Quinnipiac 4 Cornell 1, 1/17/26

[Trotsky]

It's pretty cool to be sitting at 11 in NPI and have real optimism for the second half of the season being even better.

It has also been a nice steady rise in the polls through the year.

20 11/10
19 11/17
17 11/24
14 01/15
13 01/12
12 01/19

It gets harder as we go deeper (phrasing?) but we also have greater protection in body of work from 1 or 2 freak outcomes.

[The Rancor]

12th feels about right.

[Trotsky]

12th feels about right.

With the ECAC looking stronger this season I would hope the top 2 conference teams will be safely in the NC$$ if they make Lake Placid despite black swan events.

[stereax]

Dear Stereax,

We had a big weekend at home against two of the top teams in the ECAC in Princeton and Quinnipiac. It was a bit of a mixed bag for our group, as we played a very complete game on Friday night in a 2–1 win over Princeton, followed by our first home loss of the season on Saturday against Quinnipiac, falling 4–1. Both games provided valuable lessons as we continue to grow as a team.

Friday night was a classic ECAC hockey game — physical, intense, and played at a high pace. I was pleased with our preparation and felt we got better as the game went on. Princeton scored early in the first period off an offensive-zone faceoff loss on our part, something that showed up a few times over the weekend and will certainly be an area of emphasis moving forward. Ironically, we currently rank second in the country in faceoff win percentage, likely why this area has not been tested as often, but it's something teams will look to exploit.

We came out flying in the second period and tied the game at the 11:46 mark on a power-play goal by Chase Pirtle. Chase has moved into the lineup regularly and has been a real asset with his skill and poise, particularly on the power play, so it was great to see him get rewarded. Princeton was fortunate to escape the period tied, as we dominated play and outshot them 17–5. We eventually found the game-winner with just under four minutes remaining on a great individual effort by Hoyt Stanley, his first goal of the season, and we closed the game out the right way.

Saturday brought a different challenge. Quinnipiac is the deepest and most complete team we've faced to date. Against a team like that, puck management and composure are critical, and unfortunately, we struggled in those areas. We mismanaged pucks, made unforced errors, and Quinnipiac made us pay. Despite that, we were only down 1–0 heading into the third period and had some quality chances earlier in the game. Ultimately, we earned the result we got, but it has already served as an important teaching tool for our young team. We're just past the midway point of the season, there is plenty of runway left, and it's worth noting we still rank second in the country in goals-against average — though you wouldn't have guessed it from that night alone.

This weekend we welcome Dartmouth and Harvard to Lynah for our Alumni Weekend. Both teams are right there with us near the top of the league, and these games will be critical. We dropped a tight 2–1 game at Dartmouth earlier this season after beating Harvard 3–1 the night before — it feels like a long time ago, but these points matter just as much now. We are also excited to recognize our 1986 and 1996 championship teams during the intermissions on Saturday night. Lynah should be rocking, and we're looking forward to a great weekend.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our program. We hope to see many of you back in the building.

Let's Go Red!

Weekly email, for those that don't get it. Glad to see Casey had mostly the same takeaways as most of us did. Take the lessons from the Q game and move forward. And glad to see Pirtle get his flowers! He's played really well recently.

Also, we're only halfway through the season? And there are only five home games left (barring playoffs)

[imafrshmn]

Dear Stereax,

...

Let's Go Red!

Weekly email, for those that don't get it. Glad to see Casey had mostly the same takeaways as most of us did. Take the lessons from the Q game and move forward. And glad to see Pirtle get his flowers! He's played really well recently.

Also, we're only halfway through the season? And there are only five home games left (barring playoffs)

When I read an email like that from Coach Jones, it makes me so glad that Schafer made a Cornellian his successor. The Cornell Hockey DNA was in place before Lynah Rink even existed. Its origins are practically mythological. Once upon a time, it was just scrappy young men playing shinny on a pond for the joy, thrill, and entertainment of their classmates. We have to cherish every darn thing that is special in this world.

[pjd8]

Thanks for sharing! I continue to be impressed with how well-written his weekly emails are. He goes into key specifics rather than giving the more generic summary that many coaches give. He's honest about where the team fell short while celebrating the good efforts and keeping the focus positive throughout. It shows a deftness of communication that I'm sure carries over to his interactions with the players as well. We've managed to pass a brightly burning torch to someone who can keep it shining.

We are indeed fortunate.

