short-handed goals

how long has it been since Cornell has scored a short-handed goal?

march 9, 2002 in a 4-2 playoff home win against yale. goal scored by travis bell. the box score indicates that it was also an empty netter.
doug murray also scored the game winning shorthanded goal against yale the day before, in a 2-1 win

The odd thing about that weekend is we hadn't had one in (at least to me) a long while, and havent had once since, but we had 2 in one weekend.

Is this drought just bad luck, lack of scoring touch or the penalty killing system? I've got to imagine that it's the system that limits opportunities to score short handed, but I have no evidence to back this up.

Mike wrote:
doug murray also scored the game winning shorthanded goal against yale the day before, in a 2-1 win

That was a beautiful thing to watch, as Murray stole the puck from Chris Higgins at the point, shoved him aside, and took off down the ice to break a 1-1 tie late in the second. Probably the turning point for the entire weekend.

In past years, I might believe that lack of scoring touch might have something to do with it. However, this year, we have more scoring prowess than in past years (remember the Chief Albany Bear?).

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that it's our system that limits opportunities. Again, just my opinion.

[Q]Keith K '93 wrote:
Is this drought just bad luck, lack of scoring touch or the penalty killing system? I've got to imagine that it's the system that limits opportunities to score short handed, but I have no evidence to back this up.[/Q]
I'd chalk up the goose eggs to luck, but I think the other two factors have been at play in recent years. Cornell had three shorthanded goals in 1999-2000, 2 in 2000-01, 5 in 2001-02, and none since. 10 shorties in four and a half seasons is due to more than luck.

Many shorthanded goals come on breakaways, and I would guess Cornell scores on a lower percentage of breakaways than other teams. I believe an even bigger factor is that Cornell penalty killers don't skate out of the defensive zone before securing possession of the puck. Compare that to the Vermont penalty kill seven years ago; Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin often skated into center ice prematurely in order to be open for a home-run pass. That's a strategy that yields some shorthanded goals, but it also leaves the team vulnerable to allowing power-play goals.

It's partially the system...the forwards are taught not to over skate in the system. Also, they don't pressure the man with the puck to lose it, they pressure him to do something other than shoot. You'll notice that a lot of times, the pressure will come with one knee down to block the shot or with an angled stick in front of the puck to deflect it up into the net if the puck is shot..but we also don't really have much break out speed.

Edit: Craig, you barely beat me about over skating! Darn...



Post Edited (01-13-04 18:32)

It's the system more than anything. Guys like Vesce are just as capable as St. Louis or Perrin of getting out ahead of the PP defense and receiving a home run pass, but Schafer's motto has always been "defense first." Besides, it's not as if Cornell's lack of shorthanded goals is hurting them. The chances you have to take for a SHG just aren't worth it when you can kill off the penalty and then have Vesce et al go at the other team 5v5.

Bâby had a SHG against Quinnipiac in the first round of the NCAA on March 23, 2002. Making the game 6-0, at that point the game wasn't all that exciting, but Bâby scoring a SHG made it really entertaining.

If we didn't score a SHG last year (too lazy to check) that would be our most recent SHG.

This goes back a bit, but may be of interest. Dan Lodboa scored twice short-handed on the same Yale PP during a 19-1 win at Yale in the '67-68 season. Lodboa was playing left wing at the time, then moved to defense for his junior and senior seasons. He also had a short-handed goal in the third period of the '70 NCAA final, when he scored three in a row in the third (one PPG, one SHG, one even strength) to break open a 3-3 tie vs Clarkson.

Jeff Kahn '70 wrote:

He also had a short-handed goal in the third period of the '70 NCAA final, when he scored three in a row in the third (one PPG, one SHG, one even strength) to break open a 3-3 tie vs Clarkson.

Not only was it short-handed, it was two-men down.

[Q]when he scored three in a row in the third (one PPG, one SHG, one even strength) [/Q]

This would count as a "natural" hat trick, correct? Are there any other special hat trick types to account for the three kinds of goals?

Christine Quinn '94 wrote:
Are there any other special hat trick types to account for the three kinds of goals?

No, but we can start calling them Dan Lodboa Hat Tricks
And yes, 3 in a row is a natural.

[q]
I'd chalk up the goose eggs to luck, but I think the other two factors have been at play in recent years. Cornell had three shorthanded goals in 1999-2000, 2 in 2000-01, 5 in 2001-02, and none since. 10 shorties in four and a half seasons is due to more than luck.
[/q]

We had 3 in 00-01 and 5 in 01-02??? I probly forgot them, but is there a list anywhere?

I think it's mostly the system. SHGs are more of a rarity than anything else, and the odds are so low that pressing for them isnt worth the risk.

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