Yale 2 at Cornell 1 (OT) postgame

[billhoward]

That  hurt. Once Yale tied the game, it felt as if a tie wouldn't be a bad outcome. They're good, they appear to have Cornell's number. Five straight losses to Yale. We may need somebody else to knock them out of our ECAC bracket. If we finish 1-2 or 2-1 we should be in different brackets, not that we should look ahead too much.

Announcers said "there were a lot of positives to come out of the game." They must be clearer thinkers than me. I can think of Scrivens' play, the fact that we only allowed Yale one goal in sixty minutes, plus holding Yale to 0x5 on PP, and what else? That's a decent list but against that you can say we just got outplayed for big parts of the game.

This was a weak 2-point weekend if you consider we shouldn't have played Brown to such a close 4-3 (plus ENG) game Friday.

[imafrshmn]

Last time we lost an overtime game at home, it was March 9, 2007 vs Q.

The glaring weakness of this Cornell team is finishing ability.  We had a decent number of high quality chances that were squandered.

[Ronald '09]

Last time we lost an overtime game at home, it was March 9, 2007 vs Q.

The glaring weakness of this Cornell team is finishing ability.  We had a decent number of high quality chances that were squandered.

(Sorry I'm illiterate) What about this overtime game at Lynah?  http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2009/10/30/MICE_1030091227.aspx?path=mhockey

We did miss some opportunities, but all in all, the better team won.  Scrivens kept us in it.  Good to see him rebound from Princeton and he wasn't great last night either.  We didn't give up a PPG, but if we want to beat this team, we need to stay out of the box.  Took away potential offensive time, and the tying goal was also somewhat of a continuation of the Yale power play.

[ugarte]

Last time we lost an overtime game at home, it was March 9, 2007 vs Q.

The glaring weakness of this Cornell team is finishing ability.  We had a decent number of high quality chances that were squandered.

What about this overtime game at Lynah?  http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2009/10/30/MICE_1030091227.aspx?path=mhockey

Since the headline to that article is Devin's OT Gamewinner Lifts Big Red To Season-Opening Victory, you may want to reread imafrshmn's post.

[ithacat]

We did miss some opportunities, but all in all, the better team won.  Scrivens kept us in it.  Good to see him rebound from Princeton and he wasn't great last night either.  We didn't give up a PPG, but if we want to beat this team, we need to stay out of the box.  Took away potential offensive time, and the tying goal was also somewhat of a continuation of the Yale power play.

This team really doesn't get going to the far post on a break. They too often bunch together and, even if not bunched, they rarely will give and go -- when they do, good things often happen.

It was a great hockey game for the first period. Then it was Yale against Scrivens. According to the radio postgame, Scrivens had 50 saves and didn't get a game star. ::screwy::

Also, on the postgame Garrow said the team didn't come to play defensively. It sure looked like Yale skated through, past, and around Cornell for two periods plus overtime. It didn't look like it had anything to do with showing up. Cornell simply can't skate with Yale. When asked about the losing streak to Yale, Garrow said the law of averages would catch up with them eventually. So, I guess Cornell doesn't need  get better to beat Yale -- they just need to get lucky. The game is all speed, attack, and counter attack... tonight was like watching a team play prevent defense for nearly an entire game.

Correction: box score shows Scrivens with 52 saves...Yale had a 41-8 shot advantage after the first period. Of Cornell's 8 shots I believe 3-4 were from PK dump ins.

[Trotsky]

I can think of Scrivens' play, the fact that we only allowed Yale one goal in sixty minutes, plus holding Yale to 0x5 on PP, and what else? That's a decent list but against that you can say we just got outplayed for big parts of the game.

Another positive was Riley's play.  Collins and Espo played well for stretches.  There are things to build on, though obviously nothing you'd trade 2 points for.

Yale's a better team right now.  Their goaltending is soft, but Cornell is going to have to test them more than 4 shots per period.

I hope there's a third meeting.  A title win against such a quality squad would be a heckuva feather.

[Trotsky]

With the win, Yale clinches the Ivy title.

[mnagowski]

Did anybody feel that a turning point for the game was in the second period when there was the questionable non-call on Yale interference? After that it felt like the levees broke and we couldn't sustain any offensive-zone pressure for the rest of the period.

