2025 NCAAs: Flip the Switch, Flip the Script

[BearLover]

Schafer is 10-4 in first round games, I don't know the numbers but it feels like we're usually the underdog too. Agreed that MSU is good but we have a decent chance with the way we've been playing

I'd just like to pause for a moment to appreciate that Cornell has made the NCAA tournament in half of Schafer's seasons behind the bench, and made the regional final 1/3 of the time.

Even better than that. 16/29 seasons.

[ugarte]

Are all the games on an ESPN platform?

Because there at so few - maybe one,  maybe none - live shows on ESPN-U today,  I can't figure out whether I have to upgrade my cable package to get ESPN-U or if the games will be available with the ESPN+ subscription.

Based on prior years I'm sure I have to upgrade to get the "U" shows live. Is that correct?

The good news is that Spectrum was forced into allowing subscribers to upgrade for a few days rather than month by month.

why not see what the schedule is showing on U right now and hit play on your computer? you'll see pretty quickly whether you can watch it.

[Todd R]

ESPN website says that all the games will be on ESPN+ (including the ESPN-U and ESPN-2 games).  I think they started doing this last year, because I remember having to find a sports bar in the past too.

[marty]

Are all the games on an ESPN platform?

Because there at so few - maybe one,  maybe none - live shows on ESPN-U today,  I can't figure out whether I have to upgrade my cable package to get ESPN-U or if the games will be available with the ESPN+ subscription.

Based on prior years I'm sure I have to upgrade to get the "U" shows live. Is that correct?

The good news is that Spectrum was forced into allowing subscribers to upgrade for a few days rather than month by month.

why not see what the schedule is showing on U right now and hit play on your computer? you'll see pretty quickly whether you can watch it.

I tried that on my phone this morning but the program was also on ESPN2.  I think i might have to wait for bowling later today to figure it out but that's assuming the bowling is live and not a replay (as the lacrosse was).

So yes, I'll figure it out before Thursday.

[RichH]

Are all the games on an ESPN platform?

Because there at so few - maybe one,  maybe none - live shows on ESPN-U today,  I can't figure out whether I have to upgrade my cable package to get ESPN-U or if the games will be available with the ESPN+ subscription.

Based on prior years I'm sure I have to upgrade to get the "U" shows live. Is that correct?

The good news is that Spectrum was forced into allowing subscribers to upgrade for a few days rather than month by month.

why not see what the schedule is showing on U right now and hit play on your computer? you'll see pretty quickly whether you can watch it.

I tried that on my phone this morning but the program was also on ESPN2.  I think i might have to wait for bowling later today to figure it out but that's assuming the bowling is live and not a replay (as the lacrosse was).

So yes, I'll figure it out before Thursday.

I typically go to to an "Ice Hockey" page on the ESPN+ app (sometimes having to select the "NCAA Men's" sub-tile after that). On Saturday, I scrolled to the right, and there were placeholders for all the NCAA games. I'm feeling confident that they're all carried on ESPN+.

[jkahn]

MSU has higher PPG and lower GA than us despite playing a WCHA schedule. But it's 60 minutes and the gap is much smaller than HC-Minnesota.

FWIW, MSU's non-conference opponents other than BC had a winning percentage of about 0.300.  Our non-conference opponents had a winning percentage of just under 0.600.

And they had a lot of games in the B1G where they gave up 3 or more goals and lost.  As I said, we don't want to get into a run and gun with them, but they are beatable.

MSU is 11th in PP%. Q is first. MSU is 18th in PK%. Q is third. MSU is fourth in GA/G. Q is fifth. MSU is seventh in G/G. Q is sixth.

If (a big if) those numbers translated well from conference to conference, we should be competitive with the Spartans. I'm more concerned about playing against a style of hockey we're not used to. I still have bad flashbacks from '91 when we got WCHA linesmen that kept calling intentional offsides on us. We just weren't used to that style.

Quinnipiac is a known quantity. We haven't played a Big Ten team since the Spartan games in Nov 2019.

Of course the reverse can be said of MSU. And we did sweep them in 2019...

We did also beat Ohio State later that season in the first round of the Vegas tournament.   I was fortunate enough to be at both the MSU games and in Vegas.  Of course that turned out to be a #1 ranked Big Red team.

[Snowball]

Schafer is 10-4 in first round games, I don't know the numbers but it feels like we're usually the underdog too. Agreed that MSU is good but we have a decent chance with the way we've been playing

I'd just like to pause for a moment to appreciate that Cornell has made the NCAA tournament in half of Schafer's seasons behind the bench, and made the regional final 1/3 of the time.

Even better than that. 16/29 seasons.

Tremendous, what a coach.

[upprdeck]

regional sold out.  With MSU and OSU there gonna be a limited supply.

They aren't sold out. There are single game tickets available

it is sold out other than the team allotments,

There are resale tickets though.

If the team was to play Sat there will be tons of tickets I suspect.

[RichH]

regional sold out.  With MSU and OSU there gonna be a limited supply.

They aren't sold out. There are single game tickets available

it is sold out other than the team allotments,

There are resale tickets though.

