Cornell-BU

[Jim Hyla]

eating shit in the conference semis against princeton is not going to endear us to the prognosticators.

You have a way with words.;-)

[And I completely agree with these.]

I'm hanging my hat on the fact that when Yale and Providence won their recent NC's they both flamed-out in their conference playoffs. Hopefully we got our "bad" game out of the way (in which we didn't play terribly truth be told).

As did all but BU in this regional. Only BU even got past the semis. So everybody craps on us, but not the others? I'm not referring to you.

[BearLover]

eating shit in the conference semis against princeton is not going to endear us to the prognosticators.

You have a way with words.;-)

[And I completely agree with these.]

I'm hanging my hat on the fact that when Yale and Providence won their recent NC's they both flamed-out in their conference playoffs. Hopefully we got our "bad" game out of the way (in which we didn't play terribly truth be told).

I don't think Cornell played that badly against Princeton, to be totally honest. And I also don't think BU really blew anyone away during their Hockey East playoff run (four one-goal wins). There are reasons to think we are the underdog on Saturday, but the last few games I don't think tell us all that much, even if the prognosticators act like they do.

[Al DeFlorio]

eating shit in the conference semis against princeton is not going to endear us to the prognosticators.

You have a way with words.;-)

[And I completely agree with these.]

I'm hanging my hat on the fact that when Yale and Providence won their recent NC's they both flamed-out in their conference playoffs. Hopefully we got our "bad" game out of the way (in which we didn't play terribly truth be told).

As did all but BU in this regional. Only BU even got past the semis. So everybody craps on us, but not the others? I'm not referring to you.

Michigan lost in OT to an eventual NCAA 1 seed.  Northeastern lost in OT to an eventual NCAA 2 seed.  Cornell lost to a team that would have hit the links if it hadn't won its tournament.  Ugarte expressed it perfectly.

[scoop85]

eating shit in the conference semis against princeton is not going to endear us to the prognosticators.

You have a way with words.;-)

[And I completely agree with these.]

I'm hanging my hat on the fact that when Yale and Providence won their recent NC's they both flamed-out in their conference playoffs. Hopefully we got our "bad" game out of the way (in which we didn't play terribly truth be told).

As did all but BU in this regional. Only BU even got past the semis. So everybody craps on us, but not the others? I'm not referring to you.

Michigan lost in OT to an eventual NCAA 1 seed.  Northeastern lost in OT to an eventual NCAA 2 seed.  Cornell lost to a team that would have hit the links if it hadn't won its tournament.  Ugarte expressed it perfectly.

Fair point; while I never like to put too much stock in a single game, I can see why the prognosticators might be down on us. We'll see how things play out.

[ugarte]

eating shit in the conference semis against princeton is not going to endear us to the prognosticators.

You have a way with words.;-)

[And I completely agree with these.]

I'm hanging my hat on the fact that when Yale and Providence won their recent NC's they both flamed-out in their conference playoffs. Hopefully we got our "bad" game out of the way (in which we didn't play terribly truth be told).

As did all but BU in this regional. Only BU even got past the semis. So everybody craps on us, but not the others? I'm not referring to you.

Michigan lost in OT to an eventual NCAA 1 seed.  Northeastern lost in OT to an eventual NCAA 2 seed.  Cornell lost to a team that would have hit the links if it hadn't won its tournament.  Ugarte expressed it perfectly.

it's not like i'm counting us out. what i'm saying is that i think we were eyed with suspicion all year and that game was enough to hang their hat on, and to choose a team that has played a tougher SOS or has a stronger "prospect" pedigree.

i'd think it was weird if the professional wags were picking us tbh.

[Beeeej]

Cornell's preview:

http://cornellbigred.com/news/2018/3/21/mens-ice-hockey-as-regions-top-seed-3-4-mens-hockey-takes-on-bu-in-ncaas.aspx

[billhoward]

We played more than okay against Princeton. Just didn't put the puck in the net. FWIW: The last time we played BU in the NCAAs, we beat BU 3-2 in the RS in Ithaca in 1972. John Danby of BU, their stud forward that year, said, "I think we played a better game. We just didn't get the goals. We'll see what happens if we play again." That line stuck with me. We played BU for the ECAC title and lost 4-1, came back a week later and blew apart Denver (thought to be the tourney favorite) in the NCAA semis by 7-2. and then reverted to norm the next night losing to BU 4-0 for the title. http://www.tbrw.info

[Jim Hyla]

We played more than okay against Princeton. Just didn't put the puck in the net. FWIW: The last time we played BU in the NCAAs, we beat BU 3-2 in the RS in Ithaca in 1972. John Danby of BU, their stud forward that year, said, "I think we played a better game. We just didn't get the goals. We'll see what happens if we play again." That line stuck with me. We played BU for the ECAC title and lost 4-1, came back a week later and blew apart Denver (thought to be the tourney favorite) in the NCAA semis by 7-2. and then reverted to norm the next night losing to BU 4-0 for the title. http://www.tbrw.info

Agree. The PU game was not terrible play, just not as good as we can do, starting in the second period. Even with that it took some luck on the first couple of goals that PU got. Who knows what would have happened if that didn't occur. I've certainly seen the team get thru a bad period and then come back strong.

