Wheels, wheels, wheels and great hands. Not sure if he is playing juniors after Kent or maybe just comes straight to Cornell? Anyway, he was the best player on the ice ( I thought). And man founders’ league prep school hockey is fantastic.

Pghas
Not sure if he is playing juniors after Kent or maybe just comes straight to Cornell?

I suspect a year on the USHL, like most of them do. That would have him at Lynah right at his 20th birthday.

Pghas
We seem to be bouncing back and forth between threads a bit here…hope this is the right one.

Had the opportunity last night to watch Gio DeGiulian play. He’s going to be a great player for us. Wheels, wheels, wheels and great hands. Not sure if he is playing juniors after Kent or maybe just comes straight to Cornell? Anyway, he was the best player on the ice ( I thought). And man founders’ league prep school hockey is fantastic.

I assume he’ll play a year in the USHL, even if he gets drafted, unless the coaches think he’s ready now. I think it’s basically a function of who leaves the program after this year and how many LW we are bringing in (Elite Prospects lists Gio as a LW). Which depends on whether Penney, O’Leary, and Rego are on track to graduate or if they plan to stay one more year (Cornell hockey refers to them as juniors, i.e. it does not count the canceled season of 2020-21).

Next year Cornell will certainly bring in Major, Murray, and a goalie (Roest or Katz), maybe Pirtle too. Murray is also listed as a LW, so I assume Gio plays a year of juniors.

Notably, Gio is our only recruit who was listed in the Central Scouting Midterm Rankings, and I believe that a team must sign a drafted player within four years of the draft or that player becomes a free agent. Which means, if Gio is drafted and he plays a year of junior hockey, and the team that drafts him wants to sign him, there will be tremendous pressure on Gio to sign before his senior year even starts, and we’d potentially lose a year of his services. Someone more knowledgeable about this should let me know if I’m wrong—but if I have this right, then we really should be bringing in drafted players ASAP.

BearLover

Pghas
We seem to be bouncing back and forth between threads a bit here…hope this is the right one.

Had the opportunity last night to watch Gio DeGiulian play. He’s going to be a great player for us. Wheels, wheels, wheels and great hands. Not sure if he is playing juniors after Kent or maybe just comes straight to Cornell? Anyway, he was the best player on the ice ( I thought). And man founders’ league prep school hockey is fantastic.

I assume he’ll play a year in the USHL, even if he gets drafted, unless the coaches think he’s ready now. I think it’s basically a function of who leaves the program after this year and how many LW we are bringing in (Elite Prospects lists Gio as a LW). Which depends on whether Penney, O’Leary, and Rego are on track to graduate or if they plan to stay one more year (Cornell hockey refers to them as juniors, i.e. it does not count the canceled season of 2020-21).

Next year Cornell will certainly bring in Major, Murray, and a goalie (Roest or Katz), maybe Pirtle too. Murray is also listed as a LW, so I assume Gio plays a year of juniors.

Notably, Gio is our only recruit who was listed in the Central Scouting Midterm Rankings, and I believe that a team must sign a drafted player within four years of the draft or that player becomes a free agent. Which means, if Gio is drafted and he plays a year of junior hockey, and the team that drafts him wants to sign him, there will be tremendous pressure on Gio to sign before his senior year even starts, and we’d potentially lose a year of his services. Someone more knowledgeable about this should let me know if I’m wrong—but if I have this right, then we really should be bringing in drafted players ASAP.

i'm honestly not worried about the difference between 3 years of a more seasoned player who is good enough to be signed away and the potential for 4 years of a player who is good enough to start as a frosh since either one is going to get dragged away by money if they're good enough and the team is making the decision on the value of USHL competition as training.

BearLover
Notably, Gio is our only recruit who was listed in the Central Scouting Midterm Rankings, and I believe that a team must sign a drafted player within four years of the draft or that player becomes a free agent. Which means, if Gio is drafted and he plays a year of junior hockey, and the team that drafts him wants to sign him, there will be tremendous pressure on Gio to sign before his senior year even starts, and we’d potentially lose a year of his services. Someone more knowledgeable about this should let me know if I’m wrong—but if I have this right, then we really should be bringing in drafted players ASAP.

That's interesting. IIRC there used to be an age limit that would push a guy before the clock ran out (e.g., Steve Inglehart), but since rules seem to be changed what with half of Q collecting social security the draft limit comes into play now.

Gio played center last night.

BearLover
Notably, Gio is our only recruit who was listed in the Central Scouting Midterm Rankings, and I believe that a team must sign a drafted player within four years of the draft or that player becomes a free agent. Which means, if Gio is drafted and he plays a year of junior hockey, and the team that drafts him wants to sign him, there will be tremendous pressure on Gio to sign before his senior year even starts, and we’d potentially lose a year of his services. Someone more knowledgeable about this should let me know if I’m wrong—but if I have this right, then we really should be bringing in drafted players ASAP.

The rule is 2 years or they're eligible to be drafted. For college the rule changes and the team retains a players rights until they've exhausted their eligibility. We've had a few of guys that it's happened to, though most of them haven't signed with their original team. My best example is Steven Fogarty who played a year in the BCHL post draft then spent 4 years at Notre Dame before signing with the Rangers who drafted him and held his rights.

