Cornell 2 Yale 2 postgame thread

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I was in F, just behind the goal line about 15 rows up.  By my (admittedly detiorating) eyes the puck had crossed the line.  After that, there was a pile-on, and in the process of that a Yale player apparently covered it.  I say apparently, since there were so many bodies in the crease, it was hard to tell what was going on.  But IMO, that was a goal.  I thought all the debate was about whether it was a goal or not, and I had no idea why there was a penalty shot until it was announced after the shot was taken.

On the second goal, I consider it a fluke.  What are the odds of a puck deflecting boards, over the net, and then off our defender and in?  Although the boards for the most part were pretty dead, so Davenport's fall probably kicked it back (or deflected it backwards).  I don't think his going behind the net for that one was a mistake.  He'd been doing a good job of stopping the puck and leaving it for the d-men behind the net to that point.  

But there's no way we should have only been up 2-1 at that point.  In the first period, I thought we really were the better team, though the SOGs didn't show it.  Yale fought back in the second, but we fought them off to a draw and outshot them, but we should have been up more.  After that, it's clear we were simply trying to preserve that 2-1 lead.  On top of that, we stopped hustling, just like we did in the only other game I've seen this year (Princeton).  We let Yale's forecheck have an impact and had trouble in our own end.

I also felt the officiating was a bit weak.  It looked like there was a new directive to stop calling interference and obstruction and call more charging penalties.  Feola also seemed to be looking for even-up calls until the third when he changed his approach and only called penalties on us.

Defensively, we really played good team hockey, and made some great plays in our defensive zone.  There weren't many points where I felt Yale really threatened.  I didn't see many really scary passes and I don't remember any Yale odd-man rushes except for the first goal.  

OTOH, offensively, there was no cohesion at all.  The power play was content to pass it around the edges, and let Yale collapse four defenders on our one man in the slot.  There was no movement, no cycle, no offensive threat at all.  Romano's goal was individual skill.  At another point, he tried to go one on five, and his dipsy-doo fooled nobody.

I was very disappointed by the faithful.  Sections A & B were active, but by the time you got to F, poeple were sitting on their hands.  Nobody even knew to clap along with the cowbell.  I think they just thought it was an accelerating clap cheer.  3/4 of the cheers were "Yale...sucks!" and we never got any cheer going that lasted more than 5 seconds (other than the one "bend over"  Also E & F were half empty at the start of the game (with many people showing up late).  They filled up by the third period.  Unfortunately, two facetime bimbos sat down behind me and jabbered on about what clothes they bought, what guys in the crowd were hot, and so on.  Ugh.

[Al DeFlorio]

[quote Jeff Hopkins '82]Unfortunately, two facetime bimbos sat down behind me and jabbered on about...what guys in the crowd were hot... [/quote]
Today's burning question, Jeff, is:  Did you make their list?::nut::

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

[quote Al DeFlorio][quote Jeff Hopkins '82]Unfortunately, two facetime bimbos sat down behind me and jabbered on about...what guys in the crowd were hot... [/quote]
Today's burning question, Jeff, is:  Did you make their list?::nut::[/quote]

Well, I think I earned some points for explaining to them what charging is (with regards to hockey, anyway), but I'd have to think I wasn't even in contention for their list.  ::cry::

[Trotsky]

[quote Jeff Hopkins '82]Well, I think I earned some points for explaining to them what charging is (with regards to hockey, anyway), but I'd have to think I wasn't even in contention for their list.  ::cry::[/quote]

Um, Jeff.  If you're class of '82 and they were students, you're on the list of "guys who look like my Dad, only older."  :-}

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

[quote Trotsky][quote Jeff Hopkins '82]Well, I think I earned some points for explaining to them what charging is (with regards to hockey, anyway), but I'd have to think I wasn't even in contention for their list.  ::cry::[/quote]

Um, Jeff.  If you're class of '82 and they were students, you're on the list of "guys who look like my Dad, only older."  :-}[/quote]

I know.  I even thought it.  I just wasn't about to voluntarily put it in a post. :-P

[Trotsky]

[quote Jeff Hopkins '82][quote Trotsky][quote Jeff Hopkins '82]Well, I think I earned some points for explaining to them what charging is (with regards to hockey, anyway), but I'd have to think I wasn't even in contention for their list.  ::cry::[/quote]

Um, Jeff.  If you're class of '82 and they were students, you're on the list of "guys who look like my Dad, only older."  :-}[/quote]

I know.  I even thought it.  I just wasn't about to voluntarily put it in a post. :-P[/quote]

Which is not to say you don't have a shot.  Just wear something expensive.  One of the few perks for being male.

[mtmack25]

From Section H row 10, on the isle.  The puck came to rest on the back of the goal line.  It was not a goal.  The scrum that ensued caused people to fall on the puck.  I can't say that a defenseman covered it, but the puck did not appear to be in the goal when I lost sight of it.

Also, I heard that Romano frustrates the hell out of Davenport and Scrivens on penalty shots in practice.  A shame he couldn't put this one in.

I agree with the comment of Cornell slackening when it was 2-1.  Almost a complete collapse after the tying goal.  This was a very winnable game that got away from us.

As for the tying goal, Davenport went behind the net(this was making me nervous all game, he takes a lot of risks back there) fell at the boards, and a quick deflection off him and into Seminoff?/Mugford?(can't remember which) and in.

One final note. A noticeable and considerable absence from the game last night: the crowd.  Especially after the tying goal.

[sah67]

From the Ithaca Journal re: Romano's penalty shot:
"While Feola was doing his mulling, Richards was constructing a mound of ice shavings in front of his goal in an effort to slow down Romano's upcoming penalty shot. The Big Red's Mark McCutcheon then skated over and flipped the ice shavings away, to the roar of the crowd."

