Cornell-Bemidji NCAA regionals postgame

[billhoward]

Given how reduced the expectations were at the outset of the season, it's hard to be disappointed when the team gets one game from the Final Four before exiting. But still, once we got this far, we should have gone further. Once the one-seeds went down except BU in the opposite bracket, it's hard to imagine a theoretically smoother path to the title game than Cornell had this year.

Same old story as in other games where we can't catch up: We seem to have the style of play for protecting a two-goal lead except we're two goals down. Control the puck, buzz around the attacking zone, take some nice shots, have some close calls, just can't buy a goal. And no two-minute-drill miracles tonight.

Greening's bad luck shooting wide at an open net in the first may have been the difference in the game. We could have had a 2-0 lead (but didn't). Scrivens misjudged that long shot from the point and then we had the misfortune for Davenport to be a step too quick and the puck got behind him, giving Bemidji another goal.

Frustrating that we lost a game we could have won. Probably the health of key players was a factor.

Tonight, I'm having trouble forming the words "went further than anybody expected" and no trouble forming "We coulda been in the freakin' title game!"

[dbilmes]

This was as frustrating and disappointing loss as we've had in many years. It looked like the stage was set for us to get to the title game by defeating two No. 4 seeds. If we had gone into the third period with the lead, I felt we would have won. But Bemidji simply outplayed us in the third period.
Even so, it was better to lose this way than to lose the way UNH did, where their own player knocked the puck into his own net in the final seconds. That won't be any consolation for us, of course.
It was a still a good, but not great season. Overall, we can't complain.

[scoop85]

[quote dbilmes]It was a still a good, but not great season. Overall, we can't complain.[/quote]

Sure we can ;-).  Now, time to focus on Lax ... where somehow we'll probably have our hearts broken again.

[Beeeej]

[quote dbilmes]
Even so, it was better to lose this way than to lose the way UNH did, where their own player knocked the puck into his own net in the final seconds. That won't be any consolation for us, of course.
[/quote]

Oh, it'll be a little bit of consolation for me.  Really.

[Al DeFlorio]

[quote scoop85]
Now, time to focus on Lax ... where somehow we'll probably have our hearts broken again.[/quote]
That team's having similar injury/health problems to those that plagued hockey and wrestling all season.  Very frustrating.

[TimV]

I have my doubts that we could beat Miami if we had gotten that far.  I agree pretty much with whoever said we're just not that good.  We have half a team - defense - and the nature of hockey is that that will get you a decent number of wins, may be even banners in a league that perrenially doesn't have a lot of scorers, and an occasional magic season, but you really can't live like that and expect to make National Championship noise.

[CUontheslopes]

This one just one of those games where you could feel it slipping away and knew Cornell wasn't going to claw it back. It's funny, I couldn't tell you where things really went wrong. After that first Cornell goal the whole room had a feeling we were going to put our foot on their throat and take it to DC. They're fast for sure, but more fast and out of control/wild. We got suckered into playing an end to end game.

I disagree with all the Schafer-defensive style haters out there who say we need to play more skilled offense. WE just need to execute better on the Schafer system. The better teams from prior years (thinking 03 and 05) forced the other teams to play our game. We were bigger, stronger and just beat the everloving crap out of our opponents. The last few years we haven't played nearly as physical and haven't been nearly as big. Let's get a few more Bâby's and O'Byrnes. If we're going to play Cornell Red Army hockey, let's get the biggest tree trunk defensemen we can and actually beat the crap out of our opponents. That's how we dictated our game and why we were such a dominant third period team. I know a lot of people will say "the game has changed - it's a speed/skill game now" but I think if we're committed to this system that's taken us pretty darn far, let's just do our best to execute it right/the way we used to.

I have high hopes for next year if Riley Nash returns. We don't lose that much talent and I think a Greening/Nash duo could be dynamite. It was a great year and hey, any season that ends with us having a shot to go to a Final/Frozen Four in ANY sport has to be put in the books as a success. It just seems that Cornell has been jinxed in the last 6 years in NCAA quarterfinals. We've lost 3x in hockey (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and tonight) an 2x in lax (navy and Duke). Two of those games were ot (one 3OT), one was by 1 goal (navy), one by 2 or 3 (duke lax). Oh well...kills you to be a CU sports fan on days like today. It's a shame that the last few years have had to end with the same thing - "Well, it's a lacrosse season."

This one hurt though...maybe more so than Wisconsin or Minnesota b/c the door was so open...a CHA opponent between us and a 4 seed in the frozen Four...argh...

Go Red

[Beeeej]

[quote CUontheslopes]I disagree with all the Schafer-defensive style haters out there who say we need to play more skilled offense. WE just need to execute better on the Schafer system. The better teams from prior years (thinking 03 and 05) forced the other teams to play our game. We were bigger, stronger and just beat the everloving crap out of our opponents. The last few years we haven't played nearly as physical and haven't been nearly as big. Let's get a few more Bâby's and O'Byrnes. If we're going to play Cornell Red Army hockey, let's get the biggest tree trunk defensemen we can and actually beat the crap out of our opponents. That's how we dictated our game and why we were such a dominant third period team. I know a lot of people will say "the game has changed - it's a speed/skill game now" but I think if we're committed to this system that's taken us pretty darn far, let's just do our best to execute it right/the way we used to.
[/quote]

Amen.