But that's past tense, let's hope they show how well they can bounce back. Certainly in the post-game press conference after PU, neither the players, nor coach, were hanging their heads low. Rather, they seemed to feel they didn't play as well as they could and they'll do better.

The only thing I didn't like from that conference was coach saying the bench was quiet once they got behind. We need our captains and better players to step up at those times. I'm "confident" that they will.

[Jim Hyla]

Cornell's preview:

http://cornellbigred.com/news/2018/3/21/mens-ice-hockey-as-regions-top-seed-3-4-mens-hockey-takes-on-bu-in-ncaas.aspx

Some very interesting numbers from that article.

"Need-To-Know Numbers:

•  Cornell has been particularly dominant at even strength, leading the nation with a team rating of plus-49. The Big Red has surrendered just a paltry 30 even-strength goals so far. For perspective, the next two lowest totals in the nation are Clarkson at 50, and Northeastern and Minnesota State at 57.

•  The Big Red has three players in the top 10 nationally in rating, all junior defensemen. Matt Nuttle and Brendan Smith are tied for third at plus-22, while Alec McCrea — typically paired with Smith — is tied for sixth at plus-21. Junior forward Anthony Angello (plus-18) is tied for sixth among forwards.

•  Cornell is the only team in the NCAA tournament field that has not surrendered more than four goals in a game this season.

•  The Big Red is the youngest team in ECAC Hockey and the seventh-youngest team in the country. Despite playing fewer games than everyone else, the Big Red rank fifth among the 16 NCAA tournament teams in freshman scoring (24-54–78)."

What a future, I hope.

[billhoward]

Being so good at even strength scoring means we need to do better on special teams. It's been a while since we went into a season where our power play scared the other guys. It has been disappointing when we give up a goal on penalty kill; if we're good with five skaters on the ice, we should be pretty good also with our four best remaining skaters.

[Trotsky]

I don't think we played poorly but I think there were long stretches when we played without intensity, or at least with less intensity than the Tigers.  Princeton was beating us to the puck, coming out of the corners with possession, and in the later stages suffocating our transition and standing us up at the blue line.

Princeton played a fantastic weekend, except the first period of our game when I thought we thoroughly outplayed them and would have had them down for the count with just one more Cornell goal.  But I wouldn't say we played all that well the next two periods.  We were meh and they were really on top of their game, and we got what we deserved.  It's nothing to commit suicide over but this weekend is really the test of the whole season: play the way we can and we have a legitimate 1-seed's chance of going to St. Paul.

This has been a solid team to watch all year, and even though I'm too old and cynical to fall in love I believe this is our best bet since '05.  I believe this team should be in the Frozen Four.  Usually in the NC$$s I feel like if we can just keep it close we have a puncher's chance, but no, this year I feel like if all goes according to plan we ought to advance.  In 38 seasons I've only felt that on two other occasions, '03 and '05.  Now here we are, 20 games over .500, and I feel like this is qualitatively a better team than all but those two.



I really want this and I am allowing myself to hope for it because I feel like we have a serious, non-delusional, non-miracle shot.

[RichH]

From the normally good CHN in their preview:
https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2018/03/23_NCAA-Northeast-Regional-Preview.php

The Terriers met Cornell at Madison Square Garden in November and took an early-season win — one of just five teams to beat Cornell this season — and now becomes the question of whether or not they can do it again. Cornell, a little older, isn't over-the-top physical as it has been in prior years. The Big Red have more skill and are considerably smaller than they were three years ago.

The fascinating matchup here is Cornell stud freshman goaltender Matthew Galajda (.940 save percentage) going up against a star-studded BU roster, which includes freshman first-round pick Shane Bowers and future first-round pick Brady Tkachuk.

"They have had a heck of a season," BU coach David Quinn said. "They are a No. 1 seed for a reason. We had a great game with them in New York City in November. But we are two completely different teams now, as are most teams in the tournament. When you are in the national tournament you are playing a great team."

BU was able to steal a win from the Big Red in November after two late goals in the third period. Schafer said that his team learned plenty on that November night.

I had to look again at our results to make sure I hadn't had a Mandela Effect moment.

[coz]

I saw that as well and nearly shit a brick.

[Jim Hyla]

I saw that as well and nearly shit a brick.

Talk about no respect. If they can't get a win, say nothing about the score, correct, well maybe that helps to explain why they don't think we got a bad deal in going to Worcester.

"It is nice getting (Worcester) because the last few years we've been out west," Quinn said this week. "It will be great for us to have some fan support and hopefully we'll get a big crowd."

Do they deserve it?

[Beeeej]

Normally, I just tell Adam about these things privately as a courtesy, but this is just a bridge too far. Sloppiness in the extreme. So instead...

https://twitter.com/BeeeejEsq/status/977151509422137344