[Trotsky]

Its origins are practically mythological. Once upon a time, it was just scrappy young men playing shinny on a pond for the joy, thrill, and entertainment of their classmates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsJH6gXWvGg

Well... kinda.  In the Beginning they were Upper Class Twits of the Year.  Silver spoon adrenaline junkies and cameos from a Fitzgerald story who couldn't bring themselves to face Pater's 11-to-2 Wall Street gig as the kicks of the war wound down, finding final solace in a Sidecar, a pox-ridden 14-year old Picardie barmaid, and a deliberate stall above some Flanders field.  Dulce et decorum est.

But the Letterkenny boys elbowed their dainty asses out of the sport, and the rest is history.

_{(Also, Grantland Rice was a POS.)}

[andyw2100]

Thanks for sharing! I continue to be impressed with how well-written his weekly emails are. He goes into key specifics rather than giving the more generic summary that many coaches give. He's honest about where the team fell short while celebrating the good efforts and keeping the focus positive throughout. It shows a deftness of communication that I'm sure carries over to his interactions with the players as well. We've managed to pass a brightly burning torch to someone who can keep it shining.

We are indeed fortunate.

I definitely agree with all of this.

I did think a minor omission this week was not giving the actual score of the Quinnipiac game. I'm sure there are some people who are keeping up with the team largely through these email updates. (Not anyone here, of course, but...) I imagine at least some of those people were left wondering.

[stereax]

Thanks for sharing! I continue to be impressed with how well-written his weekly emails are. He goes into key specifics rather than giving the more generic summary that many coaches give. He's honest about where the team fell short while celebrating the good efforts and keeping the focus positive throughout. It shows a deftness of communication that I'm sure carries over to his interactions with the players as well. We've managed to pass a brightly burning torch to someone who can keep it shining.

We are indeed fortunate.

I definitely agree with all of this.

I did think a minor omission this week was not giving the actual score of the Quinnipiac game. I'm sure there are some people who are keeping up with the team largely through these email updates. (Not anyone here, of course, but...) I imagine at least some of those people were left wondering.

followed by our first home loss of the season on Saturday against Quinnipiac, falling 4–1

[scoop85]

Thanks for sharing! I continue to be impressed with how well-written his weekly emails are. He goes into key specifics rather than giving the more generic summary that many coaches give. He's honest about where the team fell short while celebrating the good efforts and keeping the focus positive throughout. It shows a deftness of communication that I'm sure carries over to his interactions with the players as well. We've managed to pass a brightly burning torch to someone who can keep it shining.

We are indeed fortunate.

I definitely agree with all of this.

I did think a minor omission this week was not giving the actual score of the Quinnipiac game. I'm sure there are some people who are keeping up with the team largely through these email updates. (Not anyone here, of course, but...) I imagine at least some of those people were left wondering.

I can't imagine anyone receiving his emails would not know the score of the game

[Trotsky]

Please start the Dartmouth thread this time, stereax.  Break my losing streak.  You know the template.

[stereax]

Please start the Dartmouth thread this time, stereax.  Break my losing streak.  You know the template.

Hold on, do I?

[Jim Hyla]

The Cornell Hockey DNA was in place before Lynah Rink even existed. Its origins are practically mythological. Once upon a time, it was just scrappy young men playing shinny on a pond for the joy, thrill, and entertainment of their classmates. We have to cherish every darn thing that is special in this world.

If by DNA you mean it existed, then I'd agree. The occasional winning season before Lynah. Then 10 years with nothing until Lynah came into being. One winning season out of the first 6 at Lynah.

Then Harkness! That's really when Cornell Hockey DNA started to form. I know I'm biased, but prove it to me otherwise.

From that point on we didn't tolerate losing. Too many bad seasons, goodby coach. Consistency, hello Schafer.

Let's hope that Casey can keep it going. He's got a great start.

[BearLover]

I'm not going to bother replying to specific posts but I don't recall anybody on this forum saying we were bad. I certainly didn't say that myself. My goal every year is to make the NCAAs and then let the chips fall where they may. This team is currently (barely) on track for the NCAAs but to my eye (and according to the underlying stats adamw cited) we're a bit worse than that. It's okay to be honest about how we look, and that doesn't mean we're "bad."

[stereax]

"barely" = 11th in NPI rn apparently

If we're even at 13th or 14th by the end of the year and even only make it to Placid (which should be a given tbh, looking at the ECAC), we should almost definitely get in to the NCAAs. Usually 16 falls out bc of the Atlantic autobid. HEA is a tossup this year. NCHC should go to a top 16 team, Big Ten too, CCHA looks like it should end up between St Thomas and Augustana too. And ECAC is contested by 5? teams right now.

A win vs Dartmouth today takes us up to 9th in the NPI, btw. A loss doesn't seem to change our standing.