Cornell Women's Hockey

[RichH]

Inspiring run.  A little heartbroken, but so incredibly proud of this team.  Congratulations, and thank you, ladies.

[Rosey]

Tough loss to take after getting this close.  Was an excellent game, but Cornell started looking visibly tired in the 2nd OT, so I can't say the outcome is unsurprising.  Still, they return nearly all their strengths, and hopefully get Rebecca Johnston back, so they should be at least as good next year.

[Tom Lento]

Heartbreaking end to an amazing run. This was arguably the greatest Cornell women's hockey team of all time.

I'm hoping for an even better team next season. I don't think that's being too greedy, do you?

[mmgithaca]

Since their arrival home is late for their little sisters with TGHA, how about some adult fans also join the rally at the airport tonight?!

No update yet on their flight plan so assume 9:45 p.m. unless updated here, or contact mmgithaca@aol.com.

[Rosey]

BTW, Tom, do you know if Johnston gets a redshirt for this year's absence, or did she lose a year of eligibility?

[Jacob '06]

BTW, Tom, do you know if Johnston gets a redshirt for this year's absence, or did she lose a year of eligibility?

Was she even enrolled at Cornell this year? Not knowing what i'm talking about, I don't know how she could lose a year of eligibility if she wasn't enrolled in school.

[tamarack99]

They are still the best team in the country in my book!  Awesome work by an amazing team!  We very much enjoyed following them this year.  
We'd love to see all your support at our new fansite.  GO Big Red!

[Rosey]

BTW, Tom, do you know if Johnston gets a redshirt for this year's absence, or did she lose a year of eligibility?

Was she even enrolled at Cornell this year? Not knowing what i'm talking about, I don't know how she could lose a year of eligibility if she wasn't enrolled in school.

The Ivies have some very strict rules regarding eligibility: I think in general the clock starts ticking on your first day of play (or enrollment?) with few exceptions.  Vinnie Auger was one of those few exceptions, IIRC.

[Tom Lento]

BTW, Tom, do you know if Johnston gets a redshirt for this year's absence, or did she lose a year of eligibility?

Was she even enrolled at Cornell this year? Not knowing what i'm talking about, I don't know how she could lose a year of eligibility if she wasn't enrolled in school.

I believe the Ivy does 4 years of eligibility to be used within 5 calendar years, but the student must have a valid academic reason for remaining at the school. The most common Ivy red-shirts are medical, but I believe you can get one for a non-medical leave of absence as well provided you will be short of the requirements for graduation. I think student-athletes can also petition to extend the calendar year clock.

I have no idea what Johnston's status is for this year, but I can't imagine she'd actually be enrolled as a student, so in all likelihood she will retain her full eligibility.

Edit - as an example, Jennifer Botteril was a Junior for Harvard in 2000-2001, took the 2001-2002 season off to play for team Canada in the Olympics, and returned for her senior season in 2002-2003. Julie Chu played four years with a one year leave of absence for the Olympics in 2005-2006, and I believe Angela Ruggiero actually took 2 years off from school and used all four years of eligibility.

[ugarte]

BTW, Tom, do you know if Johnston gets a redshirt for this year's absence, or did she lose a year of eligibility?

Was she even enrolled at Cornell this year? Not knowing what i'm talking about, I don't know how she could lose a year of eligibility if she wasn't enrolled in school.

I believe the Ivy does 4 years of eligibility to be used within 5 calendar years, but the student must have a valid academic reason for remaining at the school.

This is the NCAA rule, though the Ivy league doesn't allow students to retain athletic eligibility if they are using their 5th year for grad school. Cornell had a wrestler (whose name is escaping me, Tyler Baier maybe?) who used his final year of sports eligibility by transferring to UNC-Greensboro for a masters.

As for whether Rebecca Johnston's return will help the women, I am sure that they will be better - but I wonder if they will be better relative to the field. UMD made the finals without a bunch of players on both the Canadian and Finnish teams.

A hell of an accomplishment to get this far. Congratulations to the Big Red.

[Towerroad]

Congratulations to the Womens Hockey team. The 2 best teams in college hockey met and played their hearts out. Looking forward to next year!!!

[Tom Lento]

BTW, Tom, do you know if Johnston gets a redshirt for this year's absence, or did she lose a year of eligibility?

