A few musings from a new member...

[Beeeej]

[quote Roy 82][quote Beeeej][quote Roy 82] This invariably makes one wonder who you are and how you know such things.[/quote]

Some of us narrowed him down pretty quickly with just one click.

[/quote]

Bully for you.[/quote]

Sorry, it didn't occur to me that my moderator privileges for Ticket Exchange would allow me to see "hidden" profiles, so I don't even know which ones are hidden at this point.

[Chris '03]

[quote Beeeej][quote Roy 82][quote Beeeej][quote Roy 82] This invariably makes one wonder who you are and how you know such things.[/quote]

Some of us narrowed him down pretty quickly with just one click.

[/quote]

Bully for you.[/quote]

Sorry, it didn't occur to me that my moderator privileges for Ticket Exchange would allow me to see "hidden" profiles, so I don't even know which ones are hidden at this point.[/quote]

Heh. Lawyers. ::rolleyes::

[Roy 82]

[quote Beeeej]
Sorry, it didn't occur to me that my moderator privileges for Ticket Exchange would allow me to see "hidden" profiles, so I don't even know which ones are hidden at this point.[/quote]

Oh, I thought that you were taunting me for my lack of web savvy because I was missing something obvious.

We're cool.

[ryeguy]

Nice post lurkering. I look forward to hearing more from you in the offseason as well as during next season.

This seems to be the place to ask a question that I have been wondering for a while but didn't want to ask until the season was complete. ( I wish I hadn't had an opportunity yet.) So, since some of you guys kind of hinted at what next year would be like, basically, will we be able to challenge as a top team in the ECAC and nationally next year? Obviously speaking as if everything is going to go as planned along with some possible bonus' (Riley Nash).

[lurkering]

I think that Cornell is poised to make a serious run both in the ECAC and nationally in '07, but especially '08. There will be factors that we undoubtedly are not going to account for (such as injuries, NHL defections, inexplicable losses/skids, etc), but I think that the sophomores to-be will be given an excellent opportunity to really start building something special as a class. The keys to me next season are as follows:

-Sophomores step up offensively. A year of experience might do wonders for a few's scoring touch (ie Gallagher, Milo).

-Juniors provide the toughness, both pysicallly and mentally. Their experience paired with their grit could be invaluable to the success of this team.

-Another pair of D step to help Seminoff lock down the backend. A key to offensive success, especially with smaller, quicker forwards, is the ability of the D to provide stability defensively. This will allow the forwards to fly more, thus taking more chances with less consequences, and, hopefully, leading to more goals. This is one area where Pokulok and OB were missed this year. Nash and Krueger have the potential to be that kind of pair in future, as well.

-Consistenty is needed from the goaltenders. Either Scrivens or Davenport needs to seize the job and cannot let go. Aside from regular off-outings, they need to give efforts that are consistent. The team needs to know what they are getting with their tender.

[Trotsky]

Yep, that covers it admirably.  Another potential barrior to improvement could be coaching staff discontinuity.  Both Scott (recruiting) and Brent (defense) have had 8 years as Mike's assistants, and either (or both) could be offered head coach jobs someplace.

As far as where they will be next year, assuming no defections (Ray could go, I suppose, but he'd be crazy to, as he'd be signing up for years of bus trips in the ECHL), I would look at the 2000-01 season as a potentially comparable point in the team's recent history.  The stellar sophomore class (Bâby, Paolini, the McRaes, Murray) accounted for 4 of the top 5 scorers.  The hard-working, large junior class (Kozier, Wieckowski, Ladouceur, Francis, McMeekin Underhill) was the leadership.  The goaltenders entering the season, Burt, Underhill and Gartman, had looked okay but nothing special.  The '01 team finished fourth, for the second straight year, but fought all the way to the ECAC title game.  And it was just staging for finishing in first place in 3 of the next 4 years, winning 2 ECAC titles, and reaching the F4.

Now, the most significant thing that happened in 2001 which almost certainly won't happen next year was the retrenchment to the pure defensive style.  Despite the maturation of so many talented freshmen, the team dropped from 3.5 to 2.0 GF/GP.  (Team D was in the middle of a freefall from 3.1 to 1.3 GA/GP between '98 and '03.)

[cth95]

This may very well be the most informative and enjoyable thread I have read in my few years on here.