FIND SOME OFFENSE

FIND SOME OFFENSE CORNELL...YOUR OFFENSE IS A JOKE.

It's difficult to know what to make of this team right now. I continue to think that the Ivy schools are at a huge disadvantage early in the season (though 3 of their games have been against Ivies) and until January rolls around it can be tough to get a read.

What is known is that this team hasn't won a road game this year and hasn't won in its last 4 games. Good teams win on the road and good teams rarely go that long without a win. Good teams also convert on offensive opportunites, especially on the power play. As strong as the goaltending and PP kill unit has been you can't win 1-0 every night.

This team doesn't deserve to be ranked right now and it's digging a huge hole in league play. Both those things can be corrected, but they should be pissed at how they played these past two weekends. I would have felt very different if they could have stolen one of these games this weekend, but they didn't and Cornell is exactly what it is.

Cornell played their game this weekend; they just didn't quite finish up. The gorge-watch is not justified. Defensive teams don't have much room for error, and they shot themslves with the spate of penalties on Friday and then had some bad luck in a Saturday game which they completely dominated, and should have won, down the stretch.

Sure, they'll drop from the rankings now and that may help a little by taking some pressure off. Three games against weak opponents are coming up, all at home. Let's hold off on the suicide pact until we see what happens.

I believe most would think anything less than three wins in this next home sequence would be a big disappointment. I'm not sure what this will tell us about the team -- we'll see. I'm hoping a hyped-up Lynah crowd gives the team an opportunity to rebuild their confidence and work on some things offensively.

I agree it's early, but they've got to play better on the road. TBR are a fairly young team and these were 4 games against pretty good competition -- MSU has loads of talent, Vermont is hot (sucked at the beginning of the year), and Dartmouth's talented and a tough road game for CU. Cornell's got to learn to finish their opportunites, and I think they'll be a better road team as the season moves along. Of course, the good news is that they're playing much better at home this year than they did last season.

I just think a team's performance on the road reveals what a team really is. SU football is 9-3 at home the past 2 seasons. I think about that and I think that's a pretty good football team. Unfortunately, SU is also 2-8 on the road during that stretch with losses to Rutgers and Temple, among others. What that means for SU is no bowl games, lost revenue, declining attendance, and a coach who's probably looking for work after this year. Fortunately, Cornell hockey is not Syracuse football. It's just something to watch as the season progresses.

A spoonful of faithful helps the medicine go down...success'll come back.

Perspective, I hope
As I see it, we beat the teams we were supposed to beat, and quite handily I might add. We lost to or tied the better teams, and could have won any of those, all on the road. So where does that leave us? I'd say at or close to the top of our conference, and in the running for a ranked position. In fact, although I certainly haven't run the numbers , maybe we could get a NCAA bid without winning the ECAC. So, I'm quite happy and I hope you are as well. If we keep this up we could beat a better team or two (BC?) and be in great shape.

I can't imagine anyone, at the beginning of the season, looking at where we are now and not being content.

It's early and there's plenty of time to bounce back, but the team is not playing nearly well enough to get an at large NCAA bid if the season were to end today Cornell is only 26th in the still very volatile PWR [siouxsports.com].

There's no question scoring goals is the team's big challenge. Cornell hasn't given up more than two goals in any game this year, but only has a so-so 4-2-2 record. We have yet to score 3 goals in a game against a team with a winning record. Score at least 3 goals every game and the Big Red are 8-0. I know Schafer wants to have the best defensive team and isn't as concerned about offensive prowess, but there has to be some balance. Every game can't be won 2-0, 2-1 or 1-0. I would like to see the team strive to score at least one goal every period.