ELynah Forum

Ben Sahakian Ivy Defensive Player of the Week
Annelies Bergmann ECAC Goalie of the Week
Gio DiGiulian ECAC Rookie of the Week
Jaxon Joy Ivy Wrestler of the Week

Cornell lightweight crew takes Geiger Cup, besting Columbia and MIT.

Per coach Tyler Nase - "The team delivered strong performances across all three eights, highlighted by a program-best time [5:34.26] for the Varsity 8+ on a still-water course to our knowledge."

Carlo Ugolini '73.  One of those small, fast forwards.  Played professional hockey for the Grand Rapids Grizzlies, Syracuse Blazers, Muskegon Mohawks, and an Italian league.
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Here's a transcript from a recent conversation with ChatGPT —

Q:  What is the current power play success rate for the Cornell men's hockey team?

As of the 2024-2025 season, the Cornell men's ice hockey team has a power play success rate of 14.0%, having scored 7 power play goals on 50 opportunities.

Within the Ivy League conference, Cornell's power play percentage stands at 12.5%, with 7 goals scored on 56 opportunities.

In the ECAC Hockey conference, Cornell has a power play percentage of 17.1%, with 7 goals scored on 41 opportunities.

These statistics indicate that Cornell's power play performance varies across different levels of competition, with the highest success rate observed in ECAC conference play.

Q:  How can the Cornell men's hockey team have 56 power play opportunities in the Ivy League, when you say it has only 41 in the ECAC of which the six-team Ivy League is a part?

Apologies for the earlier confusion regarding the power play statistics. Upon re-examination, as of the 2024-2025 season, the Cornell men's ice hockey team has had 60 power play opportunities, scoring 7 goals, resulting in a power play success rate of 11.7%.

These figures encompass all games played, including those within the ECAC Hockey conference and the Ivy League. Given that the Ivy League is a subset of the ECAC, the number of power play opportunities in Ivy League play should not exceed those in the overall ECAC competition. The earlier discrepancy was due to an error in the reported statistics.

In summary, Cornell's power play performance for the season stands at 11.7%, with 7 goals scored on 60 opportunities across all competitions.
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Some Cornell related articles in today's D&C: Carl Sagan's former home, the tomb-like Sphinx Head building on Stewart Avenue, also once owned by physicist Robert Wilson, was sold for $2 million.  Jane Goodall, A.D. White Professor-at-Large, and  Bill Nye '77 awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Also, an article about Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins, and later an ILR faculty member until her death in 1965.  In other ILR news, Larry Mancuso, assistant dean for HR until he took a leave in October, murdered his daughter and mother-in-law and killed himself in Brighton, a Rochester suburb.

From today's D&C:  In a late November message, Cornell University administrators predicted a travel ban is 'likely to go into effect soon after inauguration' and called it a 'good idea' for international students and staff to be back on U.S. soil before the start of their spring semester . . . Cornell's guidance advised students and faculty to prepare for longer visa processing times and carry additional paperwork demonstrating their connections to the university when they pass through U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoints.

Per Richard Feynman — "I was in the cafeteria and some guy, fooling around, throws a plate in the air. As the plate went up in the air I saw it wobble, and I noticed the red medallion of Cornell on the plate going around. It was pretty obvious to me that the medallion went around faster than the wobbling.

I had nothing to do, so I start to figure out the motion of the rotating plate. I discover that when the angle is very slight, the medallion rotates twice as fast as the wobble rate - two to one. It came out of a complicated equation! Then I thought, 'Is there some way I can see in a more fundamental way, by looking at the forces or the dynamics, why it's two to one?'"

"I started playing with this "rotation" and it led me to think about a similar problem of the rotation of the spin of an electron according to the Dirac equation and from there I moved on to quantum electrodynamics, which I was already working on. I continued to play with those ideas in a completely relaxed way and, at a certain point, it was as if I had opened a bottle of champagne: everything came out, and in a short time I found myself working on the ideas that won me the Nobel."

Spoiler alert, if you haven't yet solved it, skip this article.

Cornell applied math  PhD candidate headed to Paris to aid juggling's Olympic bid.

Alex Karowski '12, who is seeking to appear in his third consecutive Olympics this summer (men's eight in 2016, alternate in 2020), will be rowing with Tyler Nase, Henry E. Bartels '48 Head Coach of Cornell Men's Lightweight Rowing, in the men's pair, one of six entries in the event.

Ondrej Psenicka practicing shooting back home in Praha, Czechia

With hockey in hiatus and David Archer replaced, it's time for other things Ivy League, to wit, the pathetic performances by the presidents of Harvard and Penn before Congress. Maureen Dowd summed it up nicely in her Times op ed.  BTW, both used the same white-shoe law firm.

Say what you will about Martha Pollack, at least she hasn't embarrassed herself in front Congress like the mealymouthed presidents of our brethren institutions .  As she stated unequivocally, in early November, "We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell; indeed we will not tolerate hatred of any form, including racism or Islamophobia."  Maybe Cornell just has better lawyers.

In order to keep this apolitical, I won't say anything about Ivy League alums, representative Stefanik and senators DeSantis, Hawley, Cruz . . .

From today's D&C:

"Ithaca's Cornell University is among a group of seven schools which the federal Department of Education announced Nov. 16 it has been investigating 'for discrimination involving shared ancestry' under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act, according to a statement.

The renowned college is being investigated alongside fellow Ivy League schools, Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, among four others including Lafayete and Wellesly Colleges.

Should the schools be found violating Title VI, which forbids discriminations based on ethnic characteristics, national origin, or shared ancestry, they could be at risk of losing access to federal funding, which represented $756,118 of Cornell's 2022 budget."

Great, informative hockey webinar this afternoon.  If you're one of those unfortunates that had to work, hope that it's available to stream later.  Among other things, Mike mentioned that one of our guys was injured this weekend and had emergency surgery.  Any one know who it is?

Eric I. Skillins of Brechin, ON, formerly of Aurora, ON, August 8, 2023; real estate professional, Royal LePage; corporate banker, Toronto Dominion Bank; dedicated volunteer with Welcome Table, a food kitchen at Trinity Anglican Church; enjoyed kayaking, swimming, bicycling, cross-country skiing, and playing hockey and golf; active in alumni affairs. Sigma Chi.

Men's schedule is out.  Interestingly, they play Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome on December 5.  When did it stop being the Carrier Dome? Incidentally, Carrier Corp. was founded by Willis Carrier '01.

'71, BS CALS '72—Kevin C. Pettit of Dawson Creek, BC, and Rincón de Guayabitos, Mexico, February 23, 2023; ice hockey left wing in professional, recreational, and senior leagues; member of the 1969–70 undefeated Cornell hockey NCAA championship team; avid sportsman; enjoyed golf, swimming, bowling, hiking, telling stories, and talking about geography

'77 BA—D. Paul Althouse of Bedford, NS, May 13, 2023; attorney, Poole Althouse; also practiced in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, where he was appointed to the honorary Queen's Counsel; member of the 1967 Cornell hockey NCAA championship team; played with the Corner Brook Royals and held various roles with the Corner Brook Hockey Association; Rotarian; youth services volunteer; enjoyed golf, skiing, music, singing, and telling stories.

A close call, but Cornell advances at Henley Royal Regatta.

Note from new coach Tyler Nase -

I am proud to report the team went 3 for 4 against Princeton yesterday retaining both the Platt Cup and the Harriot Cup with wins in the 1V, 3V, and 4V.  Race conditions were ideal with low current and a slight varying southeast tail. It was a beautiful bright sunny day in Ithaca.  

BTW, Nase is a Princeton grad.