Goaltending Recruit

[French Rage]

I dunno, I tend to agree with the poster that doesnt leave his email address and calls people "homo".

[calgARI '07]

McKee did no worse than his predecessors.  He was actualy very similar to LeNeveu, Underhill, and Elliot.   All outstanding in the regular season and very ordinary in the playoffs.  McKee has three more years to prove that he can perform when the games matter most.  Although LeNeveu, Underhill, and Elliot were not primarily at fault in the years Cornell was elmininated in the NCAA's, they were not at their best when it mattered most.  LeNeveu against UNH.  Underhill against UNH.  Elliot against North Dakota and Lake Superior State.  The respective Cornell teams did not perform their best at times either in these games, but the goalie is who we always look to.  
Nothing wrong with McKee, but there is a lot wrong with Chabot, hence the need for another capable (at the very least) goaltender.

[Greg Berge]

I think Cornell played very well in all of those games except for the first ten minutes against Lake State and the final 30 against NoDak (when they ran out of gas against a rested foe).

In particular, Cornell's game against UNH in '02 may have been the best game the team played that year.  It is possible to play well and run into a better team.

[calgARI '07]

I'll agree with you that they played well against UNH and Lake State, but the goaltending was not up to par with the rest of the year in either game.

[Josh '99]

I'm not sure I'd completely agree with you, Ari...  Elliott at least was at his best in the playoffs, at least for a couple years in a row in Placid.

[The Rancor]

i'd have to say that Chabot wouldnt even have a jersey if there was that much wrong with him, Ari. i expect he'll be the #2 guy next year. anyway, i'd love to hear what is so bad about the kid anyway? i'm not saying he's lenny or mckee, and todd marr was a solid player with past experience (and a senior) but chabot does wear the shirt for Goaltender U.

[DeltaOne81]

I think to say that Lenny wasn't up to par in the playoffs because of the UNH loss is silly. Keep in mind he won us 6 playoff games up to that point. Yeah, he was a bit less than usual against UNH, but two or three inches on the high-stick or last-second-mask save play, and you'd be signing a different tune... well, unless we lost the title game... i guess he woulda choked then too.

[jtwcornell91]

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:

 McKee did no worse than his predecessors.  He was actualy very similar to LeNeveu, Underhill, and Elliot.   All outstanding in the regular season and very ordinary in the playoffs.  McKee has three more years to prove that he can perform when the games matter most.  Although LeNeveu, Underhill, and Elliot were not primarily at fault in the years Cornell was elmininated in the NCAA's, they were not at their best when it mattered most.  LeNeveu against UNH.  Underhill against UNH.  Elliot against North Dakota and Lake Superior State.  The respective Cornell teams did not perform their best at times either in these games, but the goalie is who we always look to.   [/Q]
I'm not sure how you can say the back-to-back ECAC Tournament MVP was "very ordinary in the playoffs".  And it makes little sense to hold up the fact that they eventually lost to somebody in the NCAAs, when as a rule we'll be facing our toughest competition of the season, as a black mark against our goalies.

Elliott had one bad period against Lake State, in our first NCAA tournament appearance in five years, but you have to remember that in 1996 we didn't expect to do anything on the national stage.  This was the team that had lost 6-2 to Michigan State, 7-1 to BU, and 11-0 to Colorado College.  In 1997, remember that the 6-2 loss to North Dakota included two ENGs at the end.  After beating Miami 4-2, Elliott gave up 4 goals to the eventual national champion.  Yeah, he really sucked. ::rolleyes::

And LeNeveu's postseason GAA was 1.36.  Assuming you mean "NCAA tournament" when you say "postseason", that was a whopping 1.80.  Yeah, too bad we couldn't have had a real goaltender. ::rolleyes::

[DisplacedCornellian]

You have to take Ari's comments with a grain of salt.  Remember...this is the guy who said that Knoepfli shouldn't even dress next season  ::nut::

[CUlater 89]

I assume part of the thought that the goalies were not at their best in the postseason (or at least the NCAAs) relates to the types of goals given up, rather than the stats (particularly because the stats are in large part due to the team defensive system employed).  For my part, I agree that LeNeveu could have played better against UNH last year, although I wouldn't blame him for the loss (although I do blame him for 1 or 2 of the goals).

Also, Elliot was stellar in the ECACs -- better in fact than in the regular season.

[calgARI '07]

I'm with you Rancor.  Whenever I have watched Chabot in practice or in the Red/White games, he seems to have decent technique and have at least average upside.  However, Schafer does not agree.  He has said as much on a few occasions including one point where I believe he said that Chabot would never play.  

[calgARI '07]

At no point did I ever say that Knoepfli should not dress next season.  I argued that he underachieved offensively this season and that there are going to be regulars from this year sitting out next year with 2 more forwards coming in than are leaving.  That is until he really stepped up in the playoffs and thus solidified himself as a leader and someone that can fulfill his offensive potential.  Thanks for taking what I said out of context though.

[calgARI '07]

CULater understands what I was saying regarding past goaltenders.  You can talk about numbers all you want, but GAA in particular applies just as much to team defense (which was obviously outstanding the last three seasons in particular) as to goaltending.  How LeNeveu got ECAC Playoff MVP over Paolini is beyond me.  The third period goals against Harvard were questionable whereas Paolini scored the OT winner in the championship game.  Even if LeNeveu was amazing in the ECAC playoffs, which he was not, the guy that scores the OT winner in the championship game should get playoff MVP (IE Kolarik in 2002).  
Many will likely disagree, but I thought LeNeveu was shaky throughout last year's playoffs.  Cornell's defensive scheme was hands down the best in the NCAA so they could make it as far as they did on shaky goaltending, IMO.  Cornell broke down for ten minutes after the disallowed goal and LeNeveu did not come up with big saves when he needed to.  In my eyes, that is the bottom line.

[DisplacedCornellian]

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:

 At no point did I ever say that Knoepfli should not dress next season.  I argued that he underachieved offensively this season and that there are going to be regulars from this year sitting out next year with 2 more forwards coming in than are leaving.  That is until he really stepped up in the playoffs and thus solidified himself as a leader and someone that can fulfill his offensive potential.  Thanks for taking what I said out of context though. [/Q]


Maybe I didn't get the exact quote right, but I don't think I took what you said out of context.  So I dug up the quote.

"Wouldn't be surprised if Knoepfli and McCutcheon both got bounced from the lineup next year with more forward coming in than leaving."

In any event...it doesn't really matter.  I was just saying we should take your comments with a grain of salt since you tend to exaggerate a bit.  Not the best judge of talent, yet you love to make yourself sound like the authority.

[calgARI '07]

Wow.  You disagree with my analysis so you come down on my judgement of talent, which there is really no way you can accurately pass judgement on.  And I also love to make myself sound like an authority.  Nice work judging my tone from a messageboard.  You have a profound talent that I wish I could have been blessed with.  You disagree with my assessments, that's fine.  I did nothing to warrant your attacks though.