Yesterday, Chris Heisenberg listed Henry Major as a SLU commit. Today he's listed as a Cornell commit (hopefully that's correct). Henry's developing more rapidly than brother Charlie (at comparable ages) and looks like a fantastic prospect, as does Charlie. In his Fr. and So. years at Skaneateles HS, Henry put up 132 points in 47 games. During his U16 year with BK Selects, Henry has a line of 53-48-54-102 (and a goal in his only game with the U18 team). Chicago holds his USHL rights and it would seem a logical next step for him.

That would be fantastic news. Charlie Major is currently 8th in points in the USHL. Would love (can’t wait!) to see them both wearing the Cornell jersey…

Henry Major is definitely a Cornell commit. I check the Chris Heisenberg site every day and saw last night that he was listed as a SLU commit. I know his father well (we both coach high school hockey in section III) and immediately texted him to say congratulations to Henry on his commitment to St. Lawrence. He replied “thank you, but he committed to Cornell”. I said “ even better yet!!”

Woohoo!

I don't suppose they are twins? It's been a while.

I like your thinkin’ Trotsky but, unfortunately, no such luck. Charlie’s an ‘04 birth year, Henry is an ‘07.

Are they the sons of Mark Major '87?

Trotsky
Woohoo!

I don't suppose they are twins? It's been a while.

Erm, we just had the Tupker twins

They are nephews of Mark Major - Mark’s brother Mitch is the father

Iceberg

Trotsky
Woohoo!

I don't suppose they are twins? It's been a while.

Erm, we just had the Tupker twins

Like I said... it's been a while.

ithacat
Henry has a line of 53-48-54-102

Don't know how to read that.

Is that 53games, 48g, 54asst, 102 points?

abmarks

ithacat
Henry has a line of 53-48-54-102

Don't know how to read that.

Is that 53games, 48g, 54asst, 102 points?

I’m pretty sure that’s it

scoop85

abmarks

ithacat
Henry has a line of 53-48-54-102

Don't know how to read that.

Is that 53games, 48g, 54asst, 102 points?

I’m pretty sure that’s it

Yes, sorry…

I didn’t know Gio was Gary Thorne’s grandson! Thorne did the play-by-play for the Kent - Canterbury game.

billchu
I didn’t know Gio was Gary Thorne’s grandson! Thorne did the play-by-play for the Kent - Canterbury game.

Yes, interesting connection. Thorne is an all-time great

Trotsky
Are they the sons of Mark Major '87?

Skaneateles just won the state title again even without the kid playing this yr. nice job by them

I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but…turns out having five draft picks in your freshman class (maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year) is a good thing. And, in another one of BearLover’s Classic Takes, the conference being weak this year helped us too…to win a championship, the teams we had to beat were ranked 50th, 29th, and 43rd in the PWR…

BearLover
(maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year)

if Robertson doesn't get picked the entire NHL is insane

BearLover
I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but…turns out having five draft picks in your freshman class (maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year) is a good thing. And, in another one of BearLover’s Classic Takes, the conference being weak this year helped us too…to win a championship, the teams we had to beat were ranked 50th, 29th, and 43rd in the PWR…

Ah, but the fact that the conference was so weak was the very reason why we *HAD* to win the championship. We basically had to run the table, even WITH an unbeaten OOC record in order to grab an at-large bid. We didn't, but came close. Meanwhile, UMass got one because they were in a strong league, despite having a poor record vs. top 15. That we avoided playing the top team in our league was pretty fortunate.

RichH

BearLover
I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but…turns out having five draft picks in your freshman class (maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year) is a good thing. And, in another one of BearLover’s Classic Takes, the conference being weak this year helped us too…to win a championship, the teams we had to beat were ranked 50th, 29th, and 43rd in the PWR…

Ah, but the fact that the conference was so weak was the very reason why we *HAD* to win the championship. We basically had to run the table, even WITH an unbeaten OOC record in order to grab an at-large bid. We didn't, but came close. Meanwhile, UMass got one because they were in a strong league, despite having a poor record vs. top 15. That we avoided playing the top team in our league was pretty fortunate.

No. The pairwise accounts for strength of schedule. If our conference were better, our SOS would be higher but our win percentage would be worse. You can’t assume a world where our conference is better but we win just as many games.

Anyway, I was just talking about the championship, not the at-large bid. It was certainly lucky we avoided playing the best team in the conference—but when the league sucks except for one other team, it’s much more likely for something like that to happen (in part because we didn’t have to meet them until the final, due to us finishing higher than all the other teams, which wasn’t that hard, because the conference stunk).

BearLover

RichH

BearLover
I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but…turns out having five draft picks in your freshman class (maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year) is a good thing. And, in another one of BearLover’s Classic Takes, the conference being weak this year helped us too…to win a championship, the teams we had to beat were ranked 50th, 29th, and 43rd in the PWR…

Ah, but the fact that the conference was so weak was the very reason why we *HAD* to win the championship. We basically had to run the table, even WITH an unbeaten OOC record in order to grab an at-large bid. We didn't, but came close. Meanwhile, UMass got one because they were in a strong league, despite having a poor record vs. top 15. That we avoided playing the top team in our league was pretty fortunate.

No. The pairwise accounts for strength of schedule. If our conference were better, our SOS would be higher but our win percentage would be worse. You can’t assume a world where our conference is better but we win just as many games.

The difference between being in the two conferences is the "bad night" effect. If UMass plays Maine and they have a bad night they lose, and if they have a good night, they probably still lose, but they gain by having a higher SOS. If Cornell plays Colgate and they have a bad night and they lose to a team they would normally beat, they take a hit with the loss and a hit with SOS.

