This Week's Column Up

Along with last week's:
[www.elynah.com]

This week's:
[www.elynah.com]

3-0 at Union? Come on Ari, you're looking like a homer!

I had em losing at Harvard didn't I?

Yeah, but it's crazy because we lost 3-0 at Union last year. And I'm pretty sure you were sitting with me at that game! And the last time we won 3-0 on the road was at Yale in 2003. That's all I'm trying to say...homer

I kid, I kid!

uch, don't remind me about that game at Union last year.

The Topher Scott situation is interesting. Earlier in the season he appeared to be the best face-off guy on the team, and it seems we lose a lot in that regard playing him on a wing. He also doesn't have much size to work the corners like a Bâby or Hynes. We'll see how this sorts out, I suppose, over the next few weeks.

I may be wrong, but it struck me that Cook lost control of the puck a number of times playing the point on the power play, completely disrupting puck movement around the perimeter.

I'm pretty sure Pegoraro was moved to the wing last weekend when Scott was moved to that line in the absence of Cam Abbott. Regardless, Scott holds his own on the boards when he's there just because he battles so hard out there every shift. He really struggled on faceoffs against Harvard, both even strength and on the powerplay.
Against Maine when Cook was moved back to the first powerplay, he really seemed to be the missing link. He moved the puck really well and shot it better than he ever has.

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:

I'm pretty sure Pegoraro was moved to the wing last weekend when Scott was moved to that line in the absence of Cam Abbott. Regardless, Scott holds his own on the boards when he's there just because he battles so hard out there every shift. He really struggled on faceoffs against Harvard, both even strength and on the powerplay.
Against Maine when Cook was moved back to the first powerplay, he really seemed to be the missing link. He moved the puck really well and shot it better than he ever has.[/q]
Seemed to me Scott was on left wing while Pegoraro took face-offs. I kept asking whether Scott might have hurt a hand or something preventing him from drawing face-offs back.

Edit: Gametracker shows Scott at left wing with Pegoraro at center in both Brown and Harvard games.

[Q]calgARI Wrote:

uch, don't remind me about that game at Union last year.[/q]

Like how their only cheer was "Let's go U!". Which they never started themselves, but only yelled "U" over "Red" in our cheer. Or the guy with the mullet in front of all of us. Gah.

Good column as usual Ari. I'll defend your prediction in the Union game. Union is near the top of the ECAC, but only one of its 10 wins has come against a TUC in 9 tries! They've beat the cupcakes, but lose consistently to better competition. Their record at home is almost the same as on the road. I don't think they are as good as Brown, in spite of their spot in the standings. Upsets can happen, but we should be able to beat Union without too much trouble, as well as RPI.

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:

I had em losing at Harvard didn't I?[/q]

You did, but on a bunch of systems, whatever character goes after the score reads as question mark, so it was like Cornell 1 ? Harvard 2 ?

I didn't notice until late in the third period against harvard, but on 3 or 4 shifts that I watched, scott took 1 faceoff and pegoraro took the rest.

I think I proved with the picture that he isn't a guy...

Oh wait...

Scott was moved to wing as a domino in the line shift caused by Cam sitting out.

In many cases, freshmen who look good early then regress for a while -- if not in skills, then in results. Opposing coaches start to pay attention to them, they get a few college-level hits and need time to adjust, and the early game excitement gives way to routine. It's still early, but Pokulok and especially Sawada actually seem to be contributing more, and more obviously, each weekend. That's unusual.

That's fixed. MS Word loves to use non-ASCII characters like fancy quotes, every kind of dash except the right one, strange line breaks, etc. I obviously didn't get them all and since I use a web browser that's smarter than all of MS's programmers put together, I didn't notice the problem.

[Q]Greg Berge Wrote:

Scott was moved to wing as a domino in the line shift caused by Cam sitting out.
[/q]
Seems like that's the cause. Even with Bitz back against Princeton, Scott was at center with Iggulden at right wing. It may have to do with who can play left wing, where Cam normally is.

I, for one, am sure glad to have something else hockey-related to read outside of that pointless drivel that comes out on USCHO practically just before the puck drops every weekend.
And I'm probably just being an ass about it, but is anyone else tired of reading about 2 or 3 game "streaks" being "snapped"? Can their writers get any less creative?

[/bitchbitchbitch]

Sportswriting is the place where all good cliches come home to roost, especially when the writer gives 110 percent (see, there's one right there). When you've got nothing else to write about, snapping a two-game winning streak is better than nothingl

Perhaps not here but in the outside world, the worst sin of all is Microsoft's smart quotes that are terribly dumb when it comes to things like Class of '94. It always gets that wrong, assuming it to be an opening single quote when it's the opposite, and the way to fix it is to type Class of'94 and then go back and insert the space before the open quote. Sheesh.

