Cornell vs Clarkson, 2/28/26

[VIEWfromK]

Wallace takes an offsetting with a Clarkson player.

This was where the officials officially lost control of the game. 

[VIEWfromK]

Tonight I am expecting Wallace in the lineup, Keopple in goal, and Donaldson as the extra skater.

You were all over this.  I didn't dare hope for Donaldson to get another game.  So glad he did.  Your man on the inside really came through 

[VIEWfromK]

There were so many talking points coming out of that game.  Definitely was a nice primer for postseason play.  Another tight game where the boys locked it down and pulled out a win.

I know it's been done before but really nice touch with the seniors.  Don't think Donaldson had played since the pre season. They got hemmed in there to start the game but each guy made a contribution this weekend.  Really happy for that group of guys.

The commitment to defend last night was brilliant.  Sticks in lanes and blocking shots galore.  Really liked that effort.

The officiating.  Woof.  I think it's low hanging fruit to always blame officiating but the constant measured faceoffs and premature drops by the one linesman in particular.  The having to re-review the offside for how much time to add.  The inconsistency of letting them play vs what they did call.  Letting scrums fester.  What I swear should have been an automatic goal with the empty net (I have not seen a replay yet).  The one they got right was the blatant Stanley major but overall a really bad night for that group.  I don't remember those guys before so hopefully they go off and mess up someone else's playoff series.

Fisher had a really nice evening.  His game doesn't usually jump out at you but he had some nice plays on both sides of the puck. Really too bad that goal came off the board.

That blocker save by Keopple during the major penalty kill was an all timer.  It deflected off of one of our defenders.  How many times have we seen that puck go in over the years?  Unreal reaction time by him. Glad he got that win.  Huge night.

Hoping Hiscock is alright.  Didn't like that he wasn't able to finish the game.  He was out there in full uniform for the ceremony but he didn't play after that injury.  Hopefully he'll be full strength by round two.

That was the type of team effort we have been looking for.  A lot of little things to like.  We are finally to the point of the season we have been waiting all year for.

[ugarte]

I think we've generally established that attendance has fallen off. it's disappointing but unless I'm supposed to walk into Bailey, grab a mic and start threatening Psych 101, I think I'll keep watching the games from my couch and rooting for our team regardless of local conditions.

[stereax]

I think we've generally established that attendance has fallen off. it's disappointing but unless I'm supposed to walk into Bailey, grab a mic and start threatening Psych 101, I think I'll keep watching the games from my couch and rooting for our team regardless of local conditions.

I mean, I mentioned this to Hyla before the game too - they scheduled Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) to have an event at the same time as men's hockey.

And before y'all come at me saying "well, people won't actually choose - " the exchange students I've been shepherding around all weekend ABSOLUTELY chose Rainn Wilson over men's hockey.

I'm trying my best to get them back for the playoffs. Fingers crossed there. But...

[stereax]

There were so many talking points coming out of that game.  Definitely was a nice primer for postseason play.  Another tight game where the boys locked it down and pulled out a win.

I know it's been done before but really nice touch with the seniors.  Don't think Donaldson had played since the pre season. They got hemmed in there to start the game but each guy made a contribution this weekend.  Really happy for that group of guys.

The commitment to defend last night was brilliant.  Sticks in lanes and blocking shots galore.  Really liked that effort.

The officiating.  Woof.  I think it's low hanging fruit to always blame officiating but the constant measured faceoffs and premature drops by the one linesman in particular.  The having to re-review the offside for how much time to add.  The inconsistency of letting them play vs what they did call.  Letting scrums fester.  What I swear should have been an automatic goal with the empty net (I have not seen a replay yet).  The one they got right was the blatant Stanley major but overall a really bad night for that group.  I don't remember those guys before so hopefully they go off and mess up someone else's playoff series.

Fisher had a really nice evening.  His game doesn't usually jump out at you but he had some nice plays on both sides of the puck. Really too bad that goal came off the board.

That blocker save by Keopple during the major penalty kill was an all timer.  It deflected off of one of our defenders.  How many times have we seen that puck go in over the years?  Unreal reaction time by him. Glad he got that win.  Huge night.

Hoping Hiscock is alright.  Didn't like that he wasn't able to finish the game.  He was out there in full uniform for the ceremony but he didn't play after that injury.  Hopefully he'll be full strength by round two.

That was the type of team effort we have been looking for.  A lot of little things to like.  We are finally to the point of the season we have been waiting all year for.

Yeah, Donaldson hadn't suited up for a regular season game yet. Super happy for him - I sometimes catch myself wondering "I hope Sean Donaldson's having a good day" 😅 (We were briefly acquainted and it did not seem like the best of times for him... though I suppose having to talk to me would make anyone annoyed HAHA.)

The entire team was willing to die in front of Keopple. Kraft took a few. Casty. Walsh. Fish. Hell, I think DeSantis got in on the action. On Keopple, though - kudos to him for proving me wrong time and again. I don't know how he does it but he puts up wins, and that's the most important thing.

Fisher - feels like "your favorite hockey player's favorite hockey player". Does all the little things right. I don't think I have EVER said "dammit, Fish should've done X thing differently". Solid and reliable. You need guys like that. I suspect him and Gorski will be a full-time pair next year - it seems like Gorski's "won out" a little over the rest of the glut of freshmen D we have.

On Hiscock - it seemed when he came out for the ceremony that he was, in part, testing his skating after a few minutes of ice packs and all that. We'll see how it goes. I'm not a doctor and I don't know what happened exactly, just he wasn't having a good go of it after that massive hit where he went flying. (Do you know how hard it is to get a dude that big that airborne?) I'd rather hold him out of the QF series if he's not at 100%; I don't think his presence/absence in the lineup will tip the scale enough to justify the risk of the type of re-injury that can end a career. (But, I mean - that's always going to be my stance. I still have that scream from that Hansen wrestling kid a few weeks back in the back of my head.) That being said, we have two weeks. That's huge. Rest up. Recharge. Heal some of the bruises of the season, go from there.

