Cornell 5 at UNH 2 (postgame)

[billhoward]

Despite giving up 2 goals this was as close to perfection as Cornell has played hockey in a long time.
* Dominant
* Incredible defense
* Good penalty kill (OK, 0x4 on PP could be better)
* Resurrection of the shots-per-sixty Cornell traditon (allow as few shots per 60 minutes as possible, here 22 allowed vs. 43 taken)
* Whatever Mike Schafer said in the wake of the disappointing double loss at the Florida Hockey Classic, and/or whatever the team decided to do on its own ... worked
* Televised and not just over the Web - enough resolution so you could see the Cornell players smiling and enjoying the game. Good PR and recruiting tool, especially hearing Barry Melrose call Cornell the best college hockey team he's seen this year [out of 5 games]
* That awesome 2-minute offensive demonstration of puck control leading to Cornell's fouth goal. Ever seen Cornell play like that recently, let alone end that series with a goal?
* [edit add:] Thrived on an Olympic sheet of ice (200x100).
A team that plays this well is going [to have the chance to go] a long way into the postseason. So long as it continues to play this way.

[marty]

When the season began, I hoped for a great team to watch and root for.  Today we saw them and if anything in the third when they were cycling the puck around a very tired UNH team the Big Red looked better than I could have imagined.

What I liked most was the number of shots on net.  They took shots when they had the chance.  No looking for the perfect shot- and the quick release for some of those will be sorely needed as the season progresses.

I'm in such a good mood that I have decided not to make fun of Coach Umile's hair colorist.

[MattShaf]

Impressive, most impressive.

[Trotsky]

Don't mean this to rain on the parade in any way at all, but the UNH fans on USCHO to a man said this was the worst game they'd played all year.

Than in itself doesn't mean Cornell didn't play great.  (1) They took advantage of a team having an off night, not something that's automatic.  (2) Maybe they made UNH look bad.

[Al DeFlorio]

Don't mean this to rain on the parade in any way at all, but the UNH fans on USCHO to a man said this was the worst game they'd played all year.

Than in itself doesn't mean Cornell didn't play great.  (1) They took advantage of a team having an off night, not something that's automatic.  (2) Maybe they made UNH look bad.

I think UNH's layoff was felt just as Cornell's was in Florida.  It seemed to take Cornell four or five minutes to get used to the bigger ice and then discovered it was easier to play keepaway with more room, and also to take the puck out of the corners to the net.  

Cornell did an incredible job of beating UNH along the boards throughout the game.  That stretch that led to the fourth goal was described by UNH folks on USCHO as: "Ridiculous" and "one of the most dominant offensive possessions I've ever seen. Wow."

[ithacat]

Don't mean this to rain on the parade in any way at all, but the UNH fans on USCHO to a man said this was the worst game they'd played all year.

Than in itself doesn't mean Cornell didn't play great.  (1) They took advantage of a team having an off night, not something that's automatic.  (2) Maybe they made UNH look bad.

The box score to their 6-1 loss to Wisconsin looks pretty bad as well.

[billhoward]

Whatever Schafer said to the team Thursday-to-Saturday, I want to bottle up and give to my son just before he takes his SATs.

[Al DeFlorio]

USCHO recap here: http://www.uscho.com/recaps/20092010/m/01/03/cor-unh.php

[munchkin]

Even though the shot totals for Cornell were really high, the one thing that's still seems to be lacking (at least to me) is the rebounding.  Other than the great possession in the 3rd, a lot of rebounds weren't kept in control.

[LaJollaRed]

Right up to that fourth goal, I was thinking, "Are we a man up? What the hell is going on here?"

Brilliant, crisp passing.

[Rosey]

Can someone who recorded the ESPNU video upload the goal highlights to youtube?  I watched the streaming video but the quality was pretty poor, and I don't have access to the archives with only a single game pass.  I would really like to see the lead-up to the 4th goal again.

[jtwcornell91]

Right up to that fourth goal, I was thinking, "Are we a man up? What the hell is going on here?"

Brilliant, crisp passing.

I just re-watched that sequence, and the puck was in the UNH zone for literally 2:15 before the goal was scored.

[Jim Hyla]

Right up to that fourth goal, I was thinking, "Are we a man up? What the hell is going on here?"

Brilliant, crisp passing.

I just re-watched that sequence, and the puck was in the UNH zone for literally 2:15 before the goal was scored.

"It was a clinic on cycling and puck possession; we couldn't handle it," said UNH coach Dick Umile. "I think they had three line changes and kept it in and we couldn't break it down. They scored on it and that was, as they say, the nail [in the coffin] ."

Read more: http://www.uscho.com/recaps/20092010/m/01/03/cor-unh.php#ixzz0bbPbKynL

[Facetimer]

Anyone have video of the no-goal call with like a minute left in the 1st  period.  From the student section, that looked like a clear goal, but the ref immediately waived it off.  At the start of the intermission (the next stoppage of play) it looked like the refs reviewed the play for several minutes, but there was no announcement and, of course, no goal.

[redice]

I couldn't help but observe that the 2 minutes of dominance (before the 4th goal) was very reminiscent of the o3 team.......