2024-25 MEN'S SCHEDULE

[chimpfood]

It is weak, especially after the ND weekend but man those games are gonna be a blast.

[scoop85]

The "weakness" of the schedule is a reflection of our league as a whole. For our limited out of conference games, We know UND is a top 5-10 program coming into the season, UMASS is always a threat to make the NCAAs, and if we were to play ASU they are on the cusp of the top 20. While Sacred Heart aren't world beaters, they are one of the better Atlantic Hockey programs we could play. I guess the argument could be made we should have looked for another Hockey East team in place of Sacred Heart, but to me that's no big deal.

[billhoward]

The "weakness" of the schedule is a reflection of our league as a whole. For our limited out of conference games, We know UND is a top 5-10 program coming into the season, UMASS is always a threat to make the NCAAs, and if we were to play ASU they are on the cusp of the top 20. While Sacred Heart aren't world beaters, they are one of the better Atlantic Hockey programs we could play. I guess the argument could be made we should have looked for another Hockey East team in place of Sacred Heart, but to me that's no big deal.

Mike Schafer may be thinking about the good of college hockey, helping teams in the league and in the Northeast. Sacred Heart just opened a fabulous $70 million arena (cost = $195,000 per seat (3,600 capacity)), wants to move up, Schafer says okay, we'll play you  for the good of the game. And maybe some appearance money? And it's during inter-session, so it's a decently short drive for metro NY / Connecticut students bored being at home.

The arena is so good there's a thirteen-minute video on YouTube. What they had to say wouldn't, I guess, fit in a TikTok. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIiWzyDdQSY

I'd gripe less about this SHU match being a wasted chance to play a ranked OOC opponent. I feel worse about the MSG Thanksgiving slot going to a league opponent.

[The Rancor]

The "weakness" of the schedule is a reflection of our league as a whole. For our limited out of conference games, We know UND is a top 5-10 program coming into the season, UMASS is always a threat to make the NCAAs, and if we were to play ASU they are on the cusp of the top 20. While Sacred Heart aren't world beaters, they are one of the better Atlantic Hockey programs we could play. I guess the argument could be made we should have looked for another Hockey East team in place of Sacred Heart, but to me that's no big deal.

Mike Schafer may be thinking about the good of college hockey, helping teams in the league and in the Northeast. Sacred Heart just opened a fabulous $70 million arena (cost = $195,000 per seat (3,600 capacity)), wants to move up, Schafer says okay, we'll play you  for the good of the game. And maybe some appearance money? And it's during inter-session, so it's a decently short drive for metro NY / Connecticut students bored being at home.

The arena is so good there's a thirteen-minute video on YouTube. What they had to say wouldn't, I guess, fit in a TikTok. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIiWzyDdQSY

I'd gripe less about this SHU match being a wasted chance to play a ranked OOC opponent. I feel worse about the MSG Thanksgiving slot going to a league opponent.

I have no problem with playing a team like Sacred Heart, it's the MSG Game that gets my goat. I think the games should be spread to as many other conferences as possible. The warm up against Princeton is weird outside the lens of Ben Syer. I guess with a short Ivy schedule, the overseas trip and any other factors unseen, It looks weak from the outside. The pressure of needing to play nearly perfect to crack the NCAAs is a lot. I'd love to see the big one for Coach Schafer on the way out.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

When I think about the MSG game, I always come back to the paradigm that the western schools almost always play two games in a weekend to defray the travel costs.  I suspect that may be part of the problem in getting anybody from the west.

[Swampy]

When I think about the MSG game, I always come back to the paradigm that the western schools almost always play two games in a weekend to defray the travel costs.  I suspect that may be part of the problem in getting anybody from the west.

Excellent point. Maybe go back to the "holiday tournament" model. On Friday Cornell + a team from Hockey East play teams from the B10 & NCHC. On Saturday, G1 winners play winners & G1 losers play losers. Given the strength of the conferences, there really won't be any losers from the standpoint of strength-of-schedule.

Alternatively, have 3 strong eastern school + 1 western invite, and still play 2 games during the weekend. I don't know how well we'd fill MSG, but maybe play Friday night in Barclay's & Saturday in MSG.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

When I think about the MSG game, I always come back to the paradigm that the western schools almost always play two games in a weekend to defray the travel costs.  I suspect that may be part of the problem in getting anybody from the west.

Excellent point. Maybe go back to the "holiday tournament" model. On Friday Cornell + a team from Hockey East play teams from the B10 & NCHC. On Saturday, G1 winners play winners & G1 losers play losers. Given the strength of the conferences, there really won't be any losers from the standpoint of strength-of-schedule.

Alternatively, have 3 strong eastern school + 1 western invite, and still play 2 games during the weekend. I don't know how well we'd fill MSG, but maybe play Friday night in Barclay's & Saturday in MSG.

I think another problem is getting MSG for two consecutive nights.  The Knicks and Rangers would have priority, but who knows what else is scheduled there during that season.

[billhoward]

I think another problem is getting MSG for two consecutive nights.  The Knicks and Rangers would have priority, but who knows what else is scheduled there during that season.

