The Schafer system

I was wondering if Coach Schafer will push for his usual strategy of grinding in the corners and boards or if he will try to open up the middle of the ice with the number of offensively minded forwards that we have. With loosing our large defenseman, I think we would want to stay away from potential injuries which the "ground and pound" can leave us vunerable to.

Like you, my first thought (upon the departure of O'Byrne & Polulok) was that perhaps Coach will open up their game a bit. We lost two defenseman who were key elements in helping the offense. So, in effect, we lost some key offensive potential, as well. I'm betting that he'll tighten up the defense to compensate for that loss. If we're successful this season, it will be Schafer's finest hour.

Somewhat related: Since O'Byrne and Pokulok were running the point on the top two PP lines at the end of last year, I wonder how their losses will affect our powerplay. Krantz has a gun, so I imagine he will be called upon, but who else can fill that role?

I wonder if Seminoff could run a power play...was he even on them last year?

I mention him mostly because I don't think Glover is particularly offensively-minded. Then I looked at last year's stats. Seminoff 1g, 6a; Glover 3g, 2a. I no longer know what to think, because I can't remember the situations any of the goals came in.

Evan Salmela will probably get a shot at it.

Liz '05
I wonder if Seminoff could run a power play...was he even on them last year?

I mention him mostly because I don't think Glover is particularly offensively-minded. Then I looked at last year's stats. Seminoff 1g, 6a; Glover 3g, 2a. I no longer know what to think, because I can't remember the situations any of the goals came in.

Wasn't it Glover who came close to winning the Wisconsin game with a shot that was deflected by the goalie and then went off the cross-bar?

Al DeFlorio

Liz '05
I wonder if Seminoff could run a power play...was he even on them last year?

I mention him mostly because I don't think Glover is particularly offensively-minded. Then I looked at last year's stats. Seminoff 1g, 6a; Glover 3g, 2a. I no longer know what to think, because I can't remember the situations any of the goals came in.

Wasn't it Glover who came close to winning the Wisconsin game with a shot that was deflected by the goalie and then went off the cross-bar?

Why, Al, Why??

I was having a pretty good day before that flashback...

If anything, the team's relative inexperience would usually cause Mike to rein it in and play extra cautiously. But with the new rules and the legacy of repeatedly getting outscored by HE and WCHA teams in the NC$$s, he may just go wild-ass crazy and aim for 3 goals per game.

Liz '05
I wonder if Seminoff could run a power play...was he even on them last year?

Seminoff was consistently on the point w/ Pokulok last year on the second unit. He looked a little out of place at times on the PP last year, but I wouldn't be suprised to see him on the first unit this season. I am a big fan of Seminoff and think he could really come into his own this season. By the end of the year I won't be at all suprised if he emerges as our most valuable defensemen.

I remember seeing him out there now. My money (not that I have any) is on Seminoff and Krantz.

doesn't putting seminoff on the power play guarentee that the pp will turn into a 4 on 4?

Seminoff, from what I remember, had some offensive skill. He just had a tendency to shoot far too often for a pointman on the PP.

Toward the end of the year, he got somewhat better. One of the two OT goals against Clarkson in the ECAC's came when Seminoff faked a shot and passed near the net. At least, that's what I remember.

Dafatone
Seminoff, from what I remember, had some offensive skill. He just had a tendency to shoot far too often for a pointman on the PP.

...which will make him very popular with some people.

Beeeej

Dafatone
Seminoff, from what I remember, had some offensive skill. He just had a tendency to shoot far too often for a pointman on the PP.

...which will make him very popular with some people.

SHOOOOOT! comeon, just shoot the puck!!

Sarcasm aside... shooting the puck in college hockey (good shots or not) scores goals, as opposed to passing back and forth at the blue line until it jumps over someone's stick and clears the zone. I always leave the games bitching about how the other teams goals were garbage... this season, we may need some garbage goals.

Dafatone
Seminoff, from what I remember, had some offensive skill. He just had a tendency to shoot far too often for a pointman on the PP.

Toward the end of the year, he got somewhat better. One of the two OT goals against Clarkson in the ECAC's came when Seminoff faked a shot and passed near the net. At least, that's what I remember.

That's correct. It was the second game, on Moulson's double OT winner versus Clarkson last season he faked a shot from the point, skated in and found Moulson unchecked in the low slot.

I'm not the sort of person to notice these things most of the time, but...

