Cornell vs Harvard, ECAC QF Game 3, 3/15/26

[fastforward]

Kraft has been a great player since day 1.

Oh I completely agree with you on that point!
Maybe he really has taken over for O'Leary in the FF department!
His ability to accelerate from standing still is mind boggling to me
Maybe his height makes his presence seem minimal 😆

[VIEWfromK]

HO-LY.  That game was so much more Friday and much less Saturday than I was hoping for.  Most of the game was played in front of me and since Cornell only shoots that way once it made for a pretty uncomfortable watch.

I thought Cornell did a much better job using the glass to clear pucks early on instead of looking for a high forward to tip the puck clear or worse, trying to pass through the middle.  They lost a lot of positional battles in front of the net though.  On both Harvard goals against Cornell had the numbers but the defenders weren't able to check the sticks.  Gosh that St Louis kid is stealthy.

I was really glad that they didn't let allowing the first goal fester.  I wanted nothing to do with playing from behind.

One thing I saw a couple of times too many was drop passes after crossing into their zone.  Both times it went the other way.  That's never the play.

The final twelve minutes of the second was when Cornell finally turned the tables.  I thought a power play goal there at the end would be game over.  They didn't score and as a result they spent the entire third period facing wave after wave.

As for the two goals scored during that stretch first I bring you my new segment...

    VEILLEUXfromK
I really enjoy how they are able to deploy that kid.  He's up ahead of the play on breakouts.  He's down below the dots on the power play.  He has a lot of forward tendencies in many situations.  He hasn't been immune to the freshman valleys but he has the potential to be a true difference maker as he continues to mature.  I thought it was too bad that they couldn't credit him with the Walsh goal because he basically shot that puck to ricochet it in off of Walsh.  It had so much velocity that Walsh couldn't react to it if he wanted to actively try to tip it in.  Beautiful set up.  Back to my regular post...

That was a huge hit by Ryan that led to the Fisher goal.  Compared to our big guys he looks on the smaller side but he's had a couple of bone crunchers lately.  Nice job coming off the wall and finding the open man.

Fisher has really started to settle in. He has those moments that make you scratch your head but now that we are seeing the offensive side of his game he's showing he can be a well rounded player.  Combine that with the solid play of Ashton and it was a major win for Cornell in grabbing those guys from the transfer portal.

That Cournoyer save on the breakaway was so huge.  He was terrific down the stretch.  Very calm and poised.

I'm glad Harvard pulled the goalie because there was no way Cornell was getting any breathing room otherwise.  There have been a couple of extra exciting empty netters this year with the Castagna beating everyone down the ice earlier this season and now the goal post with bodies diving for the loose puck.  I'm hoping this Castagna empty netter to cap the home portion of the season isn't his final Lynah goal but I guess that's for another post.

That celebration was what we have waited all year for.  I was a bit worried because Pirtle leapt onto an unsuspecting Cournoyer and he rammed his back into the crossbar.  He reached back it looked like in pain so hopefully it's nothing.  He seemed ok as he brought up the rear during the victory lap.

This was the kind of weekend we've been asking for (not the playing a third game part).  Full barn.  Students and pep band participation.  Would have been interesting to compare it to if Colgate had been the opponent.  Felt like everyone behaved themselves too.

My last gripe is that the game ends and it's exciting and we're all relieved and then they decide to pipe in the loud radio music.  The band had done such a nice job all weekend beating it back.  That IS NOT the time for it.  Let the moment breath.  It's not like they had a song that they rallied around (Gloria anyone?).  The place was rocking.  That was the only soundtrack you needed there.  Thankfully the crowd was able to drown it out eventually but there's no need to take away from that moment with Jock Jams.

I'm pretty sure I've attended my last game of the year.  Hope that you folks traveling next week have a great time.  Let's three-peat!

[fastforward]

VEILLEUXfromK

THIS IS SOLID!!!!

[stereax]

VEILLEUXfromK

THIS IS SOLID!!!!

MORE! BITS! MORE! BITS!

Also LMFAO at Pirtle jumping Courns hard enough to give him a stinger.

People forget Caton Ryan is 6'0" and 185, I think? Off memory at least. Because we havs so many guys who are like 6'5" and 235 (hi, Ashton) that by comparison Cato is tiny.

That being said, whoever got bodied by Jake Kraft... lol and lmao.

[sah67]

That being said, whoever got bodied by Jake Kraft... lol and lmao.

Kraft has that solid/powerful build for a short guy though...it's like if you shrunk Parker Murray down a foot. Not surprising he can knock guys over! 

[stereax]

That being said, whoever got bodied by Jake Kraft... lol and lmao.

Kraft has that solid/powerful build for a short guy though...it's like if you shrunk Parker Murray down a foot. Not surprising he can knock guys over! 

He's still 5'8"! (Probably less, with the way that hockey players like to add inches to their height arbitrarily, especially when they're short.) But I'm trying not to laugh in class imagining Parker Murray being shrunk down a foot. ...It's not working.