[Scersk '97]

I can think of Scrivens' play, the fact that we only allowed Yale one goal in sixty minutes, plus holding Yale to 0x5 on PP, and what else? That's a decent list but against that you can say we just got outplayed for big parts of the game.

Another positive was Riley's play.  Collins and Espo played well for stretches.  There are things to build on, though obviously nothing you'd trade 2 points for.

Yale's a better team right now.  Their goaltending is soft, but Cornell is going to have to test them more than 4 shots per period.

I hope there's a third meeting.  A title win against such a quality squad would be a heckuva feather.

Agree on R Nash and Collins, disagree on Esposito.  He's fast, sure, and gets to a lot of pucks, but he's not strong with the puck once he gets it.  Sometimes he looks to drag the puck rather than keep it close in to his body, i.e., he tries to pull stuff that used to slide in juniors but won't against teams that play defense.

While I like the Greening/Nash/Kennedy line, Gallagher looks lost without Greening on the wing.  Effectively, we become a one-line team.  Our left wings have traditionally been scorers and our right wings digger/pests.  I'm not convinced that Esposito's the first type, and I don't know that he's strong enough yet to be the second. I might say...  maybe flip Devin to the left wing and go with Greening/Gallagher/Kennedy and Devin/Nash/Esposito?  Or mirror image the offense through the right winger, like we did when little McCutcheon started scoring, in which case I'd go with (LW-scoring) Greening/Gallagher/Kennedy and (mirror) Scali(?)/Nash/Devin?

Not to start a firestorm, but I'm also starting to feel like we're getting outcoached in these tangles with Yale.  Allain is taking a team that is practically built to beat us and doing just that, and we seem unable or unwilling to play the style that prevents them from doing exactly what they want to do.

They're set up to dance, and we're set up to manhandle.  Why do we continue to let them lure us into their up and down game?  Should we meet them in the tournament, it's up to the players to play our game and the coaching staff to remind them incessantly to play within themselves.

[Trotsky]

Hell of a night for Yale's Denny Kearney.  In addition to their win, his sister wins a gold in Vancouver.

[ithacat]

Did anybody feel that a turning point for the game was in the second period when there was the questionable non-call on Yale interference? After that it felt like the levees broke and we couldn't sustain any offensive-zone pressure for the rest of the period.

I thought the turning point was the call on Esposito (?) late in the 1st that carried over into the 2nd -- on a play where it looked like the Yale guy fell down without being touched. Cornell started the 2nd on their heels and never seemed to get their game going again.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

My observation on this team: if we're playing a team that can outskate us, we basically get one goal and then go into a defensive shell.  Then we just fall back around Scrivens and let the opposition throw pucks at us.  We did this against BU, NoDak, Quinny, and now Yale.

It may have worked for the Lax team last year, but it's not working all that well for us.

[ithacat]

Agree on R Nash and Collins, disagree on Esposito.  He's fast, sure, and gets to a lot of pucks, but he's not strong with the puck once he gets it.  Sometimes he looks to drag the puck rather than keep it close in to his body, i.e., he tries to pull stuff that used to slide in juniors but won't against teams that play defense.

I agree Espo's dangle doesn't work at this level, but there's a lot to like about him. Most forwards come in 1-3 years older than he is and they don't look strong with the puck either. Remember he was the only player on the team young enough to have played with the U18 team when they came to visit. I think his vision and instincts are only surpassed by Riley and Jillson on the team. If he puts the work in during the offseason he could be a pretty dangerous and crafty player.

They're set up to dance, and we're set up to manhandle.  Why do we continue to let them lure us into their up and down game?  Should we meet them in the tournament, it's up to the players to play our game and the coaching staff to remind them incessantly to play within themselves.

Great line. Interestingly, however, the only period Cornell appeared in the game (scoreboard aside) was when they played up and and down. The rest of the game was really all downhill...unless you consider Cornell dumping the puck into the Yale zone for a line change up and down. :-)

[ugarte]

Hell of a night for Yale's Denny Kearney.  In addition to their win, his sister wins a gold in Vancouver.

He should have been there supporting her. And not playing against us.

[Rosey]

Not going to win a lot of games getting outshot 52-20.  Simple as that.