[Lowell '99]

[quote Beeeej][quote CUontheslopes]I disagree with all the Schafer-defensive style haters out there who say we need to play more skilled offense. WE just need to execute better on the Schafer system. The better teams from prior years (thinking 03 and 05) forced the other teams to play our game. We were bigger, stronger and just beat the everloving crap out of our opponents. The last few years we haven't played nearly as physical and haven't been nearly as big. Let's get a few more Bâby's and O'Byrnes. If we're going to play Cornell Red Army hockey, let's get the biggest tree trunk defensemen we can and actually beat the crap out of our opponents. That's how we dictated our game and why we were such a dominant third period team. I know a lot of people will say "the game has changed - it's a speed/skill game now" but I think if we're committed to this system that's taken us pretty darn far, let's just do our best to execute it right/the way we used to.
[/quote]

Amen.[/quote]

Agreed.  The 2003 team led the country in scoring margin per game and was top ten in goals per game, which doesn't happen if you're purely a defensive team.

[Al DeFlorio]

[quote CUontheslopes]
This one hurt though...maybe more so than Wisconsin or Minnesota b/c the door was so open...a CHA opponent between us and a 4 seed in the frozen Four...argh...
[/quote]
I suppose his logic is "flawed," too, eh, abmarks?  Perhaps it isn't all of us (Trotsky, ebilmes, scoop85, CUontheslopes, even li'l old me) who don't get it, but you know who.;-)

[CUontheslopes]

Yeah...I really just think anyone's who's been to Lynah in the last few years and could compare to 03-05/06 would tell you we're not physical. We're big, but we're not imposing the way we used to be. I'll always miss the line of Sawada, Bitz, O'Byrne, Pokulok and I forget the third forward, but everyone 6-2/3" plus and over 215 lbs. That's Cornell hockey. They hit people. Take that back...they didn't hit people - they lit people up. Teams were afraid to play us...that mystique is gone. I thought the reason we played so well for 40 minutes tonight was we were playing old school CU hockey - we really WERE lighting people up. There were some great hits early on. Bring back Hornby, Murray, Baby, O'Byrne, etc. and I'll be a happy camper.

[abmarks]

[quote CUontheslopes]
I disagree with all the Schafer-defensive style haters out there who say we need to play more skilled offense. WE just need to execute better on the Schafer system. The better teams from prior years (thinking 03 and 05) forced the other teams to play our game. We were bigger, stronger and just beat the everloving crap out of our opponents. The last few years we haven't played nearly as physical and haven't been nearly as big. Let's get a few more Bâby's and O'Byrnes. If we're going to play Cornell Red Army hockey, let's get the biggest tree trunk defensemen we can and actually beat the crap out of our opponents. That's how we dictated our game and why we were such a dominant third period team. I know a lot of people will say "the game has changed - it's a speed/skill game now" but I think if we're committed to this system that's taken us pretty darn far, let's just do our best to execute it right/the way we used to.
[/quote]

1) You do realize they adjusted the officiating to call more obstruction and all that good stuff right?  I'm not sure what would happen if you planted the 03 team into this year's season.  THey'd be better than this year's team, true, but I wonder how much better.

2)  Many have commented in many places that the rest of the ECAC at the least has adjusted over the years to our style of play.  It's not just us... the other teams evolve too.  Yale went from a bunch of hacks to a high-skill team.  

3) It is a speed-skill game now.  look at your final 4: 3 are speed skill teams (maybe 4 depending on what bucket Miami falls into)

[TimV]

[quote Lowell '99][quote Beeeej][quote CUontheslopes]I disagree with all the Schafer-defensive style haters out there who say we need to play more skilled offense. WE just need to execute better on the Schafer system. The better teams from prior years (thinking 03 and 05) forced the other teams to play our game. We were bigger, stronger and just beat the everloving crap out of our opponents. The last few years we haven't played nearly as physical and haven't been nearly as big. Let's get a few more Bâby's and O'Byrnes. If we're going to play Cornell Red Army hockey, let's get the biggest tree trunk defensemen we can and actually beat the crap out of our opponents. That's how we dictated our game and why we were such a dominant third period team. I know a lot of people will say "the game has changed - it's a speed/skill game now" but I think if we're committed to this system that's taken us pretty darn far, let's just do our best to execute it right/the way we used to.
[/quote]

Amen.[/quote]

Agreed.  The 2003 team led the country in scoring margin per game and was top ten in goals per game, which doesn't happen if you're purely a defensive team.[/quote]

Huh???  What did you agree with?   Can we live with zero offense or not?

[CUontheslopes]

Let's not forget how good our special teams were. It seems to me the biggest problem is our PP. We were something like 39th in the country. You can get away with being a great defensive team if you score 2-3 pp goals a game. When you don't...you struggle. I'm sorry, but the 03 team would be a beast no matter who they played. Of course, had a puck bounced our way in 05 or 06 we'd probably think Schafer was a genius and the system was great...

[abmarks]

[quote Al DeFlorio][quote CUontheslopes]
This one hurt though...maybe more so than Wisconsin or Minnesota b/c the door was so open...a CHA opponent between us and a 4 seed in the frozen Four...argh...
[/quote]
I suppose his logic is "flawed," too, eh, abmarks?  Perhaps it isn't all of us (Trotsky, ebilmes, scoop85, CUontheslopes, even li'l old me) who don't get it, but you know who.;-)[/quote]

Gee Al, ignoring all of the people who happen to concur with me that we're playing the wrong style?

I never said it didn't hurt.  It does (mostly because I have FF tickets this one rare year  )  

But the other ones hurt more, because I thought we had a shot at a TITLE those years.  We all know were huge underdogs to win - er I mean get lucky for two more games.   I'll take the pain of losing to a team that beat us soundly despite there less than top-shelf record in a quarter over gettinga bounce or two to make a final and getting smoked by UVM or BU.  Tell me that loss wouldn't hurt so much worse?