western michigan university @ cornell game 1

[BigRedIslander]

ITs worth $5, but I mean 60 for the year seems like a lot...it def doesnt cost nearly that to run.....they must be making a crapload on it

[Jordan 04]

[[q]WMU coach whining on the post-game about the 5th goal. Said, "it's a long-time coming before we come back here," and that "it's hard enough battling 20 guys when you have to battle a few more (i.e. the officials)." Pathetic.[/q]

How quickly he forgets the circumstances preceding his first goal....

If I were him, I'd be griping instead about the moron in Section B who had the brilliant idea of throwing a water bottle at him before sticks in the air.  It's a good thing the true fans got those tickets ::rolleyes::

[Ken71]

Due to health problems, I had to settle for watching from home (in Ithaca) over i2, with a RoadRunner connection.   There were very few pauses for rebuffering - the game streamed almost flawlessly.  They used two cameras, one in the Press Box, one on the platform next to Section A and did a pretty decent job of switching between the two.   The audio levels were somewhat uneven - this may be first-night confusion - but I could hear all the play call.  They left the sound going while Adam talked to the engineer back at the station.  Unlike the radio broadcast, the video continued during the radio breaks and showed the hunks of the game that radio listeners missed.

I'd much rather be IN Lynah, but seeing the game and getting the play-by-play call by Adam Wodon is not a bad way to see how the team looks and to get a feel for how things were going.  Much better than muttering about less worthy radio announcers or AM radio signals.  

My access was provided by a friend - and I'm very grateful.  

Let's Go Red!!

Ken '71

[Greg Berge]

Well, it never pays to whine (unless you're Jack Parker), but the tying goal was chancy, and then having the o.t. kill, and not getting the obvious even-up a minute later... he has grounds to be miffed.

I was happy with what I saw.  This team looks potentially explosive (the Vesce-Moulson-Bitz line started something on every shift, the Abbotts had moments, and Dan Pegoraro was playing as aggressively as Hornby at times).  McKee was entirely credible.  The D, as expected, needs a lot of work, but Schafer could probably turn me into an okay blueliner -- there's room for improvement, but we're led by the guy who we can reasonably assume will inspire/teach/demand that improvement.

Get well soon, Ken.



Post Edited (10-31-03 22:13)

[Drew]

Well....great game.  Only a few things to add that haven't been said.  McKee did play much better after the second period.  We had some defensive lapses, but I also thought that he was a too weak blocker high and less so glove high.  But then again, there were WMU players just left open to skate down the slot and pop a wrist shot high.  I was very impressed with Bitz.  He really can skate well and definetly has the scoring touch.  That line along with the Hornby line played extremely well in the offensive zone all night.  It was a great game, and I agree that the third period and ot looked more like the cornell team that Coach wants out there.  

(btw...did someone throw out the ass who threw the pepsi bottle that hit their coach?)

[atb9]

Sorry, I can't read through most of the posts but WMU was gifted a goal early when the puck clearly hit the netting above the glass, was cycled through the offensive zone and then went in for a goal.  And then we had a goal called off during the OT period.  Dell made equally questionable calls for both teams, and we let him know about it.

[DeltaOne81]

Ya know, I'm not saying the kid doesn't have promise, but I think you're doing to easy on McKee . Yeah, big situation, team with some games under their belts, but it's not like he just let in a few bad ones and played solid the rest of the time... not from where I was standing.

The whole team got better in the third, but in the first and second McKee wasn't just so-so, he was downright bad. He was nowhere to be seen on several of the goals (the one, 4th or 5th) that bounced around in front of the net... yeah, it'd be hard to stop, but the whole side of the net was open. The second one was a quick one timer that would also be hard to stop, but he barely moved a muscle to go after it. Most of the shots got a 1 - 2 foot bounce. Half the time his first reaction after a shot was to look behind them. Once or twice, looking behind him, instead of staying forward, popped the puck back on the stick of a guy with a goalie looking the wrong way, leaving him need to sprawl to cover it, pushing him completely out of the play. In the second, yeah, he faced some bad D-moves, but he let in 3 goals on SEVEN shots. He wasn't hung out *that* badly. He should stopped a few.

I'm just judging him overall, but he just didn't show it tonight. He could have great promise, but let someone else step up for now - assuming they're healthy.

The rest of the freshman were much better. The crowd really got behind Bitz after some snazzy moves. O'Byrne and Carefoot were solid. Salmela on the line is a bit shakey, but frosh could be worse. It'll be interesting to watch this class develope.

Overall, the team looked iffy and then definitely gell-ed, played some more solid hockey and got better pressure. We still can't finish, but what else is new :-). Reminds me of the teams my freshman and sophomore years - 99-00 and 00-01 - Steinstra, Rutter, the 3 Ps :-). Hard fighters who have to push for the bounces and fight off the soft goals. It was certainly an entertaining night, and if this is the way the team start, it'll be great to see how they are in the winter.

