ELynah Forum

If Cornell had won at MSG in regulation, we'd be #4 in NPI, or #5 with an OT win.

For his final project for Corey Earle's class, graduating cowbell player Matthew Furman created a podcast episode about the bell. Not a complete history by any means, and I'm not sure if he was able to connect with Age or Ari or any of the others, but he did speak with four of us. Enjoy.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-SzQRjloFQ16PDqvbSQZ60iNPxtRHLeG/view

Quote from: BeeeejI seriously don't know what game people were watching who think we played well on defense last night. It's understandable that we didn't play well on defense last night given our injury situation, but I wouldn't even say we played well on defense considering our injury situation.

Agreed - last night was my first time seeing this year's team. I know that we are missing some of our usual D, but I can't remember seeing a Schafer-coached team make so many errors across all three periods. Turnovers at the blue line that led to 2-on-1s, miscommunication that gave H clear looks at the net, dumb penalties. I am especially alarmed since our defense was so solid last year and we returned basically everyone, current injuries notwithstanding. H looked better than their record indicated, but they aren't an especially speedy or skillful team. We did not look like the same team that contained Jordan Greenway et al for most of the MSG game last year.

On offense, we had some great opportunities to stretch the lead to 2-0, and then a lot more to tie at 2-2. Watching the replay on the scoreboard, Vanderlaan had the tying goal on his stick and just needed to elevate the puck over the goalie's right pad, but shot it directly into the pad. We continue to pass up one-timer opportunities. It isn't a new problem for us to lack people who can finish around the net, but I am wondering what happened to our breakout/transition. This was such a happy surprise last year that generated great offensive chances. Last night, had trouble carrying the puck into the zone and didn't seem to translate our quality cycling into good looks at the net.

Good news is that Galajda played well and kept us ahead for longer than we deserved, and I'm sure it will help to get our injured guys back. I'm hoping we can get some revenge next weekend.

We don't have anyone who can kick an extra point?

4 TDs today but only 26 points. (failed 2-pt conversion, missed PAT, blocked PAT, successful 2-pt conversion)

After watching both games this weekend, I'm just not sure who is going to score goals this season. It's weird because I actually think that our style has become more offensive-minded than a few years ago. Instead of dump-and-chase, I'm seeing a lot more cross-ice passes through the neutral zone. Instead of being content to grind along the boards, our big guys are trying to get the puck towards the net and we're taking some one-timers if we see some space.

Problem is, it doesn't seem like anyone has the talent to bury the puck. Even by our normally low standards for Cornell offense, this team is awful. In two games this weekend, I saw so few quality scoring chances. Against P, most of our shot attempts came from bad angles or from way up high. Against Q, it was the same story, except that our offense disappeared as the game went along.

Nothing seemed to matter. Five consecutive powerplays on Friday night? Nope. 1:00 of 5x3 on Saturday night? Nope. 4:00 during a major? Nope.

Ryan plays point on the powerplay, right? We definitely miss him. I never thought I'd say this, but I almost miss Brendan Nash. Please, just anyone to
move the puck and try something different.

Opposing goalies have a .975 save percentage against us this season, meaning that for every 40 shots we take (i.e. against P), one might go in (i.e. against P). Sure, goalies have been playing well against us, but our weak shot attempts are making their jobs easier.

Lowry-McCarren-Bardreau are probably our best bet to score a goal or two this season. Maybe as the season goes on, someone will step up and find the scoring touch, a la Evan Barlow a few years ago. Who knows?

I actually feel pretty good about our defense and goaltending. I hope we practice some shooting this week.

Lastly, do any undergrads travel to games anymore?

Attending, +4. Anyone else stuck up in the balcony area? When I called, they had no more seats down below.

Announced attendance was 15,524, which includes 600+ discounted tickets purchased from LivingSocial and perhaps other giveaways, as per arugula's comment. I'd estimate that the crowd was 75% pro-Yale, which was surprising given Yale's lack of fan support in places outside of New Haven. (Although I do remember a strong showing in Bridgeport for NCAAs...) I guess that the national championship has increased fan interest, and this was their first MSG game. Tickets were definitely cheaper than for any of the Cornell games at MSG, but I'm sure the event was profitable. Yale fans started a few "Let's Go, Bulldogs" cheers, and many participated in the "it's all your fault" finger-pointing after each goal.