The win percentage/SOS balance only works when there's consistency in play throughout the season. The guys are still maturing. They will, individually and as a team, have bad nights. It's better to have bad nights in Hockey East than in the ECAC.

pjd8

BearLover

RichH

BearLover
I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but…turns out having five draft picks in your freshman class (maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year) is a good thing. And, in another one of BearLover’s Classic Takes, the conference being weak this year helped us too…to win a championship, the teams we had to beat were ranked 50th, 29th, and 43rd in the PWR…

Ah, but the fact that the conference was so weak was the very reason why we *HAD* to win the championship. We basically had to run the table, even WITH an unbeaten OOC record in order to grab an at-large bid. We didn't, but came close. Meanwhile, UMass got one because they were in a strong league, despite having a poor record vs. top 15. That we avoided playing the top team in our league was pretty fortunate.

No. The pairwise accounts for strength of schedule. If our conference were better, our SOS would be higher but our win percentage would be worse. You can’t assume a world where our conference is better but we win just as many games.

The difference between being in the two conferences is the "bad night" effect. If UMass plays Maine and they have a bad night they lose, and if they have a good night, they probably still lose, but they gain by having a higher SOS. If Cornell plays Colgate and they have a bad night and they lose to a team they would normally beat, they take a hit with the loss and a hit with SOS.

The win percentage/SOS balance only works when there's consistency in play throughout the season. The guys are still maturing. They will, individually and as a team, have bad nights. It's better to have bad nights in Hockey East than in the ECAC.

I dunno. I’m not really sure this makes sense or actually works this way in practice. All I know is that, if you need to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAAs, as we did this year, you better hope your league isn’t good. The rest of the good league/bad league imbalance should largely be washed away by the Pairwise.

We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

^^This^^

Jeff Hopkins '82

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

^^This^^

nope. it's the other way around. let's get cause and effect in proper order. Which is to say that bearlover's good takes arrive highly correlated with full eclipses. I actually agree with him.

-cause: We punted 6 games.

-Effect: therefore had to win conference to get to the tournament

Therefore, bearlover is correct in saying:

bearlover
All I know is that, if you need to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAAs, as we did this year, you better hope your league isn’t good.

because the worse your league on the whole, the better your chances are of winning the league tourny.

p.s. Also agree with bearlover that draft picks matter, harvard's horrid start this year notwithstanding. ( i think that I gave him my semi-annual stamp of approval at least in part when he posted about Harvard's picks before the season)

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

The horrid game at Princeton comes to mind. No doubt the PWR would've been higher without that loss

abmarks

Jeff Hopkins '82

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

^^This^^

nope. it's the other way around. let's get cause and effect in proper order. Which is to say that bearlover's good takes arrive highly correlated with full eclipses. I actually agree with him.

-cause: We punted 6 games.

-Effect: therefore had to win conference to get to the tournament

Therefore, bearlover is correct in saying:

bearlover
All I know is that, if you need to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAAs, as we did this year, you better hope your league isn’t good.

because the worse your league on the whole, the better your chances are of winning the league tourny.

p.s. Also agree with bearlover that draft picks matter, harvard's horrid start this year notwithstanding. ( i think that I gave him my semi-annual stamp of approval at least in part when he posted about Harvard's picks before the season)

There are more than a few posters on this website who hang on my every word. Some are fans, some are haters. But abmarks stands out as more obsessed than all the rest.

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

But UMass also “blew” about the same number of games. The difference is that they get a SOS bump due to having a stronger league schedule that forgives those blips more when we’re looking at the 3rd & 4th decimal place of RPI. These aren’t 80 game seasons that can truly iron out the differences.

umass is a big one in itself. that being a win moves us up enough. But we had 2 goals leads twice vs ASU we let get away.

Everyone has wins and losses that change the PWR. In the long run we only have control over what we did.

If the discussion is about how weak the league is, then not winning those games that flip the power hurt even more,

Just don't lose the Clarkson game and PWR would have been enough. Coming back for STL the next night helped

I'm just going to consider it encouraging that our losses were almost all games that we could have / should have won.

This discussion is demoralizing.

You can't say "if we didn't blow that one easy game." We are what our record says we are. Full stop. You can hypothesize about future events and non-happening (i.e., "hypothetical" ) events, but you can't rewrite history -- the actuals must be a given, or then we have no reason to privilege one coulda shoulda from one or more in the opposite direction.

And you all should know that.

pjd8

BearLover

RichH

BearLover
I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but…turns out having five draft picks in your freshman class (maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year) is a good thing. And, in another one of BearLover’s Classic Takes, the conference being weak this year helped us too…to win a championship, the teams we had to beat were ranked 50th, 29th, and 43rd in the PWR…

Ah, but the fact that the conference was so weak was the very reason why we *HAD* to win the championship. We basically had to run the table, even WITH an unbeaten OOC record in order to grab an at-large bid. We didn't, but came close. Meanwhile, UMass got one because they were in a strong league, despite having a poor record vs. top 15. That we avoided playing the top team in our league was pretty fortunate.

No. The pairwise accounts for strength of schedule. If our conference were better, our SOS would be higher but our win percentage would be worse. You can’t assume a world where our conference is better but we win just as many games.

The difference between being in the two conferences is the "bad night" effect. If UMass plays Maine and they have a bad night they lose, and if they have a good night, they probably still lose, but they gain by having a higher SOS. If Cornell plays Colgate and they have a bad night and they lose to a team they would normally beat, they take a hit with the loss and a hit with SOS.

