ELynah Forum

To answer the question above, I did not ask about Walsh in my conversation (mainly because I felt like I wasn't supposed to know about Bancroft in the first place since this conversation happened before today's announcement).

Bancroft has signed with the Bruins. He will be assigned to Providence for the remainder of this season before a one-year entry level contract with the Bruins starts next season. Based on a recent conversation I had with one of the seniors, it sounds like it is a good scenario for him to join a team that is rebuilding and might get some play.

There are single game tickets available through the Mass Mutual Arena website.  https://www.massmutualcenter.com/ They seem to be coming and going as the day goes by, so I assume they have been holding a ton back and releasing them here and there.  All upper bowl, but certainly will be able to move around after UMass fans clear out after the first game.

The going on to the ice after winning in the quarters went away sometime around 2008. We went on the ice routinely when we won quarters from the late 90's to mid-2000s. It was a really cool thing to do and the players seemed to genuinely enjoy it. Heck, it was how I got Iggulden to sign my home jersey (well to be fair, I had my girlfriend wear the jersey and ask him to sign it...but jersey and now wife are still going strong almost 20 years later!) Others would bring jerseys, programs, and cameras to have players sign and/or take pictures.  It is a shame it went away.

As for the game, it was one of the best Harvard x Cornell games in recent memory. The team has been trending in the right direction the last few weeks and the play of the freshman has been really impressive. The student section clearly needs to work on some new cheers and some old ones need to make a come back. I dislike the profanity and find it completely unoriginal. That seems to be a relatively recent development over the last few years as I don't remember it being a thing a few years ago.  But it led to my oldest daughter putting her hands over my youngest's ears every few minutes, which humored those around us in O.

Here's to hoping we can figure out the yeti that mans the Dartmouth goal!

Just a quick heads up that at Harvard tickets went on sale this morning at 10 through the web only.  You will not be able to call in to the ticket office this year and reserve seats.  There was a computer glitch this morning, but that appears to be corrected as I was just able to get through and get tickets.  This is 1 month earlier than these tickets usually go on sale, so I wanted to give everyone a heads up before they are all gone!

Just a few thoughts on the game now that I am back at a computer:  After listening to the Colgate Harvard game while driving in to town on Friday (which by the way I got all the way from Cobleskill to Ithaca...and furthering the argument of why FM is better than AM, especially at night), I learned 2 things:  (1) Harvard has fast, skilled forwards; (2) Their D is slow.  I think that both of these facts were fairly evident on Saturday.  Leblanc is fantastically skilled with fast skating and quick hands, but he is like most French-Canadian players in that they are easily pushed off the puck (granted I did think he played with more of an edge than I was expecting).  He will fit in well on the Habs.

Cornell carried the better of the play for much of the game, but we just couldn't capitalize on easy scoring chances.  Harvard did skate well, especially in the first, but certainly with better goal tending it would have been closer to 1-0 or 2-1.  I have given up on Scrivens ever learning how to get into the butterfly position quickly.  A skilled shooter can pick his 5-hole every time.  

I thought the best player on the ice was Greening.  He had a determination that was unmatched and it is great to see how he has progressed through the program (read, stay in school for 4 years, it's amazing what it can do for you.).  The freshman looked good.  Esposito and Birch were the best freshman on the ice, Miller also looked good (and finally a hockey player with my last name.  Now I can get a Jersey with Miller on the back and not look like a complete tool).  Axell, while tall, needs some weight room action as he was outmatched pretty much all night.  

Looking forward to Brown on Saturday night.

It's Valentine's day, what better gift is there for my wife:-)  We'll be at Lynah east plus 7.

Bitz continues to play well with several good shifts tonight and seems to be developing good chemistry with Thorton and Yelle.  He had 2 excellent attempts to pot his first NHL goal but was stoned point blank on the first and hit iron on the second on a partial 2 on 1 break.  Julien seems to be rewarding him with slightly more playing time each game so it looks like he may stick on the 4th line for the time being.

Just back from the game as well...here are my two cents on my first viewing of this years version of the Big Red.

Breakout continues to be the bane of any Cornell team that I have watched over the last few years.  The are slow and often fumble the puck (especially B. Nash who had a couple of terrible turnovers).  The two saves that Scrivens made in the first were certainly huge, but were certainly helped by the minutemen player shooting directly into his letters.

Both my wife and I thought that the team looked a little winded with about 7 minutes to go in the third until the final horn.  I suspect that this is due to the wider sheet, but could pose a problem if we encounter a big rink again later this year.  

The freshman look pretty good, especially Jillson who seems to have the ability to weaver efforlessly through the D.  I thought that Scali was the best player on the ice tonight for the players that have been there more than 1 year.

The rink was great (the pizza...not so much), we were in the midst of lots of UMass alums who loved the number of Cornell fans.  The fellow in front of us said that there were more CU fans there than BU fans when BU comes to play.  I said that is typical since BU sucks:)

For those who don't regularly peruse the Boston Globe, today is the annual college hockey preview.  The ECAC section is Harvard heavy and sparse with most of the other teams (seemingly decreasing in analysis as you move west of the Berkshires).  There are also previews of hockey east and college hockey in general.  Here is the link for the ECAC preview:

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_hockey/articles/2008/10/10/harvard_two_men_down_at_the_start/

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