Cornell 7 St. Lawrence 2, 12/6/25

[Snowball]

I don't know anything about goaltending but Keopple just doesn't look steady. So much wasted motion as compared to Cournoyer. Cournoyer has given up a few soft goals but he hasn't been sliding out of position like Keopple is prone to. It could nerves or something, he's not a small goalie but he kind of slides like an Iles or Shane, whereas Cournoyer sits still like a wall. I feel like Keopple has untapped potential but rolling with Cournoyer makes sense going forward.

Generally, goalies who slide around aren't in the right position and have to compensate with athleticism. The best goalies often do not look like they're the best - because they know where the puck is and they simply are there in time for the shot.

Appreciate this insight. I'd been trying to figure how Cournoyer has been so successful.

It was a talking point around Akira Schmid in the NJD/NYR series a few years back. Very positionally sound guy (at the time at least), compared to Vanecek who'd flop around the net like a fish.

There are goalies like Saros who primarily rely on athleticism (pretty sure Hasek was the poster child here), but that same reliance on movement to make saves is what causes more injuries and indirectly a shorter career of it. Modern goaltending is predicting the shot and being in position before it even goes off the stick. Especially with modern shooters' strategies, and the rising sh% and dropping sv% in the NHL and other leagues, playing a more positionally sound game conserves energy and decreases injury risk.

Keopple "wastes motion" because he isn't predicting where the shot is coming from. As such, he has to scramble to compensate - and not like Cournoyer's frequent tummy time, either, but mad scrambles from one end of the net to the other.

Good goalies have every shot hit their chest/leg pads. (Or as many as possible.) They make it look easy.

You're always going to have the athletic glove saves - of course - but they're not the point of goaltending. A boring goalie is a good goalie.

Fascinating!

Are you sure you don't want to be a sports agent or a hockey lawyer? A friend of mine was legal counsel for the NHL: free Ranger tickets!!

[stereax]

Fascinating!

Are you sure you don't want to be a sports agent or a hockey lawyer? A friend of mine was legal counsel for the NHL: free Ranger tickets!!

Free tickets... but Rangers tickets, ew. Haha.

But being serious: most of being an actually successful sports agent/"hockey lawyer" is having connections in hockey.

Which... yeah. I don't have that. Lol.

[marty]

How can you correctly pronounce a name and then immediately mispronounce it?

Yeah, pretty weak PxP guy. He was befuddled that Ryan's goal wasn't overturned due to goaltender interference; he apparently was unaware that there's no interference when the offensive player is driven into the goalie by a defender, compared with the SLU guy who on his own impeded Keopple's movement.

And the guy trying to provide color was also clueless on the reason that it wasn't called.

[Trotsky]

Cornell stays at 17 on USCHO and moves up to 15 in USA Hockey because that's how things go.

[VIEWfromK]

Friend who can't yet post on the forums (signup function is broken) informs that "I want it to be said that that was probably the worst looking 7-2 win of all time".

Make of that what you will?

I get the point.  It wasn't flashy but they took care of business.  It's ok to have a relatively easy one once in a while even though for a minute there it got a little hairy. 

[Trotsky]

Are you sure you don't want to be a sports agent or a hockey lawyer?

At least she'd only be stealing from people who deserve it.  That's the best you're gonna do.

[stereax]

Dear Stereax,

When you hear a coach say, "you play like you practice," this past weekend made that feel like an understatement. Coming off our big MSG weekend, we had a below-average week of practice. We warned the guys—more than once—and although we put together a strong skate on Thursday before heading to the North Country, it ultimately proved to be just window dressing.

Clarkson – Friday Night
Ironically, we started very well at Clarkson and thought we had taken a 1–0 lead in the first. After review, the goal was waved off for goalie interference. Clarkson then struck first on a partially deflected shot—one we still should have stopped. Up to that point, they had generated almost nothing. We responded quickly with a power-play goal, and on a positive note, our PP continues to become more consistent and now ranks 10th in the country at 25%.

From there, the game turned into a slow, choppy affair, with a scrum after nearly every whistle. I was frustrated with our lack of detail and, most importantly, our discipline. We entered the night as the third-least penalized team in the country, but we handed Clarkson six power-play opportunities. To our credit, we were perfect—6-for-6 on the PK—but our best offensive players also kill penalties, and those heavy minutes took away from what we could generate five-on-five. In the third, Clarkson scored three goals in about three minutes, and we couldn't find the net the rest of the way, resulting in a 4–1 loss.

St. Lawrence – Saturday Night
Saturday at St. Lawrence was an important game. They're at the bottom of the standings, and the teams at the top of our league have taken care of business against them—we needed to do the same. Our first period was one of our best of the year if not the best. Obviously, we discussed how we beat ourselves the night before and watched the video of our undisciplined play, so I was extremely pleased with how we responded. We jumped out to a 2–0 lead and outshot them 18–1. But as the night unfolded, SLU's power play—which came in at just 9%—gave us problems. They scored on their first two opportunities to tie the game at 2–2 early in the second.

We regained the lead on a goal from Charlie Major, only for SLU to answer again on the man advantage. We challenged for goalie interference, won the challenge, and the goal was wiped off. From that point forward, the game was never really in doubt. We carried a 4–2 lead into the second intermission and added three more in the third to close out a 7–2 win and finish the weekend on a strong note.

First-Half Reflection
Looking back on the first semester, we've put together a solid start at 7–4 overall and 6–2 in the ECAC, and we've realistically had a chance to win every game. Considering the number of new players and staff we brought in, we're ahead of where I expected us to be defensively. Offensively, we still have a ton of room to grow offensively, and that's what makes this group exciting—the ceiling is high, and our best hockey is still in front of us.