If the team was to play Sat there will be tons of tickets I suspect.

It's less than a two hour drive from East Lansing, and Munn was jumping Saturday. 2.5 hours from Columbus. I bet there's a huge demand.

[billhoward]

Ka-Ching! If you follow the Cornell ticket link to NC$$.com to TicketMaster, seats for the semifinals (only) are $100-$475.

I was ready to go to Allentown except with Penn State a 4-seed and also the Allentown host, Team Pedo had to be in the home district, but this year, this week, I can't do travel for a Thursday game. Well, we now have an 85-inch TV. (HiSense U8, $1700 at Xmas 2024, not bad until you get more than 45 degrees off center.) This is a far cry from low-res streaming on a laptop circa 2008.

[fastforward]

In many ways, this is reminiscent of 2017--a team with enough talent and leadership to will itself into the NCAA's but not quite good enough to keep up with a superior opponent on paper. Stranger things have happened, though, and we won't find out until Thursday

I don't really get what this means. Enough talent and leadership to get into the NCAAs but not enough to go farther? Does that mean our talent and leadership is good but not great?

Almost the exact same team nearly got to the frozen four last year. We lost our best player from that team but added Major who has come into his own lately and everybody else is a year older and more experienced. Then we were mediocre almost the whole season until we found our game the past few weekends.

I don't know why the team was so crummy for so long this season but that crumminess seems like the aberration more than the recent success does. And while we're less talented than MSU, we are not less talented than we were a year ago or the year before that (each time a goal short of the Frozen Four). And there shouldn't be much of a question as to the leadership. The reality is that MSU has a better team, but our odds are about as high as they'd be any other year we have to face a one seed.

WOW!!
Appreciate the positive spin!
I had to double check who posted this, to be honest

[BearLover]

In many ways, this is reminiscent of 2017--a team with enough talent and leadership to will itself into the NCAA's but not quite good enough to keep up with a superior opponent on paper. Stranger things have happened, though, and we won't find out until Thursday

I don't really get what this means. Enough talent and leadership to get into the NCAAs but not enough to go farther? Does that mean our talent and leadership is good but not great?

Almost the exact same team nearly got to the frozen four last year. We lost our best player from that team but added Major who has come into his own lately and everybody else is a year older and more experienced. Then we were mediocre almost the whole season until we found our game the past few weekends.

I don't know why the team was so crummy for so long this season but that crumminess seems like the aberration more than the recent success does. And while we're less talented than MSU, we are not less talented than we were a year ago or the year before that (each time a goal short of the Frozen Four). And there shouldn't be much of a question as to the leadership. The reality is that MSU has a better team, but our odds are about as high as they'd be any other year we have to face a one seed.

WOW!!
Appreciate the positive spin!
I had to double check who posted this, to be honest

I'm usually just being realistic, not trying to put a negative spin on things. The reason I was so down on the team this year was precisely because they were capable of playing much better. And now they are, so I believe that their current play is more indicative of their true ability than their play for most of this season.

[Tom Lento]

In many ways, this is reminiscent of 2017--a team with enough talent and leadership to will itself into the NCAA's but not quite good enough to keep up with a superior opponent on paper. Stranger things have happened, though, and we won't find out until Thursday

I don't really get what this means. Enough talent and leadership to get into the NCAAs but not enough to go farther? Does that mean our talent and leadership is good but not great?

Almost the exact same team nearly got to the frozen four last year. We lost our best player from that team but added Major who has come into his own lately and everybody else is a year older and more experienced. Then we were mediocre almost the whole season until we found our game the past few weekends.

I don't know why the team was so crummy for so long this season but that crumminess seems like the aberration more than the recent success does. And while we're less talented than MSU, we are not less talented than we were a year ago or the year before that (each time a goal short of the Frozen Four). And there shouldn't be much of a question as to the leadership. The reality is that MSU has a better team, but our odds are about as high as they'd be any other year we have to face a one seed.

WOW!!
Appreciate the positive spin!
I had to double check who posted this, to be honest

I'm usually just being realistic, not trying to put a negative spin on things. The reason I was so down on the team this year was precisely because they were capable of playing much better. And now they are, so I believe that their current play is more indicative of their true ability than their play for most of this season.

Schafer talked about the team's struggles in the postgame press conference and how they turned it around the last 3-5 weeks. Based on what he said I think this is right - the way the team played the last two weeks is more representative of what they can do than the season as a whole.

I found it interesting that they decided to go all in on a heavy practice schedule instead of the usual taper to sustain peak. It makes sense - they never found their peak - but it was still risky coming off so many injuries. It paid off big, so credit to the players and coaches for battling through and making it happen. Everything clicked just in time.

[abmarks]

...And now they are, so I believe that their current play is more indicative of their true ability than their play for most of this season.

Glad to see you've finally come to your senses and agree with "Hey Clownlover, the sky isn't falling: this year's team is last year's team."!

[BearLover]

...And now they are, so I believe that their current play is more indicative of their true ability than their play for most of this season.

Glad to see you've finally come to your senses and agree with "Hey Clownlover, the sky isn't falling: this year's team is last year's team."!

You were only off by three months!