[stereax]

Maybe he really has taken over for O'Leary in the FF department!

unfortunately I think there's someone else who the Faithful have appointed as their new Fan Favorite...

[ugarte]

HO-LY.  That game was so much more Friday and much less Saturday than I was hoping for. Most of the game was played in front of me and since Cornell only shoots that way once it made for a pretty uncomfortable watch.

I agree, in that we were clearly the better team over the course of 60 minutes but the precarity for so much of the game - including the mild tension of a two-goal lead that becomes bone-chilling when it drops to one.

One thing I saw a couple of times too many was drop passes after crossing into their zone.  Both times it went the other way.  That's never the play.

You're obviously exaggerating so don't take my response to be taking you literally, but it is very often the play but it requires a lot more awareness of where everyone is to deploy. If the trailer isn't right there, you're just leaving the puck for whoever and that is the same kind of assumption of the best case scenario that I see when our team tries to clear by rifling the puck behind the net and up the boards. Quick decision-making is key to being effective but I think we have some go-to moves that are much higher risk than they need to be. Like you, I prefer when we bang it off the glass to clear.

That Cournoyer save on the breakaway was so huge.  He was terrific down the stretch.  Very calm and poised.

He's had some shaky plays after a breakout start but this was a Cournoyer W. Our defense was basically "break but don't bend" - we controlled most of the play but when there was a slip-up, no half-measures - we were leaving Courns to save everyone and he did, over and over. Incredible late signing.

Onward and northward. Time to get our revenge on Princeton for ruining the weekend after our blowout of Q.

[fastforward]

Maybe he really has taken over for O'Leary in the FF department!

unfortunately I think there's someone else who the Faithful have appointed as their new Fan Favorite...

The Faithful or Stereax?? 😆😆

[fastforward]

That being said, whoever got bodied by Jake Kraft... lol and lmao.

Kraft has that solid/powerful build for a short guy though...it's like if you shrunk Parker Murray down a foot. Not surprising he can knock guys over! 

I'm dying laughing
But seeing some of the hits he's put on guys, he must be solid

[stereax]

Maybe he really has taken over for O'Leary in the FF department!

unfortunately I think there's someone else who the Faithful have appointed as their new Fan Favorite...

The Faithful or Stereax?? 😆😆

The Faithful.

As evidenced by their many, many chants about Hiscock.

(Who, for the record, is also one of my favorite guys of the class, but not because of the last name.)

[fastforward]

Maybe he really has taken over for O'Leary in the FF department!

unfortunately I think there's someone else who the Faithful have appointed as their new Fan Favorite...

The Faithful or Stereax?? 😆😆

The Faithful.

As evidenced by their many, many chants about Hiscock.

(Who, for the record, is also one of my favorite guys of the class, but not because of the last name.)

I was thinking Caton Ryan

[stereax]

Maybe he really has taken over for O'Leary in the FF department!

unfortunately I think there's someone else who the Faithful have appointed as their new Fan Favorite...

The Faithful or Stereax?? 😆😆

The Faithful.

As evidenced by their many, many chants about Hiscock.

(Who, for the record, is also one of my favorite guys of the class, but not because of the last name.)

I was thinking Caton Ryan

Caton Ryan is good at hockey!

He's also criminally underrated by I think everyone, including many of the Faithful. Which is why the meme exists.

But no, Hiscock is definitely the new Fan Favorite...

[VIEWfromK]

One thing I saw a couple of times too many was drop passes after crossing into their zone.  Both times it went the other way.  That's never the play.

You're obviously exaggerating so don't take my response to be taking you literally, but it is very often the play but it requires a lot more awareness of where everyone is to deploy. If the trailer isn't right there, you're just leaving the puck for whoever and that is the same kind of assumption of the best case scenario that I see when our team tries to clear by rifling the puck behind the net and up the boards. Quick decision-making is key to being effective but I think we have some go-to moves that are much higher risk than they need to be. Like you, I prefer when we bang it off the glass to clear.

I generally have a distaste for going backwards with the puck unless you are going for a change or you have established possession in the zone.  Especially at this level I think the success rate is not good enough.  Our guys except maybe Castagna don't cross the opponents blue line with enough speed to back guys in and create the space necessary to make a drop pass effectively.  There were two times in yesterday's game.  DiGiulian dropped it right after he entered the zone and it went the other way and I can't remember if it was Ryan or Major who did it also and instead of a zone possession it became a turnover.  The play is to get deeper into the zone.  A play like that against a good team can be costly.

[ugarte]

I generally have a distaste for going backwards with the puck unless you are going for a change or you have established possession in the zone.  Especially at this level I think the success rate is not good enough.  Our guys except maybe Castagna don't cross the opponents blue line with enough speed to back guys in and create the space necessary to make a drop pass effectively.  There were two times in yesterday's game.  DiGiulian dropped it right after he entered the zone and it went the other way and I can't remember if it was Ryan or Major who did it also and instead of a zone possession it became a turnover.  The play is to get deeper into the zone.  A play like that against a good team can be costly.

we're on the same page. it has to be a play, not an assumption that the trailer is there.