ELynah Forum

Quote from: Redscore

Quote from: TownieBen bordered on incompetent.  He angered many recruits and parents with poor communication and follow-up; I know this first-hand.  His recruiting efforts have been weak, and now that the Pannell/Mock class is gone, I don't expect them to remain dominant.  Clearly Tambroni was the force behind their strength.  Nothing personal against Ben, but I'm glad Andy fired him, and hopefully the program will be able to move forward again.

My sincerest best wishes go to Ben and his family.

This is complete BS.  What a ridiculous post, incompetent, glad he was fired, and you end with your sincerest best wishes?  The whole hazing incident was a crock of **** and a witch hunt.  This was nothing more than a personal dislike combined with some spoiled brat kids and their parents creating a situation where a good guy lost his job.  How the heck does this help Cornell going forward.  If I'm a top coach or recruit, there's no way I want to come here given this crap.
Thanks for screwing up a proud, incredible tradition filled program Mr. Noel.

To conclude that this was all because of the hazing leads me to believe that you have little intimate knowledge of Ben as head coach, or his weaknesses in that role.  And ad hominen insults cast at the kids and Andy Noel add nothing.  Sure, universities will sacrifice a "fall guy" for incidents beyond their control for the sake of appearances, and had I not witnessed Ben's blatant unresponsiveness I might share your view.  The kid I referred to was initially contacted by Ben, whereupon Ben ignored EVERY response from the kid...for nearly a year.  Seeking to make a decision about the kid's education, the parents went through Athletics administration several times, but still no response from Ben.  It turns out this was not an isolated incident but a pattern; the hazing may have tipped the scales.  The kid was eventually recruited by Syracuse and is now on their team.  Cornell was his first choice, and he had the grades and board scores for a legitimate shot at admission.  By the time Ben contacted him, he'd already accepted Syracuse.  And by the way, this kid is an excellent lacrosse player who received a write-up in Inside Lacrosse magazine for his performance at the Blue Chip camp.  

I know Ben and like him, but I'm relieved he was let go because I believe (as do other lax supporters) that he was detrimental to the long-term health of the program.  Ben has 34 players.  In the last two years he recruited 15 players (6 sophomores and 9 freshmen).  By comparison, Syracuse has 17 freshman.  Of course quality trumps quantity, but his low numbers are symptomatic of his poor follow-up efforts, which show little respect to people making important decisions.  In my view, HE has done more to erode Cornell's status among recruits than anyone.

Finally, my judgment that his performance bordered on incompetence does not preclude me from wishing him well.  I like and respect Ben the man, but based upon my experience of him as recruiter/head coach (and other things I've heard from very trustworthy people), I believe his departure is a positive step for the program.  There's nothing "ridiculous" about that.

Ben bordered on incompetent.  He angered many recruits and parents with poor communication and follow-up; I know this first-hand.  His recruiting efforts have been weak, and now that the Pannell/Mock class is gone, I don't expect them to remain dominant.  Clearly Tambroni was the force behind their strength.  Nothing personal against Ben, but I'm glad Andy fired him, and hopefully the program will be able to move forward again.

My sincerest best wishes go to Ben and his family.

Quote from: sah67

Quote from: cbuckserIf the injury is significant, Ben Scrivens will get a lot of playing time.

Unfortunately for Scrivens, he didn't have a whole lot of time to get into the game after replacing Quick near the end of regulation. Matt Moulson scored the deciding shootout goal on him, giving Buffalo their first home win of the season. Moulson also had two assists in regulation.

Matt could have ended the game, but missed the back-door lay-up on a 2 on 1 break.  It was pretty embarrassing.  I felt bad for him, and was happy he scored as Buffalo's first shootout shooter.

Quote from: Trotsky

Quote from: billhowardCornell claims to be the place where you can find instruction in any study. But can you take pole dancing as a for credit course?

Ezra didn't say anything about course credit.  I am certain that someone on the Cornell campus can offer instruction in anything; you only need to find them.

Maybe a fee course in Phys Ed...

Quote from: JerseygirlEhhhhhhhhhhh, I wouldn't call recruiting a 6'5"/233 goaltender wedging a fat kid in net (well, I would, if I were employing a dry sense of humor I guess?). I believe Baby was about 225 at the same height and he was definitely long and lean and could have put on 15-20 lbs. and still been unfat. Semi-related, I'm realizing I need to start watching and learning more about more recent Cornell players in order to bring my frame of reference more up to date...

Good guess!  A game program from his senior year lists Baby at 6'5", 235 lbs., outweighed only by his co-captain chubster, the 6'4", 240 lb. Doug Murray.

Quote from: gomestarwas there some sort of NCAA rule regarding the name plates?  I thought I read that some place, but couldn't recall where (probably here).

I remember hearing that too.  When I bought my Hornby jersey in 2002 or 03, I remember asking Bill Reynolds why no name, and he mentioned the new no-name policy/rule had just been put in place.

Quote from: TheMatrixFigured I would give a heads up, as I received this email from Bill Reynolds today:

QuoteTo Whom It May Concern:
 
The jerseys are now available from last year. The cost is $100.00.
White #'s available 3,4,5,8,9,10,12, 15, 18, 19,20, 23,24,28,29
You get them from me in person at the Teagle Hall issue room or we can send it to you by mail.  Cash or Checks made out to Cornell University.
Include your phone number. Let me know as soon as possible if you are still interested and what number you would be interested in.
 
Thanks,
Bill
607-255-1318

I edited it since the Ferlin, Bardreau, Iles, and McCarron jerseys are taken as of this afternoon.
On an interesting side note I've never seen brought up on here, I asked about the old players' nameplates (instead of getting one custom made). The issue room staff thinks they just store them around somewhere and would look for them. I am hoping to pick up the red Miller nameplate to go with the jersey I got last year. I'll update this thread if that comes through since others might be interested.