Was she even enrolled at Cornell this year? Not knowing what i'm talking about, I don't know how she could lose a year of eligibility if she wasn't enrolled in school.

I believe the Ivy does 4 years of eligibility to be used within 5 calendar years, but the student must have a valid academic reason for remaining at the school.

This is the NCAA rule, though the Ivy league doesn't allow students to retain athletic eligibility if they are using their 5th year for grad school. Cornell had a wrestler (whose name is escaping me, Tyler Baier maybe?) who used his final year of sports eligibility by transferring to UNC-Greensboro for a masters.

As for whether Rebecca Johnston's return will help the women, I am sure that they will be better - but I wonder if they will be better relative to the field. UMD made the finals without a bunch of players on both the Canadian and Finnish teams.

A hell of an accomplishment to get this far. Congratulations to the Big Red.

That's always the big question. Cornell's 1997-98 team finished 5th in the ECAC (effectively top 8 in the nation) but they were way behind Dartmouth, Harvard, Minnesota and UMD, among others, when the olympians came back.

Cornell's got some serious talent coming in next year, with Johnston and some big-time freshmen, but I don't know if they'll have enough for a title. Still, I stand by my prediction from earlier this season - next year is likely Cornell's best shot at a Frozen Four. I'm thrilled that they got there a year early.

There are some great photos of the GWG against Mercyhurst on the USCHO thread:

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=89614&page=5

[Ronald '09]

BTW, Tom, do you know if Johnston gets a redshirt for this year's absence, or did she lose a year of eligibility?

Was she even enrolled at Cornell this year? Not knowing what i'm talking about, I don't know how she could lose a year of eligibility if she wasn't enrolled in school.

I believe the Ivy does 4 years of eligibility to be used within 5 calendar years, but the student must have a valid academic reason for remaining at the school. The most common Ivy red-shirts are medical, but I believe you can get one for a non-medical leave of absence as well provided you will be short of the requirements for graduation. I think student-athletes can also petition to extend the calendar year clock.

I have no idea what Johnston's status is for this year, but I can't imagine she'd actually be enrolled as a student, so in all likelihood she will retain her full eligibility.

Edit - as an example, Jennifer Botteril was a Junior for Harvard in 2000-2001, took the 2001-2002 season off to play for team Canada in the Olympics, and returned for her senior season in 2002-2003. Julie Chu played four years with a one year leave of absence for the Olympics in 2005-2006, and I believe Angela Ruggiero actually took 2 years off from school and used all four years of eligibility.

Is this situation any different from Troy Davenport's was with the men's team?

[marty]

Heartbreaking end to an amazing run. This was arguably the greatest Cornell women's hockey team of all time.

I'm hoping for an even better team next season. I don't think that's being too greedy, do you?

I disagree, the best - no arguments allowed.

[Jim Hyla]

BTW, Tom, do you know if Johnston gets a redshirt for this year's absence, or did she lose a year of eligibility?

Was she even enrolled at Cornell this year? Not knowing what i'm talking about, I don't know how she could lose a year of eligibility if she wasn't enrolled in school.

I believe the Ivy does 4 years of eligibility to be used within 5 calendar years, but the student must have a valid academic reason for remaining at the school.

This is the NCAA rule, though the Ivy league doesn't allow students to retain athletic eligibility if they are using their 5th year for grad school. Cornell had a wrestler (whose name is escaping me, Tyler Baier maybe?) who used his final year of sports eligibility by transferring to UNC-Greensboro for a masters.

As for whether Rebecca Johnston's return will help the women, I am sure that they will be better - but I wonder if they will be better relative to the field. UMD made the finals without a bunch of players on both the Canadian and Finnish teams.

A hell of an accomplishment to get this far. Congratulations to the Big Red.

That's always the big question. Cornell's 1997-98 team finished 5th in the ECAC (effectively top 8 in the nation) but they were way behind Dartmouth, Harvard, Minnesota and UMD, among others, when the olympians came back.

Cornell's got some serious talent coming in next year, with Johnston and some big-time freshmen, but I don't know if they'll have enough for a title. Still, I stand by my prediction from earlier this season - next year is likely Cornell's best shot at a Frozen Four. I'm thrilled that they got there a year early.

There are some great photos of the GWG against Mercyhurst on the USCHO thread:

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=89614&page=5

But the main reason they lost was a lack of bodies, so more of them should help a lot. Considering how far we went with what we had, I'm very optimistic.