[Jim Hyla]

I just got into my house after 4 hours locked out.  What'd I miss?

That there are digital locks nowadays?

[Jim Hyla]

Thanks! 💜

You're welcome!

[Weder]

I just got into my house after 4 hours locked out.  What'd I miss?

That there are digital locks nowadays?

I once got locked out of an Airbnb because the owner let the batteries in the digital lock die. (It was one of those ones where the owner just emails you the passcode when it's check-in time, so I didn't have a key.)

[RichH]

I just got into my house after 4 hours locked out.  What'd I miss?

That there are digital locks nowadays?

I once got locked out of an Airbnb because the owner let the batteries in the digital lock die. (It was one of those ones where the owner just emails you the passcode when it's check-in time, so I didn't have a key.)

Beat me to it. This New Year's the rental house's digital combo lock just malfunctioned completely (changing batteries did nothing) so no numbers could be entered.

[Trotsky]

There were so many talking points coming out of that game.  Definitely was a nice primer for postseason play.  Another tight game where the boys locked it down and pulled out a win.

I know it's been done before but really nice touch with the seniors.  Don't think Donaldson had played since the pre season. They got hemmed in there to start the game but each guy made a contribution this weekend.  Really happy for that group of guys.

The commitment to defend last night was brilliant.  Sticks in lanes and blocking shots galore.  Really liked that effort.

The officiating.  Woof.  I think it's low hanging fruit to always blame officiating but the constant measured faceoffs and premature drops by the one linesman in particular.  The having to re-review the offside for how much time to add.  The inconsistency of letting them play vs what they did call.  Letting scrums fester.  What I swear should have been an automatic goal with the empty net (I have not seen a replay yet).  The one they got right was the blatant Stanley major but overall a really bad night for that group.  I don't remember those guys before so hopefully they go off and mess up someone else's playoff series.

Fisher had a really nice evening.  His game doesn't usually jump out at you but he had some nice plays on both sides of the puck. Really too bad that goal came off the board.

That blocker save by Keopple during the major penalty kill was an all timer.  It deflected off of one of our defenders.  How many times have we seen that puck go in over the years?  Unreal reaction time by him. Glad he got that win.  Huge night.

Hoping Hiscock is alright.  Didn't like that he wasn't able to finish the game.  He was out there in full uniform for the ceremony but he didn't play after that injury.  Hopefully he'll be full strength by round two.

That was the type of team effort we have been looking for.  A lot of little things to like.  We are finally to the point of the season we have been waiting all year for.

Very nice write up.  I feel the same way, down the line.

[Trotsky]

I just got into my house after 4 hours locked out.  What'd I miss?

That there are digital locks nowadays?

I'm still wrapping my mind around email, Jim.

[RichH]

During this rough patch the last few weeks, we've seen a lot more "individual efforts" and fewer setup & passing plays for our scoring.

Stanley right there. Ryan skated in while the rest of the team stood behind. Even the Fisher goal taken away was a result of some Puck Hero moves.

I'm not saying I don't appreciate the efforts or any offense we can get, but it's been slowly eating at me that we aren't seeing as much of the clean passing plays that marked the first half. Better teams will bottle that solo shit up.

Did you want Ryan to do a drop pass on his goal?  Or should Fisher have passed up a clear lane to the net?  This season has mostly been about guys taking what they were given and not trying to force plays (until recently).  I've seen enough attempted passes through three players when the better option was to shoot.  The botched defensive assignments that lead to those golden opportunities are likely to dry up starting in Lake Placid but until then please keep making the play in front of you.

No no no, sorry sorry, sorry. Let me rephrase.

I'm not concerned about the goals we are getting. I'm concerned about the goals we *aren't* getting anymore.

We are getting a lot more breakaways and SH chances compared to previous teams. I'm quite pleased with that.

During the 1st period vs Clarkson, didn't it feel like we were controlling the game, but not really controlling play? It didn't feel like "it's only a matter of time before these chances go in" but rather "we better score soon or this game could get stolen." Instead of controlling possession in the offensive zone, we were chasing the puck a lot and expending energy just trying to keep it in. Nothing really got set up. Maybe credit the Clarkson defense last night for that.

I felt our play was just different and more dominant in the fall. The team play and passing game in the offensive zone was more in sync and we didn't have to have solo skates around 3 defenders.

The broadcast noted during the 2nd intermission that Clarkson had over 40 shot attempts while Cornell was in the 20s. Obviously a plus is how many blocked shots we piled up. The advanced metrics say that Clarkson had more expected goals last night, and that's how it felt to me.

No, of course I'm excited for Ryan's snipe, it was there for him and was executed beautifully! But we aren't seeing the nice crisp tic-tac-toe passing that was being run in the first part of the season anymore.

[andyw2100]

I meant to post this last night...

Anyone else notice that Clarkson's two backup goalies watched the game, dressed, from near a door at the scoreboard end of the rink instead of from the bench? (Photo attached.) As inexplicable as that was, keeping their helmets on was even more so! And there was only a chair for one of them, so while one used it, the other stood the entire game!

[stereax]

I meant to post this last night...

Anyone else notice that Clarkson's two backup goalies watched the game, dressed, from near a door at the scoreboard end of the rink instead of from the bench? (Photo attached.) As inexplicable as that was, keeping their helmets on was even more so! And there was only a chair for one of them, so while one used it, the other stood the entire game!

I completely missed that! Wonder why that was. Reminds me of a couple of NHL rinks...