Dafatone
Seminoff, from what I remember, had some offensive skill. He just had a tendency to shoot far too often for a pointman on the PP.

Toward the end of the year, he got somewhat better. One of the two OT goals against Clarkson in the ECAC's came when Seminoff faked a shot and passed near the net. At least, that's what I remember.

redhair34

Dafatone
Seminoff, from what I remember, had some offensive skill. He just had a tendency to shoot far too often for a pointman on the PP.

That's correct, but by the end of the season he was getting better in this regard. On Moulson's double OT winner versus Clarkson last season he faked a shot from the point, skated in and found Moulson unchecked in the low slot.

Did you just not read to the end of Dafatone's opus, redhair? (Insert whatever smiley you think makes me look least like an asshole.)

ugarte
(Insert whatever smiley you think makes me look least like an asshole.)

ugarte
Did you just not read to the end of Dafatone's opus, redhair? (Insert whatever smiley you think makes me look least like an asshole.)

Haha oops . I fixed my post to make it somewhat helpful/useful .

DisplacedCornellian

ugarte
(Insert whatever smiley you think makes me look least like an asshole.)

That's the one!

Beeeej

Dafatone
Seminoff, from what I remember, had some offensive skill. He just had a tendency to shoot far too often for a pointman on the PP.

...which will make him very popular with some people.

PIX! PIX! PIX!...

KeithK
PIX! PIX! PIX!...

Ah. Nostalgia.

Cactus12
Sarcasm aside... shooting the puck in college hockey (good shots or not) scores goals

Absolutely. As the Great One says, "100% of the shots you don't take don't go in."

On the other hand, constantly yelling, "SHOOT!" on the power play demonstrates that you (and I mean "you" generally, not "Cactus12" have absolutely no concept of what works on the power play. In nineteen seasons of Cornell hockey I remember thinking fewer than ten times that there was no good reason for not shooting on our power play, where it seemed we were just being timid. All the other times, I trusted that the guys on the ice knew what the situation was better than I did. This was especially true last season when we just weren't cycling the puck well on the PP, and almost every team we played adjusted their PK to be much more aggressive, making it harder for us even to have the opportunity to shoot.

The Lake Superior State fan idiots behind me at this year's Frozen Four kept on shouting, "SHOOT!" on the power play even after poor shot selection resulted in a shorthanded goal. I wanted to dump my nachos all over them. (Instead, I showed them photos of ugarte having sex with lemmings. That shut them up pretty quickly.)

Beeeej
(Instead, I showed them photos of ugarte having sex with lemmings. That shut them up pretty quickly.)

It is my understanding that it is very, very hard to look away.

Yeah, definitely. I was really referring to this past season... calling the PP ineffective would be an understatement in my opinion. I think a large part of the problem was the lack of a forward (some may call it a "lack of Hynes" setting up in front of the net and drawing one of the penalty killers away from our guys down low or the puck. The result, few opportunities and even fewer shots.

ugarte

KeithK
PIX! PIX! PIX!...

Ah. Nostalgia.

Speaking of which, isn't it obvious in retrospect that the chicks on The Magic Garden were lesbians?

jtwcornell91

ugarte

KeithK
PIX! PIX! PIX!...

Ah. Nostalgia.

Speaking of which, isn't it obvious in retrospect that the chicks on The Magic Garden were lesbians?

You (and anyone in the New York area) should try to see this show before it finishes its run at the NY Fringe Festival.

Awooga, awooga, thread drift, thread drift...

Let's get this thread back on topic! Anyone want to respond to my original post...other than redice, of course, since he did not loose direction.

That's a good question. I can't imagine Shafer would ever get away from having his forwards play solid, two-way hockey. However, if our defensemen prove that they are disciplined and avoid giving up odd-man rushes from pinching too much, the forwards may be given a little more freedom than they have in the past. I agree with redice that Shafer will play more conservatively at first. I think the team will have to earn the right to open up the game by showing it can play with few mistakes.

Once these guys have learned the ropes for 07-08 and 08-09, on the other hand......The Big Red Rockets?

(no South Park-related pun intended)

There are few premium offensive prospects, and the large majority of them commit to the Canadian major juniors long before they come into NCAA recruiting sights. Of the handful of college-bound blue chip scorers, a fraction have the grades to get into Cornell, and the ability to stay afloat once there. So we aren't talking about a river of offensive genius streaming into Lynah, even if Schafer snaps his finger and decides to change the character of the team.

The System works, and I'd expect tweaks, rather than a radical departure.