ECAC '25 semifinal Red vs. Q

[617BigRed]

I can haz start gamethread?

Thought would throw my hat in the ring and start it!

Please delete if too early or not allowed - LGR!

I think we will beat Q, win ECAC & make the NCAA tourney
as we stay alive in Mike's final season...

#sixgamestoglory !

[BlueSky]

it's never too early for this thread.  

I love where we sit. Playing with "house money" with little pressure. QU has never had any success in LP and coming in as the favorite will do them no favors. Bracketology shows its "must win" for all 4 teams with the exception of Q, who could sneak in with a combination of other teams winning or losing.  We've won 7 of our last 9, possibly peaking at the right moment. Same lock down defense as last weekend, stout goaltending and hard hitting all over the ice equated to an "upset" win. 0-1-2 with 2 SOW's vs. Rand this season....we can't let HIM end Shaf's tenure!!  #LGR

[BearLover]

I love where we sit. Playing with "house money" with little pressure.

This I disagree with. There is all the pressure in the world on us, against the best team in the conference. The season, the careers of ten seniors, and the career of our coach will all end if we lose. I can't imagine more pressure than that.

[upprdeck]

The only thing that has changed from where people started the year is we are playing Quin in the Semi and not the finals

[ugarte]

I love where we sit. Playing with "house money" with little pressure.

This I disagree with. There is all the pressure in the world on us, against the best team in the conference. The season, the careers of ten seniors, and the career of our coach will all end if we lose. I can't imagine more pressure than that.

A little dramatic but closer to right. It's not house money to the players. imo the mindset in the locker room is probably "we can win this conference and have underperformed all year" not "wow we beat the vaunted COLGATE!"

Quinnipiac is not Ovechkin's Capitals. It's not even Celebrini's Sharks. Hell, it isn't Celebrini's Terriers. Our guys are going into this with the same amount of pressure as any win or go home team faces in a win or go home game. Who knows how Quinnipiac feels. Relief that they may have a backdoor to the tournament if they lose? Worry that they have to sweat out the selection process? No idea!

On the other hand, I love where we sit because we're still playing.

[BearLover]

The only thing that has changed from where people started the year is we are playing Quin in the Semi and not the finals

Well, the other big thing that changed is that our season is over if we lose. At the start of the season most fans, and I'm sure the team itself, thought we'd have an at-large bid locked up by now.

I love where we sit. Playing with "house money" with little pressure.

This I disagree with. There is all the pressure in the world on us, against the best team in the conference. The season, the careers of ten seniors, and the career of our coach will all end if we lose. I can't imagine more pressure than that.

A little dramatic but closer to right. It's not house money to the players. imo the mindset in the locker room is probably "we can win this conference and have underperformed all year" not "wow we beat the vaunted COLGATE!"

Quinnipiac is not Ovechkin's Capitals. It's not even Celebrini's Sharks. Hell, it isn't Celebrini's Terriers. Our guys are going into this with the same amount of pressure as any win or go home team faces in a win or go home game. Who knows how Quinnipiac feels. Relief that they may have a backdoor to the tournament if they lose? Worry that they have to sweat out the selection process? No idea!

On the other hand, I love where we sit because we're still playing.

Right, the only significance of our opponent being Quinnipiac is that it makes it more likely we will lose. The pressure comes from the fact the season and careers are on the line.

There is no "house money" until we have won the ECAC.

[Jim Hyla]

I love where we sit. Playing with "house money" with little pressure.

This I disagree with. There is all the pressure in the world on us, against the best team in the conference. The season, the careers of ten seniors, and the career of our coach will all end if we lose. I can't imagine more pressure than that.

Disagree?

How about if you're in the ECAC finals or the Frozen Four? More pressure, maybe?

[imafrshmn]

I think Cornell under Schafer tends to perform better in must-win vs. can-lose situations. Some teams do best playing free and loose... Schafer's teams are best when guys are locked in to doing their jobs.

[upprdeck]

Lets just see the same play this friday and see what happens.  Perhaps a couple less dumb penalties.

[BearLover]

I love where we sit. Playing with "house money" with little pressure.

