Cornell 2 vs. Princeton 3 (Final)

[scoop85]

Brutal goal off of a bad center ice giveaway ... looks a little too reminiscent of 06-07.

[calgARI '07]

Gonna be a very very long year for this team.

[scoop85]

[quote calgARI '07]Gonna be a very very long year for this team.[/quote]

Disappointing loss, of course.  But it's too early to be this pessimistic.  

It's been a long time since I recall our fan base beeing so down in the dumps.

[Beeeej]

[quote scoop85][quote calgARI '07]Gonna be a very very long year for this team.[/quote]

Disappointing loss, of course.  But it's too early to be this pessimistic.[/quote]

Even someone as knowledgeable as Ari can get spoiled, and I agree it's a bit early to dismiss the season.  But it was Princeton, and we were at home.

On the other hand, the last time we opened the season with two losses (2000-01), they were to Sacred Heart and Union, neither one any better than Princeton is now - and we still managed to get to the ECAC finals that year.  I saw a fair number of good things going on tonight, flashes of potential.  The next few games will be very telling, but I liked their effort.

[calgARI '07]

[quote Beeeej]The next few games will be very telling, but I liked their effort.[/quote]

I too liked their effort.  The team just doesn't have the talent IMO.  I like that this group seems to be more blue collar and hard working compared to last year but there is no depth and very little top end talent.  It'll be an easier team to cheer for than last season but I think there will be less for which to cheer.

[scoop85]

[quote Beeeej][quote scoop85][quote calgARI '07]Gonna be a very very long year for this team.[/quote]

Disappointing loss, of course.  But it's too early to be this pessimistic.[/quote]

Even someone as knowledgeable as Ari can get spoiled, and I agree it's a bit early to dismiss the season.  But it was Princeton, and we were at home.

On the other hand, the last time we opened the season with two losses (2000-01), they were to Sacred Heart and Union, neither one any better than Princeton is now - and we still managed to get to the ECAC finals that year.  I saw a fair number of good things going on tonight, flashes of potential.  The next few games will be very telling, but I liked their effort.[/quote]

That's really my point.  If we were truly outplayed I would have real concern, but it's apparent we have some talent on this team.  If Scali puts in the puck in the third period (I don't know how he didn't score on the play), we're probably talking about a gritty comeback win.

Talk to me after ten games; then we can have a real sense of what we're looking at.  Sure we'd love to be 2-0, but lets see what type of resilliency this team has.

[Townie]

[quote Al DeFlorio]Nice shift by Nash.  He actually held onto the puck while allowing time for something to develop.  Radical concept.[/quote]

He definitely showed some poise and hockey sense tonight.

[imafrshmn]

Disappointing loss.  The fluke 3rd goal really hurt, and Davenport didn't look very comfortable tonight.  Refs didn't call holding, and there was plenty of it.  We didn't get enough skaters in the slot during the best opportunities.  Our PP was so-so.  I'd like to see better puck movement.  Riley Nash has shown good creativity on offense and will be fun to watch.  Ray Sawada needs to take the puck to the net more.  Tomorrow night, it will be crucial for us to get on the board early.  LGR

[Townie]

[quote imafrshmn]Disappointing loss.  The fluke 3rd goal really hurt, and Davenport didn't look very comfortable tonight.[/quote]

I'm not sure I'd call that a fluke.  It was a low short-side shot from about the top of the right face-off circle with a defensman covering.  I don't think Troy was screened, and he had time to see the play develop.  I think he wasn't positioned correctly.  Otherwise, I thought his positioning was good tonight, and he made some nice saves as a result.

[calgARI '07]

[quote Townie][quote Al DeFlorio]Nice shift by Nash.  He actually held onto the puck while allowing time for something to develop.  Radical concept.[/quote]

He definitely showed some poise and hockey sense tonight.[/quote]

I also thought Nash was good tonight - definitely Cornell's best offensive player tonight.  Thinks the game at another level.  He'll start to get some points when the guys on the ice with him figure out what he's doing.

[calgARI '07]

[quote scoop85]

That's really my point.  If we were truly outplayed I would have real concern, but it's apparent we have some talent on this team.  If Scali puts in the puck in the third period (I don't know how he didn't score on the play), we're probably talking about a gritty comeback win.

Talk to me after ten games; then we can have a real sense of what we're looking at.  Sure we'd love to be 2-0, but lets see what type of resilliency this team has.[/quote]

The game was pretty even with Cornell getting the edge in chances.  The issue is that they don't have the talent or they would have generated more chances and converted on more of the ones they had.  Guys like Milo and Romano would have really changed things around for this team but instead, there are guys in scoring roles who are not suited for it.  There is an average amount of talent on this team relative to the ECAC.  I think they will show resiliency, but that doesn't make up for the fact that talent really isn't there at any position.

[Scersk '97]

[quote calgARI '07]
The issue is that they don't have the talent or they would have generated more chances and converted on more of the ones they had.  Guys like Milo and Romano would have really changed things around for this team but instead, there are guys in scoring roles who are not suited for it.  There is an average amount of talent on this team relative to the ECAC.  I think they will show resiliency, but that doesn't make up for the fact that talent really isn't there at any position.[/quote]

Bah.  This team has oodles more talent at forward and defense than the championship teams of '96 and '97.  Welcome to what it's like when a Cornell team doesn't have dominant goaltending.  It happened last year, it happened in '99 and '00, and it happened from '93 to '95.

Hopefully Scrivens steps it up this year and becomes an Elliott figure, since he didn't really show much until his sophomore season either, even though he clearly had the natural capabilities.  We need that:  Davenport, to my eyes, continues to be unimpressive.  Next year Garman comes in, and he's gotten good reviews, and I see Davenport playing a Skazyk role...

If Scrivens steps it up, this team is going to be a lot like '01, and we all know what happened in '02 and '03.  I anticipate big things in the next two years.

[Beeeej]

[quote Scersk '97]If Scrivens steps it up, this team is going to be a lot like '01...[/quote]

...yup, that's the last Cornell team that opened with two Ls against perennially weak teams.

[Scersk '97]

[quote Beeeej][quote Scersk '97]If Scrivens steps it up, this team is going to be a lot like '01...[/quote]

...yup, that's the last Cornell team that opened with two Ls against perennially weak teams.[/quote]

Exactly.  There are other patterns at work.  '01 was a young team:  5 workman-like seniors, some better juniors, very promising sophomores, and one spectacular freshman.  With all that, they couldn't seem to figure out how to score goals, but they did, eventually, figure out how to keep pucks out of the net.  They put together a nice run, somehow squeaked out a fourth seed, and almost won themselves a championship.  St. Lawrence was one year removed from their Frozen Four (tm) run and was just too much.

I think this year's freshmen are more impressive than Vesce's class, that the sophomores are a bit less impressive (with Nash) than the class of '03 (what a class!), that the juniors are better than the class of '02, and that the seniors are better than the class of '01.  I think this year's team will either be a replay of '01 or '02, but it all comes down to goaltending and the power play.  Some members of this team also need to start playing with the fire we used to see from, say, the Abbotts, Cooney, and Hornby.

In the end, I'm expecting Clarkson to be too much this year, but any Clarkson fan would tell you never to bet against us in the tournament.