The win percentage/SOS balance only works when there's consistency in play throughout the season. The guys are still maturing. They will, individually and as a team, have bad nights. It's better to have bad nights in Hockey East than in the ECAC.

This is pretty spot on. When the league is weak you have to win every game which is tough when your team is so young. Tougher league is more forgiving of a few extra losses as long as you’re not getting blown out.

Pghas

pjd8

BearLover

RichH

BearLover
I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but…turns out having five draft picks in your freshman class (maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year) is a good thing. And, in another one of BearLover’s Classic Takes, the conference being weak this year helped us too…to win a championship, the teams we had to beat were ranked 50th, 29th, and 43rd in the PWR…

Ah, but the fact that the conference was so weak was the very reason why we *HAD* to win the championship. We basically had to run the table, even WITH an unbeaten OOC record in order to grab an at-large bid. We didn't, but came close. Meanwhile, UMass got one because they were in a strong league, despite having a poor record vs. top 15. That we avoided playing the top team in our league was pretty fortunate.

No. The pairwise accounts for strength of schedule. If our conference were better, our SOS would be higher but our win percentage would be worse. You can’t assume a world where our conference is better but we win just as many games.

The difference between being in the two conferences is the "bad night" effect. If UMass plays Maine and they have a bad night they lose, and if they have a good night, they probably still lose, but they gain by having a higher SOS. If Cornell plays Colgate and they have a bad night and they lose to a team they would normally beat, they take a hit with the loss and a hit with SOS.

The win percentage/SOS balance only works when there's consistency in play throughout the season. The guys are still maturing. They will, individually and as a team, have bad nights. It's better to have bad nights in Hockey East than in the ECAC.

This is pretty spot on. When the league is weak you have to win every game which is tough when your team is so young. Tougher league is more forgiving of a few extra losses as long as you’re not getting blown out.

I think you guys are reaching for a justification (worse league=more punishment for off nights) for a pre-existing belief (we would be better off if the ECAC were better). Couldn’t you just as easily say that, when your opponent is weak, you have more room for error, and you could still win when some of your freshmen have an off night? Couldn’t you say that, for purposes of building freshmen confidence, it’s a lot harder when you’re going up against players like Celebrini/Gauthier every night?

At the end of the day, there are all sorts of reasons one could come up with for why Cornell would end up with a better or worse PWR if it were in a harder league. I don’t find these reasons convincing, tbh. If we’re being subjective, though, we should ask ourselves: do we truly feel, if Cornell were in Hockey East/the Big 10/the NCHC, that we would have gotten an at-large bid this year? I have a very difficult time believing that…

BearLover

Pghas

pjd8

BearLover

RichH

BearLover
I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but…turns out having five draft picks in your freshman class (maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year) is a good thing. And, in another one of BearLover’s Classic Takes, the conference being weak this year helped us too…to win a championship, the teams we had to beat were ranked 50th, 29th, and 43rd in the PWR…

Ah, but the fact that the conference was so weak was the very reason why we *HAD* to win the championship. We basically had to run the table, even WITH an unbeaten OOC record in order to grab an at-large bid. We didn't, but came close. Meanwhile, UMass got one because they were in a strong league, despite having a poor record vs. top 15. That we avoided playing the top team in our league was pretty fortunate.

No. The pairwise accounts for strength of schedule. If our conference were better, our SOS would be higher but our win percentage would be worse. You can’t assume a world where our conference is better but we win just as many games.

The difference between being in the two conferences is the "bad night" effect. If UMass plays Maine and they have a bad night they lose, and if they have a good night, they probably still lose, but they gain by having a higher SOS. If Cornell plays Colgate and they have a bad night and they lose to a team they would normally beat, they take a hit with the loss and a hit with SOS.

The win percentage/SOS balance only works when there's consistency in play throughout the season. The guys are still maturing. They will, individually and as a team, have bad nights. It's better to have bad nights in Hockey East than in the ECAC.

This is pretty spot on. When the league is weak you have to win every game which is tough when your team is so young. Tougher league is more forgiving of a few extra losses as long as you’re not getting blown out.

I think you guys are reaching for a justification (worse league=more punishment for off nights) for a pre-existing belief (we would be better off if the ECAC were better). Couldn’t you just as easily say that, when your opponent is weak, you have more room for error, and you could still win when some of your freshmen have an off night? Couldn’t you say that, for purposes of building freshmen confidence, it’s a lot harder when you’re going up against players like Celebrini/Gauthier every night?

At the end of the day, there are all sorts of reasons one could come up with for why Cornell would end up with a better or worse PWR if it were in a harder league. I don’t find these reasons convincing, tbh. If we’re being subjective, though, we should ask ourselves: do we truly feel, if Cornell were in Hockey East/the Big 10/the NCHC, that we would have gotten an at-large bid this year? I have a very difficult time believing that…

If you accept the premise that RPI is an accurate reflection of team quality, then I'll say yes based on where our RPI wound up.

Cornell would be better prepared for tomorrow night's game if we had played a Hockey East schedule this year. Four HEA teams made the NCAAs this year. Had Q won the ECACs, there would have been one ECAC team, and it wouldn't have been Cornell, despite a twenty win season. I don't buy your self-serving logic, BearLover, one bit.

