LeNeveu's GAA record in jeopardy?

[billhoward]

1973: Murray, Cornell's huge All-America defenseman (talk about same-name deja vu in reverse) blasts in a slap shot from the point 40 seconds in the third period to make it 5-2 Cornll over Wisconsin and there's no way, no way, you're thinking, that Cornell won't go all the way.

Basically, that was it for Cornell's glory in the NCAAs until McEneaney and French teamed up in 1976 and 1977 and brought glory to Cornell in Canada's initial national pasttime (you can look it up).

Imagine what could have been in the 1970s:

NCAA titles in hockey 1970, 72 (coulda been), 73 (coulda been) which would have produced more recruits for the late 1970s. Maybe not 1973; BU was better.

NCAA titles in lax 1971, 1976, 1977. Also 1975 had freshmen (McEneaney) been eligible in the Ivies; possibly 1974 had French been able to play as a freshman and Jim Trenz, the incredible transfer from Penn State, could have run midfield instead of attack. It wouldn't have made Bill Tierney's run at Princeton look so incredible in the '90s.

We ought to start a thread of Cornell's most depressing moments in sports. Like say the 4-3 game with Denver in 1969.

[Greg Berge]

In "The Game," Dryden said that Denver loss was the biggest regret of his entire hockey career: http://members.cox.net/tbrw/boxScores/box19690315.html



Post Edited (03-02-04 15:17)

[jeh25]

Bill Howard wrote:
 in Canada's initial national pasttime (you can look it up).

Try telling your 8th grade penpal that you play Kanadischenationalballspiel... B-]

(and yes, that is one of the 5 words I can remember in spite of having taken 4 years of German)

[jtwcornell91]

John E Hayes '98 '00 wrote:
Kanadischenationalballspiel... B-]

Eishockey wird aber mit keinem Ball, sondern mit einer Scheibe, gespielt.
:-P

[Killer]

Bill Howard wrote:

NCAA titles in hockey 1970, 72 (coulda been), 73 (coulda been) which would have produced more recruits for the late 1970s. Maybe not 1973; BU was better.

You did mean 1972, when saying BU was better, right?  They killed us in the ECACs and NCAAs, so there's no way I could have seen us winning that year.  And while it's true that in 1973 I watched the worst pasting I ever remember a Cornell team taking (the 9-0 BU loss that's in the record books as a Cornell win), BU's season went south with the ineligible player debacle (too bad we didn't get Titanic reinstated instead and let them keep their wins).  So I don't think it was the BU factor that year; it was the near-miss against Wisconsin that did us in.  That one should have been ours.  We'd have handled Denver.

[Al DeFlorio]

Killer wrote:

Bill Howard wrote:

NCAA titles in hockey 1970, 72 (coulda been), 73 (coulda been) which would have produced more recruits for the late 1970s. Maybe not 1973; BU was better.

You did mean 1972, when saying BU was better, right?  They killed us in the ECACs and NCAAs, so there's no way I could have seen us winning that year.  And while it's true that in 1973 I watched the worst pasting I ever remember a Cornell team taking (the 9-0 BU loss that's in the record books as a Cornell win), BU's season went south with the ineligible player debacle (too bad we didn't get Titanic reinstated instead and let them keep their wins).  So I don't think it was the BU factor that year; it was the near-miss against Wisconsin that did us in.  That one should have been ours.  We'd have handled Denver.

Having sat with Dick Bertrand watching Denver crush BC 10-4 the night before the Wisconsin game, I can tell you Dick wasn't so sure we were going to "handle" Denver.

[Killer]

Having sat with Dick Bertrand watching Denver crush BC 10-4 the night before the Wisconsin game, I can tell you Dick wasn't so sure we were going to "handle" Denver.

Denver was tough, but first of all, unless I'm mistaken, they weren't radically different from what they'd been the year before.  Cornell and BU demonstrated in 1972 that the "big" western teams didn't really have anything over the smaller, quicker eastern teams.  Why would 1973 have been different?  And Wisconsin, having squeaked by Cornell, didn't get blown out by Denver, as did BC.  In fact, they won 4-2.

I'm not saying it would have been an easy victory by any means.  But having watched all those games, you'll never convince me that Cornell wasn't at least the second best team in that tourney.  And trust me, I'm not putting Denver into contention for number 1.