I believe PSP printing can make the nameplates.  There was a time when CU would not supply them.

Successful season:

1) stop stupid penalties
2) crisper, smoother break-out
3) more energetic and less predictable power-play
4) RULE the front of our goal
5) stop stupid penalties!

Quote from: Jim HylaMaybe if we had more of this we'd have more cheering?

That's a bingo.  An obvious example: men's basketball attendance barely reached 1,000 before its 3-year Ivy dominance that filled Newman with "Newman Nation" t-shirts and heavy frat participation. Steve Donohue's miraculous success building a WINNING team filled the other 3,500 seats. Not surprisingly, attendance is now significantly down.

Many things noted here might contribute to waning enthusiasm and lower student attendance but remain peripheral to the core issue. In my experience, the majority of students are not die-hards. They attend athletic events to celebrate victory, not to demonstrate support for their struggling school-mates.

Just my $.02

Quote from: rediceI'm with townie on most of his assessment.    These exhibitions rarely hold any resemblance to an NCAA game.

Ferlin?   Simply a puck hog!!   Yes, I'm happy that he has the skills to skate around like the puck is glued to his stick.   It looks great, but it's counter-productive if he's not putting it in the net.   After three full seasons, he's not exactly tearing the NCAA aparting in the scoring dept.

I'm still seeing too much "yapping" and too little discipline from The Red.   I still long for the Mike Schafer teams that would drop their arms by their sides and skate away from scrums.   The last few years, the guys show too strong of a propensity for wanting to mix it up.   It benefits nobody!    I know that this must be absolutely killing Mike!!     And, I don't know why he doesn't bench players more ofter for doing it.   I know the seasons are short and each game is important.   But, I don't think the program can take that "next step" until he solves this one.    He needs to get after!!

Spot on redice.  There was even some minor fisticuffs late in the first period, only serious enough to draw offsetting roughing calls, but hands did fly.  I miss the discipline of the Baby/Murray days...

Although we went 29-27 on faceoffs, I was underwhelmed.  Box score.

Quote from: TrotskySomebody in pajamas in their mom's basement ranks the ECAC recruiting classes.

Quote5. Cornell

Matt Buckles, a fourth round selection of the Florida Panthers, is the top freshman for Cornell head coach Mike Schafer. Buckles' junior teammate, Patrick McCarron, is a very solid prospect on the blue line. Goaltender Mitch Gillam could be the replacement to Andy Iles down the line or could push the senior for playing time as early as this season.

Not based upon Gillam's performance vs York, with all due respect...

York = sparring partner, like a varsity team playing a warm-up against the jv...men against boys.  I couldn't help but think that both teams won: they got to play up and we got to warm-up.

I know it's extremely early, so please take my few comments with that caveat.  Bottom line: IMO, the mismatch produced a mildly amusing "exhibition" that provided little solid timber to construct many reliable assessments about our true strengths and weaknesses, or how we will function as a Team.  We continue to look sloppy on the break-out at times (disappointing given last night's competition), and the transition game improved as York wore down.  I repeatedly thought "we'll never get away with THAT against ECAC teams".  Most of the game was played in York's end; on multiple occasions even strength seemed like we were on a power play. We dominated the offensive zone with good passing and board work (against a slower, smaller team), and allowed few good scoring opportunities on York's 10(!) shots.  Iles played well, though not really challenged on the 8 shots he saved, while Gillam gave up goals on both of the shots he faced, for a 0.00 save percentage in his first outing....ouch!

In a situation where he could have been dominant, my high-hopes for Ferlin received another gentle pause, but it's REALLY too early.  He missed on several very good scoring opportunities and came away with a goose egg in points ::bugeye:: .  The guys we expect to play well generally did.  Hilbrich impressed me on several occasions with his strength and hockey sense, but most importantly, Bardreau is breathing life into the team once again.  J. McCarron played very well (as did frosh P McCarron, # 27), and "restrained" himself to only one penalty.  The freshmen hustled!  Freschi (#11) displayed some hockey smarts and nifty skills (a-la Vesce).  He and Knisley could make potent, complimentary linemates.

Don't go getting your hopes up just yet.

Quote from: Rita

Quote from: jkahn

Quote from: Jim Hyla

Quote from: Jordan 04

Quote from: jkahnDouglas Murray is out 4-6 weeks with an undisclosed injury.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=20870&navid=nhl:topheads

Not even which body it's in -- upper or lower?

Check the link, it's all there.

The article has been updated since Jordan and I posted.  It originally said "undisclosed injury" but now says it's upper body.

But it also mentions that he missed the pre-season due to a lower body injury. Sounds like he is getting old ::worry::.

Born in March 1980, he'll be 34 next Spring.

Thanks again, Age.  Great job as usual.

[quote saff678]I'm in my fourth undergrad year of attending games, and every time they try to stop swearing, the only way of convincing us to stop is by threatening to kick us out. That makes it seems like the only reason to stop swearing is so they won't kick us out, whereas the people on this thread have presented some much more admirable reasons. If the email they sent to us said, "stop swearing because there are kids in the rink" instead of "stop swearing because we've got the pep band under the gun", I think the fans would respond a bit more respectfully. This isn't about the students who read this forum, it's about the hundreds who don't who haven't been given a reasoned argument to stop.[/quote]

I think that's a good idea.  It gives all parties (students and administration) a way to move forward constructively.  Instead of citing kids, I'd mention consideration to those who find bawdy language offensive, young and old alike.

From the townie side of the rink, the language does sound "cleaner".  I'm in row 10 and can hear above the glass.  I can't hear "asshole" in the penalty chant, and Gary Glitter seems to be cleaned-up to.  My compliments and thanks to the students.