Winning the ECACs was much more satisfying when Cornell had to beat Fred Bassi and the BU pinball line, or BC's Cunniff/Dyer/Mullin line or Harvard's Corkery/Hynes/McManama line, then beating Dartmouth and SLU no-names. And Cornell's teams were stronger as a result entering the NCAAs.

Tell me again how Yale's championship, or Union's, resulted in a dynasty. I need s good laugh.

BearLover

Pghas

pjd8

BearLover

RichH

BearLover
I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but…turns out having five draft picks in your freshman class (maybe six, if Robertson gets picked this year) is a good thing. And, in another one of BearLover’s Classic Takes, the conference being weak this year helped us too…to win a championship, the teams we had to beat were ranked 50th, 29th, and 43rd in the PWR…

Ah, but the fact that the conference was so weak was the very reason why we *HAD* to win the championship. We basically had to run the table, even WITH an unbeaten OOC record in order to grab an at-large bid. We didn't, but came close. Meanwhile, UMass got one because they were in a strong league, despite having a poor record vs. top 15. That we avoided playing the top team in our league was pretty fortunate.

No. The pairwise accounts for strength of schedule. If our conference were better, our SOS would be higher but our win percentage would be worse. You can’t assume a world where our conference is better but we win just as many games.

The difference between being in the two conferences is the "bad night" effect. If UMass plays Maine and they have a bad night they lose, and if they have a good night, they probably still lose, but they gain by having a higher SOS. If Cornell plays Colgate and they have a bad night and they lose to a team they would normally beat, they take a hit with the loss and a hit with SOS.

The win percentage/SOS balance only works when there's consistency in play throughout the season. The guys are still maturing. They will, individually and as a team, have bad nights. It's better to have bad nights in Hockey East than in the ECAC.

This is pretty spot on. When the league is weak you have to win every game which is tough when your team is so young. Tougher league is more forgiving of a few extra losses as long as you’re not getting blown out.

I think you guys are reaching for a justification (worse league=more punishment for off nights) for a pre-existing belief (we would be better off if the ECAC were better). Couldn’t you just as easily say that, when your opponent is weak, you have more room for error, and you could still win when some of your freshmen have an off night? Couldn’t you say that, for purposes of building freshmen confidence, it’s a lot harder when you’re going up against players like Celebrini/Gauthier every night?

At the end of the day, there are all sorts of reasons one could come up with for why Cornell would end up with a better or worse PWR if it were in a harder league. I don’t find these reasons convincing, tbh. If we’re being subjective, though, we should ask ourselves: do we truly feel, if Cornell were in Hockey East/the Big 10/the NCHC, that we would have gotten an at-large bid this year? I have a very difficult time believing that…

Having a belief “pre-existing” or otherwise is formed based on experience and observation, not some conjured up thing implanted at birth. Laying out these arguments aren’t “justification” but…arguments of a position. That’s how debate works.

Your pre-existing belief argument notwithstanding, Cornell has demonstrated that we can compete and win vs top teams. Put us in a tough league and this team would come out with more quality wins than we would in a weaker league, which helps with selection criteria.

We had 1 loss in 7 games vs top-20 teams. I’m optimistic about how we would have fared in a tough league. The experience would also prepare us better for the national tournament. I continue to pull for the ECAC not to be seen as full of cupcakes.

Al DeFlorio
Cornell would be better prepared for tomorrow night's game if we had played a Hockey East schedule this year. Four HEA teams made the NCAAs this year. Had Q won the ECACs, there would have been one ECAC team, and it wouldn't have been Cornell, despite a twenty win season. I don't buy your self-serving logic, BearLover, one bit.

Winning the ECACs was much more satisfying when Cornell had to beat Fred Bassi and the BU pinball line, or BC's Cunniff/Dyer/Mullin line or Harvard's Corkery/Hynes/McManama line, then beating Dartmouth and SLU no-names. And Cornell's teams were stronger as a result entering the NCAAs.

Tell me again how Yale's championship, or Union's, resulted in a dynasty. I need s good laugh.

It’s your call if you didn’t enjoy our championship last weekend as much as you’d have liked. I personally was over the moon. Would it have been *even better* had we beaten two great teams in Lake Placid to do it? I guess, but only by a tiny bit. At the end of the day, after all it had been through the past few seasons, I knew Schafer and Cornell deserved a championship, and I didn’t care how we got it. I don’t really care that the refs may have missed a tripping penalty by Penney with a minute to go, or that Bancroft may have iced the puck on the O’Leary empty-netter, or (most importantly) that we didn’t have to go through Quinnipiac. In a dark and twisted way, I actually LIKE these things, because of all the shitty stuff outside of its control Cornell hockey has had to endure the past few years. It felt like the universe balancing itself out.

You can argue all you want about whether a better or worse ECAC benefits Cornell overall. My point about a weak ECAC helping us this season is limited to a very narrow scope: if you need to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAAs (or if you just want to win a championship), as was the case for Cornell, and ten other teams in our league, you are much better off if your league is bad. This point isn’t debatable, it’s just a fact.

abmarks

Jeff Hopkins '82

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

^^This^^

nope. it's the other way around. let's get cause and effect in proper order. Which is to say that bearlover's good takes arrive highly correlated with full eclipses. I actually agree with him.

-cause: We punted 6 games.

