2003-2004 Men's Schedule

[Chris 02]

I tend to think that this schedule is really in favor of OUR TEAM!  All of the out-of-conference games (except the Florida tournament) are at home.  Given our spectacular home record this past season (and over the course of Cornell hockey history), I think the team has to look at this with a great bit of optimism.  So there might not be a full Lynah for the Thanksgiving weekend game against Mercyhurst, but do you think it will be quiet?  

Also, last season the team played 8 straight games on the road WMU, Florida, North Country, Capital District.  This year, our longest trip is 4 games which occurs twice.  That's got to a lot easier on the team.  

All in all, people will go, they will cheer, and the Red will do their best!

[rhovorka]

[Q]Also, I think the away Harvard game being over winter break is great, though maybe it's just cause I'm from Ct . I think there are a good portion of Cornell students from New England or NYC or Long Island or Albany which are closer to Boston than Ithaca.[/Q]

Are you willing to trade this convenience for having the Harvard game at Lynah the following season ('04-'05) on January 7?  This is the one point that I'm really upset about.  This is the biggest game of year for us, and everybody knows that.  To schedule it so it'll fall when the students aren't on campus is awful.  Outrage.

[Greg Berge]

The biggest disadvantage of the schedule is that we're done with Harvard after only 7 league games in a season during which it is reasonable to assume that we will start out disorganized and feeling out new combinations, and will get better as the season goes on.

Dividing the season into 15/14 halves separated by students returning the week of 1/16, you get:

(1st half - second half, opponent)

2-0 Western Michigan
1-0 Bowling Green
1-0 Ohio State*
1-0 Mercyhurst
2-0 Brown
2-0 Harvard
1-0 Notre Dame
1-0 Estero second game, either Maine or *Ohio State
------------------------------------------------------------------
1-1 Yale
1-1 Princeton
1-1 Clarkson
1-1 St. Lawrence
------------------------------------------------------------------
0-2 Union
0-2 RPI
0-2 Vermont
0-2 Dartmouth
0-2 Colgate

The second-half "doubles" are in the main weaker than the teams we will meet in the first half at least once.  Obviously, the NC games all fall within the first half as well, but there's nothing that could have been done about that.

It may mean nothing or, if we struggle early, it will mean those early poorer performances tending to come against top ECAC and NC opponent.  We may very well pull a Jack Parker Special -- spend a couple of months screwing around trying to find out what works and losing a lot of games and league points, but then having it together for a ferocious stretch run.



Post Edited (04-30-03 14:44)

[Jim Hyla]

[Q]Rich wrote:
Are you willing to trade this convenience for having the Harvard game at Lynah the following season ('04-'05) on January 7? This is the one point that I'm really upset about. This is the biggest game of year for us, and everybody knows that. To schedule it so it'll fall when the students aren't on campus is awful. Outrage.[/Q]I didn't know that the 2004-2005 was set yet, if you do please post it.;-)

If what you are saying is that the schedule flip-flops each year, well that's not quite accurate. This year we had Harvard at home in the fall and away in the spring, just like next year. They are at different dates, but the sequence is the same. So, let's not complain about something that we don't know yet.:-)

[DeltaOne81]

[Q]Are you willing to trade this convenience for having the Harvard game at Lynah the following season ('04-'05) on January 7? This is the one point that I'm really upset about. This is the biggest game of year for us, and everybody knows that. To schedule it so it'll fall when the students aren't on campus is awful. Outrage.[/Q]
Of course not, and I know that the ECAC has occassionally done the "same schedule as last year but home/away flipped", but I have to believe they won't be as stupid as to do that. They know that the Harvard @ Cornell game is probably the biggest event of the year in the ECAC, and they're not gonna do it over break.

If they do schedule it that way, you can bet that everyone in Cornell athletics will throw a fit. I really think the chances of it are slim.

[Robin]

So, is the schedule listed above, more set in stone than the previous schedule?  (ie before the flipflops, etc).

RBL

[rhovorka]

Jim Hyla '67 wrote:

If what you are saying is that the schedule flip-flops each year, well that's not quite accurate. This year we had Harvard at home in the fall and away in the spring, just like next year. They are at different dates, but the sequence is the same. So, let's not complain about something that we don't know yet.:-)

Nope, you're right.  I went back a few years, and it seems they stopped having dual-year flops in '99 or so.  And even then, it wasn't rigorously followed.  My bad.



Post Edited (05-01-03 02:27)

[atb9]

I really like the schedule.  We're going to lose a lot of talent and when Schafer was putting the schedule together there were probably a lot of question marks in his head about next years team.  He has given us a schedule that a young team should be able to compete well with, especially with all of the home games.

When our incoming freshmen are older, maybe he'll think about scheduling a "big-name" opponent.

[jy3]

my only complaint is the away hahvahd game. wish it was saturday. friday makes a trip impossible - damn i wanted to go this year. besides that it is all the same to me :-)

[Greg Berge]

If the rumors about home-and-home pairs every third year are true, then we'll have 2 BU games in '05 and again in '06 during a time when BU ought to be one of the best teams in the east.

[jtwcornell91]

Greg wrote:
If the rumors about home-and-home pairs every third year are true, then we'll have 2 BU games in '05 and again in '06 during a time when BU ought to be one of the best teams in the east.

And we may even get to play two of the last games at Walter Brown, assuming they open Cheel East during the 2004-2005 season.