Looking Ahead
With exams approaching and sometime before our next game in January, this stretch provides a great opportunity for development. We talk internally about using hockey as a release during this part of the semester—something that helps the players decompress while still allowing us to get better. We plan to use these next two weeks wisely.

As the calendar turns to 2026, I want to again emphasize how vital our alumni and friends are in helping us create the student-athlete experience our players deserve in an increasingly competitive college hockey landscape.

This year's alumni weekend is January 23-24, 2026 (Dartmouth/Harvard weekend). We are celebrating the '86 and '96 championship teams. If you're planning to come back, make sure you are registered!

Please consider making a gift to Men's Ice Hockey before the year ends.

Thank you for your continued belief in our team, and for everything you do for our program. We look forward to seeing you back at Lynah in the new year.

Let's Go Red!


Casey Jones '90

Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey

The letter this week, for those who are interested. Good insights, as usual.

[BearLover]

Dear Stereax,

When you hear a coach say, "you play like you practice," this past weekend made that feel like an understatement. Coming off our big MSG weekend, we had a below-average week of practice. We warned the guys—more than once—and although we put together a strong skate on Thursday before heading to the North Country, it ultimately proved to be just window dressing.

Clarkson – Friday Night
Ironically, we started very well at Clarkson and thought we had taken a 1–0 lead in the first. After review, the goal was waved off for goalie interference. Clarkson then struck first on a partially deflected shot—one we still should have stopped. Up to that point, they had generated almost nothing. We responded quickly with a power-play goal, and on a positive note, our PP continues to become more consistent and now ranks 10th in the country at 25%.

From there, the game turned into a slow, choppy affair, with a scrum after nearly every whistle. I was frustrated with our lack of detail and, most importantly, our discipline. We entered the night as the third-least penalized team in the country, but we handed Clarkson six power-play opportunities. To our credit, we were perfect—6-for-6 on the PK—but our best offensive players also kill penalties, and those heavy minutes took away from what we could generate five-on-five. In the third, Clarkson scored three goals in about three minutes, and we couldn't find the net the rest of the way, resulting in a 4–1 loss.

St. Lawrence – Saturday Night
Saturday at St. Lawrence was an important game. They're at the bottom of the standings, and the teams at the top of our league have taken care of business against them—we needed to do the same. Our first period was one of our best of the year if not the best. Obviously, we discussed how we beat ourselves the night before and watched the video of our undisciplined play, so I was extremely pleased with how we responded. We jumped out to a 2–0 lead and outshot them 18–1. But as the night unfolded, SLU's power play—which came in at just 9%—gave us problems. They scored on their first two opportunities to tie the game at 2–2 early in the second.

We regained the lead on a goal from Charlie Major, only for SLU to answer again on the man advantage. We challenged for goalie interference, won the challenge, and the goal was wiped off. From that point forward, the game was never really in doubt. We carried a 4–2 lead into the second intermission and added three more in the third to close out a 7–2 win and finish the weekend on a strong note.

First-Half Reflection
Looking back on the first semester, we've put together a solid start at 7–4 overall and 6–2 in the ECAC, and we've realistically had a chance to win every game. Considering the number of new players and staff we brought in, we're ahead of where I expected us to be defensively. Offensively, we still have a ton of room to grow offensively, and that's what makes this group exciting—the ceiling is high, and our best hockey is still in front of us.

Looking Ahead
With exams approaching and sometime before our next game in January, this stretch provides a great opportunity for development. We talk internally about using hockey as a release during this part of the semester—something that helps the players decompress while still allowing us to get better. We plan to use these next two weeks wisely.

As the calendar turns to 2026, I want to again emphasize how vital our alumni and friends are in helping us create the student-athlete experience our players deserve in an increasingly competitive college hockey landscape.

This year's alumni weekend is January 23-24, 2026 (Dartmouth/Harvard weekend). We are celebrating the '86 and '96 championship teams. If you're planning to come back, make sure you are registered!

Please consider making a gift to Men's Ice Hockey before the year ends.

Thank you for your continued belief in our team, and for everything you do for our program. We look forward to seeing you back at Lynah in the new year.

Let's Go Red!


Casey Jones '90

Jay R. Bloom '77 Head Coach of Men's Hockey

The letter this week, for those who are interested. Good insights, as usual.

Great email tbh.

[Jim Hyla]

Friend who can't yet post on the forums (signup function is broken) informs that "I want it to be said that that was probably the worst looking 7-2 win of all time".

Make of that what you will?

I get the point.  It wasn't flashy but they took care of business.  It's ok to have a relatively easy one once in a while even though for a minute there it got a little hairy.

Most important, I think, is how we responded after SLU tied the game. As opposed to against Clarkson, when they got their 3 goals, we took care of things and won.

[Jim Hyla]

I don't know anything about goaltending but Keopple just doesn't look steady. So much wasted motion as compared to Cournoyer. Cournoyer has given up a few soft goals but he hasn't been sliding out of position like Keopple is prone to. It could nerves or something, he's not a small goalie but he kind of slides like an Iles or Shane, whereas Cournoyer sits still like a wall. I feel like Keopple has untapped potential but rolling with Cournoyer makes sense going forward.

Generally, goalies who slide around aren't in the right position and have to compensate with athleticism. The best goalies often do not look like they're the best - because they know where the puck is and they simply are there in time for the shot.

Same idea as famously quoted by Wayne Gretzky

" I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been."

[Iceberg]

You're talking about Dartmouth's Croteau, right? If so can you explain your thinking here? He was just named HCA (Hockey Coaches Association) Goalie of the Month.

Yep. He played last season too and split time with another goaltender. He was the better of the two but I'm not convinced he'll keep up his numbers the whole season from what I've seen, especially when Dartmouth plays better competition after the new year. Also, it sure helps that the team in front of him seems to never stop scoring