This Year's "Three Goals"

[Greg Berge]

In 1995-96, Schafer famously gave his team three goals:

1. Fill the Rink
2. Beat Harvard
3. Win the ECAC Title

What should the "three goals" be this season?

[Ben Rocky '04]

1) With UVM, we should continue to show the college hockey universe that the ECACHL isn't totally full of teams that can't win non-conference games.
2) Have a season with as few injuries as possible.
3) Win the ECAC title.

[bernie han]

1) beat harvard
2) win ecac title
3) win ncaa title

[CowbellGuy]

Injuries aren't something you can work for (or against, as the case may be).

[JS \'93]

1) Win both games at Michigan State
2) Win at least opening game in Florida against Boston College

This should insure an NCAA bid, assuming the team takes care of its normal ECAC business (i.e. Beating Sucks) with just some scattered losses and ties thrown in.   ECACHL Championship would be icing on the cake.

3) Another Frozen Four appearance

[Will]

1. Win
2. Win
3. Win

Oh, and:

4. Avoid the Potsdam Pizza Hut. :-D

[Ben Rocky '04]

on top of the pizza hut rule, how about we also seek to avoid the vicious cannibal lynah-faithful-eating snowmobilers who patrol the north country?

[jtwcornell91]

[Q]Greg Berge Wrote:

 In 1995-96, Schafer famously gave his team three goals:

1. Fill the Rink
2. Beat Harvard
3. Win the ECAC Title[/q]

At the time, at least, I could have sworn goal #3 was to get home ice for the ECAC Quarterfinals.

[redice]

[Q]bernie han Wrote:

 1) beat harvard
2) win ecac title
3) win ncaa title[/q]



1) beat Harvard.....four times (2 reg season; 2 ECAC playoffs)
2) win ECAC title
3) win NCAA title

[Jim Hyla]

[Q]jtwcornell91 Wrote:

 [Q2]Greg Berge Wrote:

 In 1995-96, Schafer famously gave his team three goals:

1. Fill the Rink
2. Beat Harvard
3. Win the ECAC Title[/Q]
At the time, at least, I could have sworn goal #3 was to get home ice for the ECAC Quarterfinals.[/q]
John, you are right. In the CU Athletic Yearbook 1995-96 they state the three goals as:
1. Pack Lynah
2. Beat Harvard
3. Earn home ice

[calgARI '07]

1. Win ECAC Regular Season Title
2. Win ECAC Post Season Title
3. Win NCAA Championship

If there could be a fourth goal, it would be win the tournament down in Florida.  Beating Boston College and Maine/St. Cloud would do wonders for their reputation and PWR.

[KeithK]

What about the all important Ivy Title? :-P

[billhoward]

0) Beat Harvard and pack Lynah assumed this year (let us hope)
1) Win Everblades
2) Win ECAC
3) Play in the Frozen Four

Last goal is within reach. As we've seen in last two years, in a short series the No. 1s can be knocked off by No. 4s, so a low-ranked team in the NCAAs doesn't always have to beat all the top teams to get to the final bracket. You can beat one of them and then knock off the other No. 4 or No. 3 who took out a top seed.

Based on the first two games only, we won't be in a situation where the most offense you can hope for from Cornell in a high-stakes game is three goals and so the defense better hold them to two.

[KenP]

I'd say that if Cornell wants to play in the Frozen Four, they NEED to win the ECAC tourney.  I realize that a successful regular season can earn them an at-large bid, but you need to have all cylinders clicking come post-season time.  If they lose in the ECAC tourney, they'll be ripe for the picking in the NCAA tourney.

[billhoward]

Winning the ECACs gives you a better chance of a better seeding. If you're at-large from ECAC, you could thrown into the dance card against a really good team, better than you should have to play Round One, to avoid say a first-round WCHA vs. WCHA matchup.

It would help if Cornell was host to a few more of the NCAA first round games in Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, wherever, because then the NCAA has to keep you in the home bracket. I don't know if the mixed reception to Cornell hosting the 2004 NCAA lax quarterfinals (broken scoreboard, not enough food at the refreshment stands) will be remembered.

And with so few games against quality non-ECACHL opponents to help RPI (thus the importance of going 2-0 in the Everblades), the NCAA could decide to take only the winner. Best the ECACHL can hope for is two slots come March (three slots?) and that's most likely if No. 1 and No. 2 meet in the finals and the NCAA takes both. Maybe if a really strong ECAC No. 1 team loses in the semis there's a chance. Based on two weeks of play it looks like Cornell and St. Lawrence in the ECAC title game.

But there are so many imponderables between now and March.