Exactly that. Although one of the teams could play a Saturday afternoon game. It takes 2-3 hours to switch a big arena from basketball to hockey.

More of a problem is two-night attendance. A lot of Cornellians (and fans from the other team) would happily make it to one NYC night out, especially metro-NYC students who have seen enough of their family by Saturday. Not every casual fan would do it two nights in a row. And there's the cost of going for two nights. And the thinner crowds the second night if there's only a championship but not third-place game.

The cost to rent MSG for an event is around a quarter-million dollars (equal to $14 a person assuming every seat is filled). (Some online sources say rental cost can be 100K-$500K depending on type of event.) For the lofty ticket prices charged for college hockey at MSG, one could probably handle airfares for at least one remote team if it's a four-team tourney.

Next time Nicki Moore does an open Q&A, ask her why Cornell has such a mixed bag of opponents on Big Apple years vs. BU on Red Hot Hockey years. Help me here, how many top-ten, certainly two-twenty hockey teams, non-ECAC, have a strong NYC alumni presence so it works for both schools. Here's a dozen that are not Quinnipiac:

BC
UConn
UMass
Maine?
UNH?
Providence?
Michigan
Penn State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Notre Dame  
Minnesota?

[The Rancor]

Other than BU, Cornell has played:

Michigan
Penn State
UNH
Harvard
U-Conn

Did I miss anyone?

[ursusminor]

I think another problem is getting MSG for two consecutive nights.  The Knicks and Rangers would have priority, but who knows what else is scheduled there during that season.

Exactly that. Although one of the teams could play a Saturday afternoon game. It takes 2-3 hours to switch a big arena from basketball to hockey.

More of a problem is two-night attendance. A lot of Cornellians (and fans from the other team) would happily make it to one NYC night out, especially metro-NYC students who have seen enough of their family by Saturday. Not every casual fan would do it two nights in a row. And there's the cost of going for two nights. And the thinner crowds the second night if there's only a championship but not third-place game.

The cost to rent MSG for an event is around a quarter-million dollars (equal to $14 a person assuming every seat is filled). (Some online sources say rental cost can be 100K-$500K depending on type of event.) For the lofty ticket prices charged for college hockey at MSG, one could probably handle airfares for at least one remote team if it's a four-team tourney.

Next time Nicki Moore does an open Q&A, ask her why Cornell has such a mixed bag of opponents on Big Apple years vs. BU on Red Hot Hockey years. Help me here, how many top-ten, certainly two-twenty hockey teams, non-ECAC, have a strong NYC alumni presence so it works for both schools. Here's a dozen that are not Quinnipiac:

BC
UConn
UMass
Maine?
UNH?
Providence?
Michigan
Penn State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Notre Dame  
Minnesota?

Are there any in-season tourneys where each team doesn't play a second game? I doubt anyone is happy to play one fewer game than the NCAA (or a league) allows.

[billhoward]

Other than BU, Cornell has played:
Michigan
Penn State
UNH
Harvard
U-Conn
Did I miss anyone?

This year's Frozen Apple game will be the sixth in the biennial series that dates back to the first contest in 2012 against Michigan, which was a 5-1 triumph for the Big Red. Cornell also defeated Penn State, 3-1, in 2014, New Hampshire, 3-1, in 2016, and UConn in 2022. The lone setback for Cornell in a Frozen Apple contest was against Harvard, 4-1, in 2018. [No 2020 game]

[BearLover]

I don't like the Quinnipiac matchup either. But most Cornell alums aren't really going to care—the vast majority of casual Cornell hockey fans who just want an excuse to attend a big and exciting alumni event. Quinnipiac at least should bring some fans out, and that's what matters most when schools are forking over a bunch of money to rent out MSG. I do wonder why other eastern schools like BC (apparently) aren't interested.

Quinnipiac should be quite good again this season, having brought in another large and successful class of mercenaries who bolted from other schools, as well as a few strong freshmen.

[arugula]

BC, Michigan, and Penn State are the obvious ones for me. Large NYC alumni bases, not too far away. So not sure why BC is the lone holdout. Boston provincialism?  They play at the the real  "Gah-den" all the time.

[Trotsky]

I'm not surprised by the hate for the Q game but I like it.  

I hate Q; they're the Atlanta Braves.  But I want to solidify the rank ordering that the ECAC is Cornell and Quinnipiac / Huge Gap / Who cares?

And I believe our coaches are smarter and the more we play them the more we will figure out how to beat them in Lake Placid and then wherever.

[David Harding]

Other than BU, Cornell has played:
Michigan
Penn State
UNH
Harvard
U-Conn
Did I miss anyone?

This year's Frozen Apple game will be the sixth in the biennial series that dates back to the first contest in 2012 against Michigan, which was a 5-1 triumph for the Big Red. Cornell also defeated Penn State, 3-1, in 2014, New Hampshire, 3-1, in 2016, and UConn in 2022. The lone setback for Cornell in a Frozen Apple contest was against Harvard, 4-1, in 2018. [No 2020 game]

The 2010 game against Colgate at the Prudential Center does not count, though it was Saturday evening of Thanksgiving weekend.