Harvard really sucks. Their one decent play led to the goal - the Harvard powerplay is a real snoozer and Esposito seemed to lull everyone to sleep by just standing there with the puck until Vesey slid to the back door for the feed. Lyon (Yale goalie) seemed to also be asleep, as he was very late to slide over to try to make the stop. Also from Harvard, top-line defenseman Patrick McNally is a strong, fast skater who consistently burned Yale through the neutral zone.

Otherwise, Harvard looked awful. We were discussing whether they had recently switched to a new helmet or something, since the Crimson players seemed to have no idea where the puck was. Neither goalie had to make many tough saves, but Girard was toast after three soft goals in the 2nd, including one "shot" from the faceoff circle that wasn't even on goal, but deflected off the back of Girard's pads and into the net.

My main concern is that Harvard's embarrassment will lead to a strong week of practice and an inspired performance on Friday.

Agree that we generally out-played BU, with the help of dumb penalties and questionable officiating.

Good write-up by CHN

I wasn't one of the people yelling "shoot" throughout the powerplays, but we had some great chances for one-timers off of excellent passes that we wasted. Particularly when you're losing, I don't understand the hesitation with those looks at the net. Yes, Cornell ended up with a lot of shots on goal, but we fell into the classic Cornell situation of being afraid to pull the trigger on the PP and instead settle for shots from the point that went into the skates/pads of the BU player directly in front. It was easy to see why this BU team gave up 55 shots last Saturday to North Dakota, and maybe if we'd gotten the puck to the net a few more times, we could have gotten a third goal (like NoDak did).

Also, am I the only one confused as to why Iles stayed on the ice for the start of the final powerplay? With 6x4, would we really have been so concerned about BU gaining possession and skating it out for an ENG? It wasn't like Iles went directly to the bench once we had possession; he stayed on for :40 of that powerplay. If the linesman hadn't blown the icing call against BU that forced Iles back out for the faceoff, we could have had close to :60 with the extra skater.

The defensive breakdowns (falling down, no one covering the back door, breakout play making it 5 feet) are typical for this time of year; BU just did a great job of capitalizing on those opportunities. When will we finally beat BU?

And also, the two large 100-level BU sections were not even close to half full. How was this a sellout? Did that many people really decide to not attend?

Scrivens and the Kings beat the Rangers, 1-0. Three shutouts for Ben in his first five starts for LA. It was great to see Dominic Moore's goal disallowed (kicked it in).

Quote from: rdez79that sucks! out shot 2-1, really 3-1 after the second period.

56-19 after the first period, including 14-1 in 2OT.

Kevin Bui is turning 26 next month.

Murray threw a couple of big hits against the Blues tonight, but also took a hard hit behind his own net and skated around gingerly for a while. Sharks won 2-1, for their first win since January.

Agree that there was a lot of falling down in the defensive zone. Maybe something was up with the ice?

We certainly had plenty of chances and looked pretty good from what I saw. Officiating was typically miserable, with some phantom hooking calls and easy embellishments. I'd love to see what this team can accomplish with some consistent and opportunistic play down the stretch, but we're running out of time.

This was the first game I've seen this season, but...
-Iles looked great. Watching the highlights confirmed my impression. If he hadn't stopped those shots at 1-0, we might not be as gleeful.
-Great to see the team stay disciplined, even with the big stage. I think that playing at MSG every year will really improve our performance in these games, since most of the team won't be intimidated by the location/crowd.
-Ferlin and Lowry looked almost as good as they were at MSG last year. I know some people have said that their play dropped off a bit this year.
-Defense had a lot of trouble chasing down the speedy Michigan forwards, especially down low. I know we tend to rely on positioning, etc., but it doesn't seem to be too difficult to tire out our D with some fancy skating and stickwork. One of the the UM possessions had shades of "the shift" from up at UNH a few years back, except without the eventual goal.

As others have mentioned, if we can get a win in Florida and a win at Denver, we'll be in a great OOC position. Thanks to the band and the fans for a great atmosphere.

Alfredsson scares Greening with in-game tirade. Watch the video:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2012-04-24/daniel-alfredsson-tirade/54513756/1