RPI 1 @ Cornell 1 11/19 Postgame

[Q]Al DeFlorio Wrote:

Despite all the shots, I don't think Cornell had that many quality chances either night. We're good at digging the puck out of the corners but there never seems to be anyone open in the slot or top of a circle to pass it to. I almost can't remember an odd-man rush tonight, yet there were many at Harvard. It's all very strange to me. [/q]

[Q]Trotsky Wrote:
They did everything right all weekend, completely dominating both opponents, except they couldn't finish. The bus is fine, it just needs more gas.[/q]

These are the two people on this forum I most agree with here in this situation.

Thinking about what I saw on the video feed (save for the half hour when the CSTV satellite went around to the dark side of the moon and we lost transmission), Cornell didn't have very many grade-A scoring chances. Mayotte and Lange both were very solid in net; they played well, but I don't remember them diving all over the place, throwing the legs up in the air at the last second, diving across the crease to bat the puck out of midair, somehow getting their facemask in front of a Bâby shot labelled for the top corner...ahem. They were solid, but at no point were they spectacular...no way would I say either of them "stood on their head." Probably the only spectacular stop that I've seen this year was Daigneau's save on Pegs' shorthanded try at Harvard. We generated chances this weekend, but not many great chances. I refer to Al's statement above for the rest of my thoughts.

How do they fix it? That's up to them. I'm not an expert on hockey strategery, so I'll leave it up to the guys on the ice and in the coaches jackets. More creativity? Better transition game? Smarter passing? Hell if I know.

That said, Cornell certainly controlled play all weekend. It was a day-night difference than whatever team got off the bus in Hanover. Schafer was quoted in the RPI game write-up: "You play that way all year long, you’re going to have success." And this spins into the various posts of Trotsky both here and on USCHO. This team has talent, and there's a heck of a lot of time in this season to make hay. Most teams in history go through funks of one sort or another. Every team this year has had a bad loss. Just this weekend, MSU lost to WMU. UHN dropped one to UML. It happens. You can play "the sky is falling" all you want, but I'm betting that this team will have more than a few more wins in them before everything's done.

High expectations are a bitch sometimes. At least the team is figuring out that opponents aren't going to roll over for them this year. Success takes work, and I see it as a lucky thing that we still have a lot of work to take care of.

[Q]Doug '08 Wrote:

I thought the fans in D/E/F were terrible last night- not following the game and were clearly more interested in what is going AFTER the game. At least there is intensity in A/B.[/q]

You must have been around different fans than me. Everyone around me was paying attention to the game. We lead a ton of LGR cheers, a couple of "you're not a sieve" cheers and we sustained a high volume level for most of the game. I could barely hear A and B for most of the game.

D/E/F/G had great cheering intensity.

Then, they all left right as the overtime buzzer went off. Was quite disappointing.

The fans sounded good on the audio feed, at least, as opposed to the Union game, in which boos were distinct, and deserving of a prompt bitchslap.

We need some fuckin leadership on this team! I wish a certain player reads this thread and lights a fire under himself. That is the only way other players will follow.

[Q]Leadership Wrote:

We need some fuckin leadership on this team! I wish a certain player reads this thread and lights a fire under himself. That is the only way other players will follow.[/q]

Players are not allowed to read this forum. Which is a good thing.

i'll second that. a bunch of cheers were started down on our end and lots of times people in B would just look at us for a few seconds before they decided that maybe cheering isn't such a bad thing after all

This team needs to start winning again so we can all stop fighting with each other. When arguments start over which section is cheering loudest you know the fustration is running high.

[Q]Leadership Wrote:

We need some fuckin leadership on this team! I wish a certain player reads this thread and lights a fire under himself. That is the only way other players will follow.[/q]

Uh huh. If you feel that way, just mosey on down to practice and tell them yourself. I'm sure they'll be very impressed.

The only good thing about losing is it sheds these morons.

As a section D ticket holder last year, and section B this year, I know that it ALWAYS seemed as if A and B were not loud enough. Those people in D,E,F need to stop and realize that A and B are pretty intense right now. You're criticizing of A and B is the same as if I told you that you are dysfunctional for not clapping correctly with the cowbell (I know it is very difficult to hear down by that end). I think A and B are doing well so far, especially since the team itself is not.

The only problem I see is that too many fans in B are getting down on the team and shouting directions. Here's a thought: Most of us do not know more about hockey than the players on the ice (I will be the first to say this after playing hockey for 13 years and watching "Hockey Night in Canada" every weekend). Saying, "Shoot it", "Come on", "Get it out", and even "ugh (said with disgust)" are not helpful. When the puck is lost in the players skates, believe me, he IS trying to find it. There were people around me who even said that the players gave up when this happened. LOL, I know these people would like to be good fans, but good fans do not get down on their team and say, "They're not even trying." We can talk about it after the game, but until you go out there and earn your spot on the team, don't tell them when to shoot. Shooting into a mass of 6+ players will probably result in the puck bouncing back out of the zone. Ok, i've been ranting for awhile now. Let's here some positive comments for the team next weekend (Ari, help those around you who I saw this past weekend; these veterans should definitely not be doing this). LGR!!!!

[Q]canuck89 Wrote:

Here's a thought: Most of us do not know more about hockey than the players on the ice (I will be the first to say this after playing hockey for 13 years and watching "Hockey Night in Canada" every weekend). Saying, "Shoot it", "Come on", "Get it out", and even "ugh (said with disgust)" are not helpful. LGR!!!![/q]

Thankyou, well put. LGR!

A lot of people in both A/B and D/E/F/G don't seem to realize that, despite the fact that Lynah can be a loud, intense place to play a game, it's hard to discern exactly what is being shouted/cheered in the other area. A/B will start a cheer, and D/E/F/G will take a bit to catch on because they just can't hear what exactly is being said, and vice versa. (Probably the only inexcusable exception to this is "Let's Go Red"; I just think that should catch on quickly every time no matter what.)

Hey, at least your side of the rink is mostly shouting/cheering something. Most of the time when I'm cheering over in M, I'm cheering alone or with a tiny minority of the people around me. Okay, voices get more worn out with age, I get that, but how hard is it to clap along to "Let's Go Red"?

I was looking at the box scores and saw Glover sat Fri and Sat. Was he benched or was there any injury involved? Sorry if this has been covered -- I didn't have time to read all the posts.

I can't believe he deserved to sit without an injury. We need his size in there to help regain the typical Cornell physical game. Also, to me, he's looked to be the most solid D man all season.