Sometimes the smart quote glitch gets into print in a glossy magazine ad or on a billboard where the error stands nearly a foot tall.

A really conscientious Webmaster checks everything on Mac, PC, Linux, and then on several versions of the OS, using both nVidia and ATI graphics boards, at regular XGA as well as laptop resolutions such as 1400 x 1050 - and then never gets any sleep, and of course goes broke in the process. Technology is so wonderful when it works. <g>

[Q]billhoward Wrote:
A really conscientious Webmaster checks everything on Mac, PC, Linux, and then on several versions of the OS, using both nVidia and ATI graphics boards, at regular XGA as well as laptop resolutions such as 1400 x 1050 - and then never gets any sleep, and of course goes broke in the process. Technology is so wonderful when it works. <g> [/q]

Or you could just write something that conforms to the W3C specs, worry more about content than presentation, and let the web be the heterogeneous platform it was meant to be. But that's crazy talk.

Less is more. And safer.

You mean cast the universe so it doesn't revolve around Microsoft? Hah, that's a good one.

Think globally; act locally.

Scott should certainly be on 1st PP - even though he did not get it deep with the goalie pulled in FL and coughed the puck in the neutral zone where the BC nail was quickly put in the CU coffin. (Can't beleive it has not been mentioned here before).

But he is not a 1st line center. While center is an adjustment to Bitz' past role at CU - they provide a consistent even strength scoring threat when the big three are out there. Scott works best on PP and even strength should probably be centering Knop and Iggy.

When a physical statement is needed in a game - would anyone else like to see an Abbott-Abbott-Sawada line take the ice?? They all hit like its their job, do dirty work and and can put up offense to boot.

Chris Abbott and Pegoraro have probably been Cornell's most consistent forwards this season (Knoepfli maybe in there as well). Both have done extremely well in their roles and I doubt either's position will change.
It just seems like such a poor utilization of Bitz having him play center on an offensive line. He has a big frame, but particularly creative with the puck. I just don't see how he fits as offensive center when Scott, Pegoraro, and Chris Abbott are all creative, shifty centers. I understand the appeal of Bitz's size especially compared to those three centers, but he is not playing nearly to the level he is capable of and just looks uncomfortable out there. I really don't think he fits on the top line or on the point on the powerplay.

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:

It just seems like such a poor utilization of Bitz having him play center on an offensive line. He has a big frame, but particularly creative with the puck. [/q]

Agree...the "let's protect Moulson" is kind of silly because Hynes is paired with him and the creativity of Bitz can be found else where. I would rather see Topher put on that top line (can't see it happening though but what keeps him from being a first line center? Just saying it doesn't make it true, Harrier)...it would force a defenseman to cover Moulson...Topher is an absolute workhorse and you need someone flying around the ice to open up lines of sight to the goal (so Hynes can get a deflection or rebound) and Moulson (for his quick wrister) if those guys aren't grinding the boards.

But not getting the puck deep was a huge freshman mistake and Coach had to punish him for it--it's Cornell hockey 101 (it was mentioned in the game thread). Hopefully Topher has learned his lesson.

I'd personally like to see Pegoraro on a line with Moulson. Pegs makes some of the most creative passes I've seen from CU players but the recipient always seems so surprised that he doesn't know what to do with it; I think Moulson could finish some of those chances.

[Q]jtwcornell91 Wrote:
Or you could just write something that conforms to the W3C specs, worry more about content than presentation, and let the web be the heterogeneous platform it was meant to be. But that's crazy talk.[/q]

Bah. That open source stuff is communism, communism I say! Are you a communist John?

[Q]billhoward Wrote:

You mean cast the universe so it doesn't revolve around Microsoft? Hah, that's a good one. [/q]

So who the hell is that Sir Tim Berners Lee guy? And why'd he get knighted instead of Bill Gates?

[groups-beta.google.com]

[Q]Bah. That open source stuff is communism, communism I say! Are you a communist John?[/q]

[Further OT] Perhaps it would be better put, "Are you a communist, John?"

Remember Woody Allen got in trouble for trying to title "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" without the comma.

Speaking of open source and the like, there was quite a ruckus at the Telematics Update forum the day before the Consumer Electronics Show opened, where a couple speakers said the only way to move the dashboard forward quickly, affordably, and safely, is to use Java. Right now there's a lot of proprietary stuff that is expensive and takes forever to bring to market, Wind River is real popular, but Microsoft is up to 15 automakers who it has convinced to use Windows CE / Windows Automotive in the dash. [Insert your own "crash" joke here.] It has big project going with Fiat, and for those of us old enough to have owned Fiats, there's probably a wry one-liner about who can help whom more with reliability.