How far Cornell hasn't fallen this year

[Beeeej]

[quote ebilmes]Just because a poster says they agree with me does not mean that I, in turn, agree with his claims.

There's no doubt that Cornell will return to the top within a few years. My point was simply that this year was disappointing -- a good sized drop-off from earlier in the decade. This team could have accomplished a lot more than a mediocre finish in a weak conference.[/quote]

I apologize for lumping you into this particular argument - I think I actually started one post and ended up writing another.  :-)

And I'm not sure they could have accomplished a lot more.  Sometimes your results are a pretty good indicator of your talent.  I don't think it's a coincidence that the four teams above us swept us.  On the other hand, let's see what happens in the ECAC tournament.  I'd be surprised to see us hoist the trophy, but I certainly wouldn't complain.

[RichH]

People seem to ignore the fact that once again, the league was remarkably tight.  Fact is that Cornell was one point off of securing the bye.  Any of our close losses (or any of our ties)...one shot that squeaks through, correct one of those defensive breakdowns early in the season, and it's different.  Heck, we turn one of the losses to Princeton into a win, and we're sitting in 2nd place.

The only thing is that in sports, you can play "what if" games for days and drive yourself crazy.  Also, every team around us has the same argument I just made above.  

Given what I saw after the 2nd home weekend, I'm OK with where we are.  Strides have been made...maybe not as big as we would like, but I like this team.  They're young, and good enough to be able to beat anyone in the league.  It's playoff time, lets make some gravy.

Of course, I'm one of those grateful classes from the '90s, so I see a #5 finish as an ideal spot from which to make a playoff run.

[upperdeck]

a path of Dart/Union and then clarkson who they have have played 3 times and have been the better team in 2/3 of each game yet nothing to show for it arnt really a daunting path to earn a trip to the NCAA's..

[Dpperk29]

[quote upperdeck]clarkson who they have have played 3 times and have been the better team in 2/3 of each game[/quote]

that could be argued, but I will agree that the games were closer than the scores showed (I am only speaking of the 2 league games, not Florida)

[billhoward]

Clarkson is the only major obstacle to a Cornell ECAC title. That and the way we've played this year. Everyone else, we're better than or nearly equal to. Assuming the higher seed wins in the first round (us), then we get to see if Schafer can fire up the team in Schenectady. If some lower seed pulls an upset in the second round (in addition to Cornell), then that is Clarkson's Friday night opponent. Still, an iffy proposition. And a better proposition than what Dartmouth faces this year after also being near the top last year.

[jeh25]

[quote Kris]I do not know why a team with such inspired fanbases cannot impose its will upon the University and Red Recruiting to build a team capable of national glory [/quote]

Because such a naked effort to put winning above all would require such a betrayal of the principles of Ivy League athletics that the resultant championship would be hollow and meaningless?

Put another way, was President Day wrong in telegramming Dartmouth to concede the infamous 5th down game? After all, that little telegram cost them a 19 game win streak and a probable shot at the national title...

[Trotsky]

[quote billhoward]Clarkson is the only major obstacle to a Cornell ECAC title. That and the way we've played this year. Everyone else, we're better than or nearly equal to.[/quote]Princeton is nearly as good as Clarkson, and Cornell hasn't played them well, either.

[Jim Hyla]

[quote Trotsky][quote billhoward]Clarkson is the only major obstacle to a Cornell ECAC title. That and the way we've played this year. Everyone else, we're better than or nearly equal to.[/quote]Princeton is nearly as good as Clarkson, and Cornell hasn't played them well, either.[/quote]

I don't know, 2 one goal games, same or more shots; I'd not be unhappy with Princeton. Overall I still think Clarkson is the best team in the league. Now whether they can get past their poor past ECAC performance is a different question. They also have more experience in the tourney, both players and coach, than PU.

[Trotsky]

We'll see.  I'm thinking that if Cornell can claw their way to Albany, they'll be facing Clarkson in the semi.

[Jim Hyla]

[quote Trotsky]We'll see.  I'm thinking that if Cornell can claw their way to Albany, they'll be facing Clarkson in the semi.[/quote]

I don't disagree. I'm not picking any other top 4 to lose.

[Doug '08]

I wasn't saying anything about the future of the program, just that it is a disservice to Cornell hockey to compare it to Dartmouth and SLU.

[Jim Hyla]

[quote Doug '08]I wasn't saying anything about the future of the program, just that it is a disservice to Cornell hockey to compare it to Dartmouth and SLU.[/quote]

Well your first post seemed a lot stronger than that, and billhoward didn't compare our program to theirs; he just pointed out how far others had fallen compared to our drop.

[Rita]

I haven't really checked the standings in other leagues in a while and I was quite shocked to see that it is possible that Maine and/or UMASS-Amherst (both NC$$ playoff teams from last year) might not make it into the Hockey East playoffs! I knew that Maine was having a down year, but not that down as in failing to get into the league playoffs. ::bugeye::

Cornell's failure to lock up a first round bye doesn't seem so bad.

LGR!

[DeltaOne81]

[quote Rita]I haven't really checked the standings in other leagues in a while and I was quite shocked to see that it is possible that Maine and/or UMASS-Amherst (both NC$$ playoff teams from last year) might not make it into the Hockey East playoffs! I knew that Maine was having a down year, but not that down as in failing to get into the league playoffs. ::bugeye::

Cornell's failure to lock up a first round bye doesn't seem so bad. [/quote]

Yeah... if we failed to get into *our* league's playoffs, we'd *really* be in trouble

[Trotsky]

[quote billhoward]This is shaping up as Cornell's least successful season in years.[/quote]Well, they now have 1 more playoff victory than last year's team, and as many as the 2004 team.