Edit: [Q]And then we had a goal called off during the OT period.[/Q]
Yeah, but that so wasn't a goal. The net came off a full second before the puck when in.



Post Edited (10-31-03 22:25)

[Section A]

Alright just got back from the game. Wow. Everybody went absolutely nuts when we tied it up with 27.6 seconds to go. And there was a period of sustained pressure a few minutes into the third that were among the most exciting minutes of hockey (without a goal being scored) you'll ever see. Too bad we didn't get the win in OT, esp. with a PP, but considering the circumstance of being down 2 going into the 3rd, the tie isn't that bad. It's one of those situations where it must feel like a loss for Western Michigan.

Best players tonight: Bitz, Hornby, Knoepfli. I won't use the word "worse" but those who weren't exactly stellar were O' Byrne and Salmela, both of whom had lots of turnovers. Also, I think O' Byrne had 3 penalties, at least 1 of which was unnecessary (some hitting behind the play, for example). Anyway, who cares, good game. Very exciting. Till tomorrow....

[Will]

So, time for my comments:

- Bitz...well, yeah, I agree with everyone else, this guy is amazing.
- The first WMU goal...yeah, Dell should have blown the whistle, but at the same time, McKee really should have had that puck.  I'm afraid I might have spoken too soon about him.  Though he did look good in the third period and OT.
- Great rally by our boys to tie it up.
- Hornby, without a doubt, is still the heart of the team.  When our guys were looking down in the second period, he was still out there kicking @$$.
- While of course our defense needs some work, given the five goals allowed, part of the blame can also be placed on the offense.  There were definite scoring chances that were messed up, especially in the second period.  Nevertheless, five goals scored is nothing to sneeze at.
- Is it just me, or was there something wrong with the ice tonight?  Normally, I'd say that they just need more practice, but players on both teams were falling more often than usual.

[jason]

Just speculation, but the warm weather might have left the ice softer than ideal (I think Wodon mentioned it being warm in Lynah).

[Al DeFlorio]

One of the guys who got revenge on Volonnino wrote:

- Is it just me, or was there something wrong with the ice tonight?  Normally, I'd say that they just need more practice, but players on both teams were falling more often than usual.

Weather.com says it's now 66 degrees in Ithaca.  Not good ice weather.

[min]

to whom did adam wodon give the stars tonite? i imagine moulson and bitz for sure...



Post Edited (10-31-03 22:54)

[DisplacedCornellian]

My impressions from watching the netcast (which I thought was quite good with the exception of the minor audio problems)....

Bitz:  wow.  He's going to score a LOT of goals before he's done.  That one-time from Vesce was a brilliant play all around, but Bitz was really impressive.

O'Byrne:  I was actually pretty impressed with him.  Yeah, he was out of position a couple of times, and maybe he took an unnecessary penalty, but he's going to be solid by mid-season.  Also seems like he has a nasty, nasty temperament.  I like it :-)

Salmela:  Could have been worse.

McKee:  seemed REALLY shaky until the third period, but then played much better (as everybody else has already said).  Hopefully it was just butterflies from playing in front of the Lynah Faithful...but I'm not sold on him yet.  Who's for launching a stay-in-school campaign (or rather a "come back to school" campaign) to bring back lenny?

Don't think I saw enough of the rest of the fresman to form any opinions yet.  On to the rest of the crew...

Wallace:  meh... he was alright, but he got juked out of his skates on that one goal...

Hornby & the Abbots:  WOW!  Did these guys spend the summer doing wind sprints non-stop?  They seemed much faster than last season (and they weren't exactly slow then).  

Vesce:  same old same old.  Maybe it's just me, but he didn't seem to be winning face offs like he usually does.  But I was when he laid the wood to that W.Mich player in the 2nd (I think it was the 2nd).  

Knoepfli's goal was beautiful, great effort on his part.

[DeltaOne81]

[Q]McKee: seemed REALLY shaky until the third period, but then played much better (as everybody else has already said). Hopefully it was just butterflies from playing in front of the Lynah Faithful...but I'm not sold on him yet. Who's for launching a stay-in-school campaign (or rather a "come back to school" campaign) to bring back lenny?[/Q]
The NCAA might take issue with that ;-).

[Q]Vesce: same old same old. Maybe it's just me, but he didn't seem to be winning face offs like he usually does. But I was when he laid the wood to that W.Mich player in the 2nd (I think it was the 2nd).[/Q]
The linesmen were very picky, tossing people out of the faceoffs left and right. Probably 2/3rds of the time one if not both players got tossed - seemed like more often us, but I could be biased. Anyway, could screwed with Vesce's style - but you're right.

[DisplacedCornellian]

Edit:

Vesce: same old same old. Maybe it's just me, but he didn't seem to be winning face offs like he usually does. But I was IMPRESSED when he laid the wood to that W.Mich player in the 2nd (I think it was the 2nd).