-Effect: therefore had to win conference to get to the tournament

Therefore, bearlover is correct in saying:

bearlover
All I know is that, if you need to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAAs, as we did this year, you better hope your league isn’t good.

because the worse your league on the whole, the better your chances are of winning the league tourny.

p.s. Also agree with bearlover that draft picks matter, harvard's horrid start this year notwithstanding. ( i think that I gave him my semi-annual stamp of approval at least in part when he posted about Harvard's picks before the season)

But the results this year demonstrate that COACHING >> # OF PICKS in determining outcomes.

Swampy

abmarks

Jeff Hopkins '82

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

^^This^^

nope. it's the other way around. let's get cause and effect in proper order. Which is to say that bearlover's good takes arrive highly correlated with full eclipses. I actually agree with him.

-cause: We punted 6 games.

-Effect: therefore had to win conference to get to the tournament

Therefore, bearlover is correct in saying:

bearlover
All I know is that, if you need to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAAs, as we did this year, you better hope your league isn’t good.

because the worse your league on the whole, the better your chances are of winning the league tourny.

p.s. Also agree with bearlover that draft picks matter, harvard's horrid start this year notwithstanding. ( i think that I gave him my semi-annual stamp of approval at least in part when he posted about Harvard's picks before the season)

But the results this year demonstrate that COACHING >> # OF PICKS in determining outcomes.

PWR (number of draft picks), teams who would have received an at-large bid:
1. BC (14)
2. BU (14)
3. Denver (12)
4. MSU (6)
5. Maine (1)
6. Nodak (11)
7. Minnesota (13)
8. Wisco (13)
9. Quinnipiac (3)
10. UMich (11)
11. Omaha (5)
12. Cornell (6)
13. Western Mich (6)
14. UMass (13)

The above list does not include players like Macklin Celebrini who will be taken in this year’s draft.

BearLover

Swampy

abmarks

Jeff Hopkins '82

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

^^This^^

nope. it's the other way around. let's get cause and effect in proper order. Which is to say that bearlover's good takes arrive highly correlated with full eclipses. I actually agree with him.

-cause: We punted 6 games.

-Effect: therefore had to win conference to get to the tournament

Therefore, bearlover is correct in saying:

bearlover
All I know is that, if you need to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAAs, as we did this year, you better hope your league isn’t good.

because the worse your league on the whole, the better your chances are of winning the league tourny.

p.s. Also agree with bearlover that draft picks matter, harvard's horrid start this year notwithstanding. ( i think that I gave him my semi-annual stamp of approval at least in part when he posted about Harvard's picks before the season)

But the results this year demonstrate that COACHING >> # OF PICKS in determining outcomes.

PWR (number of draft picks), teams who would have received an at-large bid:
1. BC (14)
2. BU (14)
3. Denver (12)
4. MSU (6)
5. Maine (1)
6. Nodak (11)
7. Minnesota (13)
8. Wisco (13)
9. Quinnipiac (3)
10. UMich (11)
11. Omaha (5)
12. Cornell (6)
13. Western Mich (6)
14. UMass (13)

The above list does not include players like Macklin Celebrini who will be taken in this year’s draft.

Maine and, to a lesser extent, QPAC are the outliers. Supports the idea that Ben Barr is a heckuva coach.

scoop85

BearLover

Swampy

abmarks

Jeff Hopkins '82

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

^^This^^

nope. it's the other way around. let's get cause and effect in proper order. Which is to say that bearlover's good takes arrive highly correlated with full eclipses. I actually agree with him.

-cause: We punted 6 games.

-Effect: therefore had to win conference to get to the tournament

Therefore, bearlover is correct in saying:

bearlover
All I know is that, if you need to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAAs, as we did this year, you better hope your league isn’t good.

because the worse your league on the whole, the better your chances are of winning the league tourny.

p.s. Also agree with bearlover that draft picks matter, harvard's horrid start this year notwithstanding. ( i think that I gave him my semi-annual stamp of approval at least in part when he posted about Harvard's picks before the season)

But the results this year demonstrate that COACHING >> # OF PICKS in determining outcomes.

PWR (number of draft picks), teams who would have received an at-large bid:
1. BC (14)
2. BU (14)
3. Denver (12)
4. MSU (6)
5. Maine (1)
6. Nodak (11)
7. Minnesota (13)
8. Wisco (13)
9. Quinnipiac (3)
10. UMich (11)
11. Omaha (5)
12. Cornell (6)
13. Western Mich (6)
14. UMass (13)

The above list does not include players like Macklin Celebrini who will be taken in this year’s draft.

Maine and, to a lesser extent, QPAC are the outliers. Supports the idea that Ben Barr is a heckuva coach.

And he wanted to go to RPI, and we chose Smith instead.

5th yr and grad students can make up for draft picks.

BearLover

Swampy

abmarks

Jeff Hopkins '82

upprdeck
We didn't need to win the conf title to get in with PWR if we don't blow any one of about 6 other games,

^^This^^

nope. it's the other way around. let's get cause and effect in proper order. Which is to say that bearlover's good takes arrive highly correlated with full eclipses. I actually agree with him.

-cause: We punted 6 games.

-Effect: therefore had to win conference to get to the tournament

Therefore, bearlover is correct in saying:

bearlover
All I know is that, if you need to win your conference tournament to get into the NCAAs, as we did this year, you better hope your league isn’t good.

because the worse your league on the whole, the better your chances are of winning the league tourny.

p.s. Also agree with bearlover that draft picks matter, harvard's horrid start this year notwithstanding. ( i think that I gave him my semi-annual stamp of approval at least in part when he posted about Harvard's picks before the season)

But the results this year demonstrate that COACHING >> # OF PICKS in determining outcomes.