This I disagree with. There is all the pressure in the world on us, against the best team in the conference. The season, the careers of ten seniors, and the career of our coach will all end if we lose. I can't imagine more pressure than that.

Disagree?

How about if you're in the ECAC finals or the Frozen Four? More pressure, maybe?

IMO it's the same amount of pressure the next two games until they win the ECAC final. Then it's a great season no matter what happens from there, and some of the pressure is off.

[bl99]

6 wins in a row.  Starts Friday.  One period, one game at a time.  LGR!

[Trotsky]

The only thing that has changed from where people started the year is we are playing Quin in the Semi and not the finals

Well said.

Nail Rand in a pine box and then bring on the Final.

[nshapiro]

The only thing that has changed from where people started the year is we are playing Quin in the Semi and not the finals

Well said.

Nail Rand in a pine box and then bring on the Final.

I disagree completely.  At the start of the year, especially after the first two wins vs. NoDak, most were not thinking that the only way into the NCAA tournament was the autobid.

[abmarks]

I love where we sit. Playing with "house money" with little pressure.

This I disagree with. There is all the pressure in the world on us, against the best team in the conference. The season, the careers of ten seniors, and the career of our coach will all end if we lose. I can't imagine more pressure than that.

A little dramatic but closer to right. It's not house money to the players. imo the mindset in the locker room is probably "we can win this conference and have underperformed all year" not "wow we beat the vaunted COLGATE!"

Quinnipiac is not Ovechkin's Capitals. It's not even Celebrini's Sharks. Hell, it isn't Celebrini's Terriers. Our guys are going into this with the same amount of pressure as any win or go home team faces in a win or go home game. Who knows how Quinnipiac feels. Relief that they may have a backdoor to the tournament if they lose? Worry that they have to sweat out the selection process? No idea!

On the other hand, I love where we sit because we're still playing.

Clownlover - you're projecting your personal angst onto the team, and that's ridiculous.

-what pressure? From where? Why?   It's a win or go home tournament but what's the downside to losing apart from how each player feels individually? There aren't any consequences to losing, especially since they are the underdog.  Even if they were favored, it's not like we're a pro team in a major media market where they are getting pelted with questions every day from the media and probably hearing from random fans when they are seen in a supermarket and getting booed around town for choking.

The seniors aren't freaking out about their college careers ending with a loss...that's ridiculous.   They've all been to this spot in the tourney before, so it's familiar, for one.  No first time nerves. And having won the tourney last year, they aren't facing their last chance to win it.  Now if it's on their mind that it's their last shot at winning a national title, then there's some internal pressure there, sure.  

But going in to the game as the underdog definitely reduces the internal pressure.

The freshman will feel some pressure because they haven't been there before.  

And this whole thing about Schafer's career ending probably matters a lot more to alums and older fans who watched most of not all of Schafs tenure. I can't imagine these guys are internalizing and shouldering the responsibility  for how coach's last game goes down. Clearly, he is going out by losing his final game.  Winning for coach feels a lot more likely to be a motivational rallying cry than a source of angst to the players.

These guys didn't end up playing upper level D1 hockey without the ability to focus on the game at hand and take things a day at a time.  And that will extend to winning each period, and doing the right things each shift.

And I bet our guys like their chances in a single game v Q, especially with the uptick at the end of the season.

[Chris '03]

In the interest of moving this discussion off wild speculation about what pressure is or is not...

The story for Q this season seems to be pretty simple. When they score at least 3, they win. When they don't, they lose. The same is more or less true for Cornell. There have not been a lot of 2-1 type games for either team. Q lost to UConn 2-1 and Cornell's loss at SLU 2-1 and 1-1 tie with SHU are the only very low scoring games for either team.

Cornell skated with Q in Hamden. And Shane did not look great that night if I recall correctly. But Cornell only took one penalty and scored a rare PPG. This is hardly earth shattering analysis but if the game is mostly 5x5, I think it's anyone's game. If it's a penalty fest, it's going to be a problem. And we will likely have a pretty good idea in the first fifteen minutes which way that's going.

Play team defense like last weekend, stay out of the box, capitalize on opportunities, survive and advance.