I totally missed this, but did glance over when Richards was angrily gesticulating at Feola who had probably just made him get rid of his little "ice castle".  Anyone else catch this?

[Trotsky]

[quote sah67]I totally missed this, but did glance over when Richards was angrily gesticulating at Feola who had probably just made him get rid of his little "ice castle".  Anyone else catch this?[/quote]

Jason pointed it out on the broadcast.  I saw Richards whining in the aftermath.  It was very funny.

[Tom Lento]

[quote sah67]From the Ithaca Journal re: Romano's penalty shot:
"While Feola was doing his mulling, Richards was constructing a mound of ice shavings in front of his goal in an effort to slow down Romano's upcoming penalty shot. The Big Red's Mark McCutcheon then skated over and flipped the ice shavings away, to the roar of the crowd."

I totally missed this, but did glance over when Richards was angrily gesticulating at Feola who had probably just made him get rid of his little "ice castle".  Anyone else catch this?[/quote]

I saw it. It was hysterical. McCutcheon isn't allowed to go into the zone like that before a penalty shot, so Richards went ballistic, but Feola got right up in his face and gestured towards the ice in front of the net and appeared to be telling him that he started it, so he should shut up and let the officials handle it. Then the AR started sweeping the ice shavings away with his skate.

As for the penalty shot itself - the d-man *definitely* covered it up. I couldn't tell if the puck was over the line, but the guy standing next to me said he saw it cross the line. The defenseman came in and swept at the puck with his glove, pushing it back under Richards, but he basically covered it himself. Feola was in no position to see whether or not the puck crossed the line due to the way Richards was positioned on the play, but he could clearly see the Yale d-man cover it up. I knew it should be either a penalty shot or a goal as soon as the play was dead, and after talking to the goal judge Feola decided that he couldn't award Cornell the goal, so he correctly called the penalty, and Schafer elected the penalty shot. That was not a make-up call for a coin flip or any such thing.

As for Davenport - he's a bit too aggressive playing the puck for my tastes, but I'd rather see him playing aggressively than retreating into a shell in net. The play behind the net was completely routine - someone was saying the Cornell D was right there, but they weren't - they were still near the circles, and Davenport went behind to stop the puck and leave it for them, which is exactly what he should do in that situation. If he doesn't play that puck, and it zips around the boards past the Cornell D, and onto a Yale player's stick, suddenly the kill is stuck out of position and Yale's got a great scoring chance.

He caught an edge and fell over, and the puck bounced off of his leg, over the goal, off of a Cornell player, and into the net. If he had fallen down and the puck had bounced *anywhere* else it would've just been a funny moment after a brief scare, since Yale was nowhere near the play, but it bounced in exactly the wrong way and ended up in the net.

[ugarte]

[quote Tom Lento]
[Davenport] caught an edge and fell over, and the puck bounced off of his leg, over the goal, off of a Cornell player, and into the net. If he had fallen down and the puck had bounced *anywhere* else it would've just been a funny moment after a brief scare, since Yale was nowhere near the play, but it bounced in exactly the wrong way and ended up in the net.[/quote]

Any chance that this is being ripped from the archived game and YouTubed?

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

[quote Trotsky][quote sah67]I totally missed this, but did glance over when Richards was angrily gesticulating at Feola who had probably just made him get rid of his little "ice castle".  Anyone else catch this?[/quote]

Jason pointed it out on the broadcast.  I saw Richards whining in the aftermath.  It was very funny.[/quote]

I saw it.  I just figured he was putting snow there to slow down Cornell's attack in general.   When McCutcheon came over and cleared the snow, he was shooed away by the refs first, then when Richards started whining, the refs turned on him.

I have to be honest, when the linesman put the puck at center ice, I never even contemplated a penalty shot.  I just thought that it was in advance of calling it a goal and having a face-off at center ice.  When Romano went out for the penalty shot I was just stunned and confused as to what happened.  I thought, as some mentioned, that Feola couldn't figure out if it was a goal or not so we got a penalty shot as compensation (which I now know is incorrect).  But by that point, the ice castles had slipped my mind.

[DeltaOne81]

I'm not so sure its incorrect. It might not be in the rules, but that doesn't mean its not what actually happened.

[Tom Lento]

[quote DeltaOne81]I'm not so sure its incorrect. It might not be in the rules, but that doesn't mean its not what actually happened.[/quote]

Obviously I'm not privy to what was going on in Feola's head, but from where I was sitting, that's not what actually happened. Based on the end of the play, the only two outcomes which could be correct under the rules were 1) Cornell goal or 2) Cornell with the option to take a penalty shot. The puck was on (or possibly just over) the goal line behind Richards, and the Yale D-man put his glove on it. His glove moved back behind the line and then forward under Richards, but at that point the puck was not visible - it's possible (albeit *extremely* unlikely) that he pushed it under Richards and didn't have it in his hand when he swept his arm back into the goal. Since the goal judge didn't put the light on until after Yale covered the puck, I'm guessing Feola ruled that there was no definitive evidence that Cornell had scored, and so he waved off the goal.

Given that the Yale defender clearly covered the puck in the crease, Cornell had to be awarded a penalty unless they had scored before the play was blown dead. Schafer obviously elected to take the penalty shot when the penalty was awarded.

I was 99% sure it was a penalty shot when they put the puck down, because the refs pretty much never place the puck on the ice in the faceoff circle before a draw - they hold on to it. The only reason I wasn't 100% sure is because I didn't see Feola make any signals - usually the ref will cross his arms over his head to indicate a penalty shot, but there didn't seem to be any hand signals on that play at all.