[Al DeFlorio]

Killer wrote:

Having sat with Dick Bertrand watching Denver crush BC 10-4 the night before the Wisconsin game, I can tell you Dick wasn't so sure we were going to "handle" Denver.

Denver was tough, but first of all, unless I'm mistaken, they weren't radically different from what they'd been the year before.  Cornell and BU demonstrated in 1972 that the "big" western teams didn't really have anything over the smaller, quicker eastern teams.  Why would 1973 have been different?  And Wisconsin, having squeaked by Cornell, didn't get blown out by Denver, as did BC.  In fact, they won 4-2.

I'm not saying it would have been an easy victory by any means.  But having watched all those games, you'll never convince me that Cornell wasn't at least the second best team in that tourney.  And trust me, I'm not putting Denver into contention for number 1.

First off, I'm not convinced we weren't the best team in that tournament.  But what can be said for sure is that we'll never know.  

One key factor in the third period collapse against Wisconsin was that Bertrand, concerned that for the second year in a row Cornell was playing the second night's semifinal--meaning the other semifinal winner (BU in 1972) would get an extra day's rest--was trying to give his top guns as much rest as possible during that third period.  He gambled--and lost.

Unlike 1972 when Cornell and BU handled both western teams relatively easily, Denver utterly blew out a BC team that had held Cornell to a 3-2 ECAC championship game win the week before.  It was a worse beating than the lopsided score indicates.  And Denver--contrary to what Greg shows in the TBRW records--had won the WCHA tournament championship easily the week before, and was ranked #1 in the country.  Wisconsin, IMHO, rode a huge high resulting from the incredible comeback win over us to beat Denver in the finals.

Could we have beaten Denver?  Of course.  But is there basis for saying with certainty "we would have handled them?"  I don't think so.  What I can tell you with absolute certainty, Killer, is that Bertrand was in no way as confident as you are.  Then again, he was only the coach.  What did he know?

Edit:  Actually, there probably was not a WCHA tournament winner back then.  They may have still been playing only to the equivalent of two "semifinal" games to determine their two NCAA teams.  Denver was the higher-seeded of the two western teams, so they were paired against the #2 team in the east, BC, while ECAC champ Cornell drew the west's #2, Wisconsin.  Denver did win the MacNaughton Cup, or regular season WCHA championship, in 1972-3.



Post Edited (03-03-04 21:09)

[Killer]

With 13:00 left in the 3rd, Howard is throwing a shutout at BC, even surviving 6 PPs.

Come on, Eagles, get with the program!

----------------------------------------------------------------

...and he finishes it off at 3-0, 21 saves.

[Avash]

form the front page of USCHO.com:

In Hockey East, Maine goalie Jim Howard shut out Boston College 3-0 to lower his goals against average into striking distance of the NCAA record held by David LeNeveu

::uhoh::

[Will]

[Q]Avash '05 Wrote:

 form the front page of USCHO.com:

In Hockey East, Maine goalie Jim Howard shut out Boston College 3-0 to lower his goals against average into striking distance of the NCAA record held by David LeNeveu

 [/Q]

As all of us in #lynah earlier were saying while trying to keep up with the ECAC games going on, "Why the fuck can't BC score?!"  Normally, I'd love to give BC a mocking "It's Friday night and you can't score!", but not when it means Lenny's record might be on the line.  I swear, this team had better score like six goals on Maine tomorrow night. (Unless it's Doyle in net...actually, yeah, they'd still better score six goals, just to help keep Maine's other hot goalie down.)

[jy3]

well here are the stats
gp=15
minutes to be more exact=912:19 or ~912 1/3 minutes = 15.2 gp
goals allowed =18
current gaa=1.18
so...
if he gets a shutout and plays 60 minutes
972 1/3 minutes with 18 ga = 18/16.2=1.11111
if he lets in one and plays a full 60
972 1/3 with 19ga =19/16.2 = 1.17
if he lets in one goal and it goes into overtime, he ties david if they play amost full extra period (18.9 minutes or so long).
so...let us hope he either doesnt start or lets in one or more goals. i still am not sure if the record will fall if he only plays 15/36 games but maybe i am wrong?
go bc!

[Greenberg \'97]

I think the plan is to start Doyle tonight, as it's senior night there.  At least that's what someone said on the USCHO game thread.

[Al DeFlorio]

Doyle in goal for Maine in the Saturday game with BC.

[jy3]

and HE starts playoffs next week -> LeNeveu still has the record? ::help::