PWR (number of draft picks), teams who would have received an at-large bid:
1. BC (14)
2. BU (14)
3. Denver (12)
4. MSU (6)
5. Maine (1)
6. Nodak (11)
7. Minnesota (13)
8. Wisco (13)
9. Quinnipiac (3)
10. UMich (11)
11. Omaha (5)
12. Cornell (6)
13. Western Mich (6)
14. UMass (13)

The above list does not include players like Macklin Celebrini and Ben Robertson who will be taken in this year’s draft.

FYP, if there's at least one smart team.

If the hockey gods came to me with an offer to make the ECAC mediocre for all eternity, I think I would accept. Take this year for example:
—great shot at another piece of hardware (ECAC championship) and automatic bid
—no signs whatsoever that a weak ECAC impeded our ability to play with the best (we played two of our best games of the season in the NCAAs against the #5 and #3 teams in the country)
—don’t have to worry about our nemeses winning national titles before we do (let’s pray Q doesn’t repeat)

This post is tongue-in-cheek but I really do think a weak ECAC was good for us this year. Just as it was in 2003…

With no more games to focus on here’s a late season update for our listed recruits. We have plenty of talent in the pipeline:

• Erick Roest, G, Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL) -- 31 GP, 2.78 GAG, .907 save pct.; (BCHL) 17 GP, 3.19 GAG, 9.11 save pct.
• Alex Pelletier, LW, Avon Old Farms Prep -- 27 GP, 17 G, 23 A; listed by New England Hockey Journal as one of the top prep players in 23-24
• Cole Tuminaro, D, Sioux City (USHL) -- 41 GP, 1 G, 5 A; a regular in the USHL as a 17-year-old
• Aiden Long -- LW, Madison (USHL) -- 52 GP, 7 G, 12 A
• Giovanni DiGiulian -- C, Kent School Prep -- 26 GP, 25 G, 24 A; New England Hockey Journal wrote recently: “DiGiulian entered this season a Cornell commit on NHL Central Scouting’s list. He finished this season a Cornell commit who should be drafted. The South Burlington, Vt., native scored 25 goals and 49 points. Two of those goals came in the Large School final against Dexter Southfield. He proved himself to be impactful no matter the stakes, but he really elevated in the big moments”
• Connor Arsenault -- C, St. Andrews Prep -- 53 GP, 32 G, 28 A
• Hudson Gorski -- D, Chicago (USHL) -- 54 GP, 2 G, 5 A; not big numbers as a defenseman, but I saw a clip of one of his two goals where he made a great move in the slot and scored on a great shot
• Michael Sandruck -- RW, Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL) -- 24 GP, 8 G, 6 A; previously, Bishop Kearney Selects 18U AAA -- 34 GP, 19 G, 24 A
• Nicholas Wolfenberg -- D, Okotoks (AHJL) -- 36 GP, 6 G, 18 A; Salmon Arm (BCHL) — 14 GP, 0 G, 5 A
• Charlie Major -- C, Chicago (USHL) -- 58 GP, 30 G, 38 A
• Donovan Hamilton -- D, Cedar Rapids (USHL) -- 39 GP, 1 G, 2 A
• Justin Katz -- G, West Kelowna (BCHL) 7 GP, 3.11 GAA, .891 save pct.; Powell River (BCHL) — 10 GP, 3.26 GAG, 9.08 save pct.
• Chase Pirtle -- RW, Victoria (BCHL) -- 53 GP, 24 G, 24 A
• Michael Dec -- C, St. Andrews Prep -- 50 GP, 22 G, 26 A
  Henry Major — F, Bishop Kearney Selects U16 AAA — 58 GP, 49 G, 57 A; U16 AAA, 1 GP, 1 G, 0 A
  Parker Murray — F, Penticton (BCHL) — 7 GP, 1 G, 4 A; Chilliwack (BCHL) — 30 GP, 9 G, 11 A

Tyler Wishart is no longer listed by Heisenberg as a Cornell recruit so I removed him from the list

It appears both Katz and Roest will be matriculating in the fall, so unless Koepple departs it seems we’ll have 4 goalies on the roster. Katz was injured for quite some time, then got traded to Powell River, a last place team, and is facing lots of rubber. His save percentage has gone up since the trade. Since Roest’s team moved into the BCHL, his GAG has gone up, but so has his save percentage. Both guys seem capable of becoming solid D1 goaltenders.

I assume forwards Pirtle, Charlie Major, and Murray will all be coming in the fall, and each of them look like they can contribute. Major especially has had a monster 2nd half of the season for the Steel. Given what we expect to have coming back, the competition for playing time will be fierce. Considering a guy like Sean Donaldson, who was a finalist for the BCHL MVP award, can hardly crack the lineup, it says volumes about the depth of talent Schafer has accumulated.

On defense I assume Wolfenberg is likely the only one coming in the fall. He seems like a solid prospect, but with the entire D corps scheduled back, it will also be hard for him to crack the lineup.

With the talent on the roster and what we have on the horizon, no reason we shouldn’t remain a league and national contender for the foreseeable future.

Not to be a downer, and of course I hope it doesn’t happen, but I could imagine a world where guys like Mosko and Donaldson enter the transfer portal, knowing that if they didn’t get much time this year the same will likely be true next season. This wouldn’t be too much of a problem as I believe they were the only guys to play and not get points for us this year but I still hope they stay. Same goes for Keopple between the pipes. I really can’t imagine Shane leaving so I’m not gonna worry myself thinking about that unless I hear otherwise.

