NCAA QF - Denver

[Scersk '97]

Look, the only year we really blew it was 2018. Sure, we've had other years in white jerseys in the regional final, but that was luck. (And bad luck.) We've had two #1 seeds since the 16-team tournament came into being. We made it once; potzed out the other time. I'm unhappy with the results, but, other than 2018, I'm happy just to be in the position at all.

Union won it when they were a #1 seed; same with QU. Yale caught fire, but they had recently blown a top seed two years prior. That's why you dominate all season instead of losing to some of the teams we lost to this year.

They've learned this, I hope. My wish for next year is that we go bell to bell in a much improved ECAC. I want that top seed again.

[Dafatone]

The NCAA quarterfinals, like all hockey games, exists in a vacuum. It doesn't matter how you got there, or how good your chance is of getting back there in the future. Once the puck drops, that all goes out the window. Cornell played very well, against one of the best teams in the country, but, for the sixth time in a row in this game, we lost. It's crushing and gutting and I don't care how likely we are to be in this spot again because today we WERE in this spot, with an amazing opportunity, and it didn't happen. There are no guarantees in hockey. Nobody knows what the future holds. All we know for certain is what just happened, and It absolutely sucks.

brother, i'm 53. this part of me has been dead for so long i barely remember it.

I'm a Mets fan. Sports can't kill me because I'm already dead.

[Dafatone]

I didn't want to say this til now for woofing purposes, but we lost to two good teams all season.

Sure, we lost to some teams we should've beat, but we went 22-7-6. That's really good!

Doesn't mean losing doesn't suck, but this was a really strong year.

Also, how did Shane put up a 1.70 or so GAA on only 3 shutouts.

[BearLover]

My point isn't that this was not a strong year. It was a great year. The ECAC championship was awesome. I will look back on it fondly for a long time. My point is that all of this is meaningless in the context of today's game. These tropes make us feel better about the crushing loss, but they don't mean it's not a crushing loss. Like, we could tell ourselves it was a great year in one month, or yesterday, just as easily as we could tell ourselves this today. There's a reason why we do it today.

[ugarte]

My point isn't that this was not a strong year. It was a great year. The ECAC championship was awesome. I will look back on it fondly for a long time. My point is that all of this is meaningless in the context of today's game. These tropes make us feel better about the crushing loss, but they don't mean it's not a crushing loss. Like, we could tell ourselves it was a great year in one month, or yesterday, just as easily as we could tell ourselves this today. There's a reason why we do it today.

Let me tell ya I didn't say shit like this in 2003. In 2003 I thought we had the best team in the country and 10 bad minutes in the first period against a mid-New Hampshire team that everyone knew Minnesota would eat alive undid all of it. THAT was crushing.

I'm 100% sincere when I say that I thought that the season was as good as over before the ECAC tournament started and that's the context for how my brain has processed every win since the Union loss. Today was a bummer, but ... man. I just don't feel the pain here that I would have with a better team or a later lead. We were chasing the whole third period and that's just different from when you get your guts ripped out.

[scoop85]

Sorry, but please spare me with how we had a great year, how we were playing with house money, how fortunate we were to get here, how good a team Denver is, how bright the future is. This isn't intended as a snipe at the posters on here, all of whom I respect, with few exceptions, like blackwidow, who is a loser, and abmarks, who has been stalking me for several years now. It WAS a great year, we WERE playing with house money, we WERE fortunate to get here, Denver IS a good team, the future IS bright. So, I don't disagree with any of that.

But...

The NCAA quarterfinals, like all hockey games, exists in a vacuum. It doesn't matter how you got there, or how good your chance is of getting back there in the future. Once the puck drops, that all goes out the window. Cornell played very well, against one of the best teams in the country, but, for the sixth time in a row in this game, we lost. It's crushing and gutting and I don't care how likely we are to be in this spot again because today we WERE in this spot, with an amazing opportunity, and it didn't happen. There are no guarantees in hockey. Nobody knows what the future holds. All we know for certain is what just happened, and It absolutely sucks.

I can't disagree with any of this.

[chimpfood]

I would recommend watching Schafer's post game interview on YouTube to feel a little better.

[Beeeej]

I would recommend watching Schafer's post game interview on YouTube to feel a little better.

Y'know, some posters might've included a link.

[chimpfood]

I would recommend watching Schafer's post game interview on YouTube to feel a little better.

Y'know, some posters might've included a link.

https://youtu.be/8MeIj72hJAc?si=ROTRcnZZZnKDC6Y7 my b

[semsox]

I thought we acquitted ourselves well, but from my view in the stands, it certainly felt like Denver was the better and faster team. Their forecheck was awesome, and it seemed we never had any time or space. I'd be curious what the possession numbers looked like for the game. Good season though, and looking forward to the future.

Additional vent: the parking situation with the arena was awful. For Thursday's game, street parking was easy and plentiful, because it was a 2 hour limit but only until 6 PM. With a 4 PM puck drop today, it seemed everyone used the free MGM Casino lot. I patiently waited about 45 minutes to make it to the main exit ramp, and of course a [profanity redacted] driver behind me managed to rear-end me in what was essentially stopped traffic. I was ok with the brutal lacrosse loss, the end of the hockey season, but this felt like too much. What a bummer.

[Big Dingus]

Pleas cry

[BearLover]

I guess I'm just kind of tired of it. "The future is bright." "This freshman class is gonna be really special." "Cornell will be the favorite in the ECAC next season." That's all well and good but at some point you actually have to win. It took a crazy series of events for us to end up in the NCAA quarterfinals with a great chance to win, but we DID end up there, and we DIDN'T win. Feels like we've been "excited for the future" for a long time now. I'm just venting—it was a really good season.

Edit: this was posted before I saw BigDingus's useless post and is not in any way a reply to that

[BearLover]

Pleas cry

Buddy, your posting is so bad that you make ME look good

[chimpfood]

I guess I'm just kind of tired of it. "The future is bright." "This freshman class is gonna be really special." "Cornell will be the favorite in the ECAC next season." That's all well and good but at some point you actually have to win. It took a crazy series of events for us to end up in the NCAA quarterfinals with a great chance to win, but we DID end up there, and we DIDN'T win. Feels like we've been "excited for the future" for a long time now. I'm just venting—it was a really good season.

I would agree with you if all the things you're saying had been true for a while, but this is the first year that we have been super young and losing so few seniors in a while. We have been excited for the future for different reasons over the past few years and I would argue that being one of the last 8 teams standing 2 years in a row is plenty enough to have satisfied previous expectations.

[Big Dingus]

I guess I'm just kind of tired of it. "The future is bright." "This freshman class is gonna be really special." "Cornell will be the favorite in the ECAC next season." That's all well and good but at some point you actually have to win. It took a crazy series of events for us to end up in the NCAA quarterfinals with a great chance to win, but we DID end up there, and we DIDN'T win. Feels like we've been "excited for the future" for a long time now. I'm just venting—it was a really good season.

Edit: this was posted before I saw BigDingus's useless post and is not in any way a reply to that

We just won the league for the first time in 14 years you moron