I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

I’m curious if we see any Cornell players enter the transfer portal. Competition for playing time next year is going to be fierce. At forward, we subtract Seger and add three freshmen, all of whom seem capable of cracking the lineup, with Major and perhaps Pirtle being very likely good enough to play right away. I wonder if Pirtle goes to the USHL for a year, just because of the playing time issue. Remember, next year we also get back Kovich, who missed almost this entire season with an injury. (With that said, we had very few injuries this year, so we may need depth more next season than we did this year.)

Similarly, at D, we lose nobody and have 6 shoe-ins to play next season who are already on the team. Wolfenberg was a highly regarded recruit but seems to have gotten injured this season. He and Mosko may need to wait for Suda/Rego/Kempf to graduate before seeing regular playing time. (However, we have a bunch more defensemen in the pipeline, so even then…)

Part of the nonsense regarding the fifth year eligibility was that it inflated roster size and made playing time difficult for new recruits. With Penney/O’Leary/Rego all returning, Cornell is finally experiencing some of this. I guess we will see how loyal players like Keopple and Donaldson are to the program. Both of these players on paper should (and maybe ultimately will) get playing time. But the immediate future looks very difficult.

As far as draft picks are concerned, seems the only recruit with a legitimate shot of being drafted is DiGiulian. However, the Cornell player most likely to be drafted may already be on the team (Ben Robertson).

If it's possible to hold guys for another year of USHL seasoning, now would be when to do it.

17 Forwards and 11 Defenseman fighting for 12 / 6 / +1 slots, respectively, is 9 guys sitting, not including 3 goalies not named Ian Shane.

Since all 14 returning F seem to be keepers, I wonder if we will see one or more drop back? I could see Wallace on the blue line.

If Rayhill has been a healthy scratch for 3 years I guess he will be pursuing a fine career in sports journalism. I don't know if Steele was hurt this season. O'Brien is the next obvious guy on the bubble. Then you get to Kovich and Donaldson and, wow, I guess it's a good problem to have when guys of that caliber are your perma-bench.

This is of course ignoring defections, but also portal raids like Seger. Are there any faceoff specialists or snipers on bad NCHC / HE teams who would like to be the final piece of an F4 team? That's our world, now, and you know Rand will be backing up the truck.

Um, of academics. The truck of academics. Yeah.

scoop85
With no more games to focus on here’s a late season update for our listed recruits. We have plenty of talent in the pipeline:

I have never seen us line up the talent at center that we seem to have and are bringing in. I have to assume some of those guys are going to be converted to wing, but my god.

Trotsky
If it's possible to hold guys for another year of USCHO seasoning, now would be when to do it.

17 Forwards and 11 Defenseman fighting for 12 / 6 / +1 slots, respectively, is 9 guys sitting, not including 3 goalies not named Ian Shane.

Since all 14 returning F seem to be keepers, I wonder if we will see one or more drop back? I could see Wallace on the blue line.

If Rayhill has been a healthy scratch for 3 years I guess he will be pursuing a fine career in sports journalism. I don't know if Steele was hurt this season. O'Brien is the next obvious guy on the bubble. Then you get to Kovich and Donaldson and, wow, I guess it's a good problem to have when guys of that caliber are your perma-bench.

This is of course ignoring defections, but also portal raids like Seger. Are there any faceoff specialists or snipers on bad NCHC / HE teams who would like to be the final piece of an F4 team? That's our world, now, and you know Rand will be backing up the truck.

Um, of academics. The truck of academics. Yeah.

No incoming transfers this year. I can assure you of that. There are no roster spots.

I guess Catalano may be pushed back to healthy scratches with the freshman class. He’s a good physical player but he’s not the game changing type that you feel like you need in the game.

BearLover
I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

I’m curious if we see any Cornell players enter the transfer portal. Competition for playing time next year is going to be fierce. At forward, we subtract Seger and add three freshmen, all of whom seem capable of cracking the lineup, with Major and perhaps Pirtle being very likely good enough to play right away. I wonder if Pirtle goes to the USHL for a year, just because of the playing time issue. Remember, next year we also get back Kovich, who missed almost this entire season with an injury. (With that said, we had very few injuries this year, so we may need depth more next season than we did this year.)

Similarly, at D, we lose nobody and have 6 shoe-ins to play next season who are already on the team. Wolfenberg was a highly regarded recruit but seems to have gotten injured this season. He and Mosko may need to wait for Suda/Rego/Kempf to graduate before seeing regular playing time. (However, we have a bunch more defensemen in the pipeline, so even then…)

Part of the nonsense regarding the fifth year eligibility was that it inflated roster size and made playing time difficult for new recruits. With Penney/O’Leary/Rego all returning, Cornell is finally experiencing some of this. I guess we will see how loyal players like Keopple and Donaldson are to the program. Both of these players on paper should (and maybe ultimately will) get playing time. But the immediate future looks very difficult.

As far as draft picks are concerned, seems the only recruit with a legitimate shot of being drafted is DiGiulian. However, the Cornell player most likely to be drafted may already be on the team (Ben Robertson).

Logically we’d want to hold a slew of these guys back, but I assume at least a few of them may be aging out of juniors (I don’t have time to look it up), so that may not be an option across the board.

"We aren't losing enough players to make room for impact freshmen" is a good problem to have, but it's still a problem.