Which loss was more painful?

[duffs4]

Well said RedGrinch!!!

[Beeeej]

[Q]Trotsky Wrote:
there is a 2002ish "wait till next year" feel.[/q]

For the record, which Trotsky can confirm, I was only one year off several years ago when I took a look at the direction our team was going and said we'd next make it to the Frozen Four in 2002.  It was, of course, 2003 instead.

When did I say our next national championship would be?

2005.

I'd be pleased as punch to be exactly as "wrong" about that one.

Looking forward to Milwaukee.

Beeeej

[Will]

What year was it that you actually made those predictions, Beeeej?  If it was 2001, no offense, but that's not impressive.  If it was 1995, then we'll call you a visionary.

[Beeeej]

Again, Trotsky can confirm, but I believe it was 1999.

Beeeej

[Scersk '97]

'96 was more painful than both, but that's because I was in school and I irrationally believed that team was magical.

In the long view, I'm glad our painful losses are now coming in the quarter- or semifinals rather than in the first round.

[Jacob '06]

This year was more painful, mainly b/c of the 2000 mile trip and going against 8000 gopher fans. I definitely felt a lot worse when it ended.

[DeltaOne81]

After a bit of perspective on this year, I don't think 2003 was all that painful. Painful for me has more to do with that particular game than the whole season. Maybe not for everyone, but that seems to be how it effects me.

Going down 3-0 on UHN, well, I'm not gonna say I gave up, but I certainly didn't expect much. As the game wore on and we pulled it closer, I certainly got a lot of hope back, but I never expected the team had a damn good shot at coming back from 0-3. So at the end it was "well, they got close, but I already thought it was over an hour and a half ago... oh well".

More painful than that was 2002, when we were tied with only a few minutes left before Underhill let us a relative softie - very similar to Colgate's experience against CC this year. That was painful because we got so close I could taste it, only needed a bounce of the puck. It was tied and then our hopes were close to dashed in an instant.

This year, this year was definitely painful. Very painful. With a bit of perspective I am extremely proud of this team, nearly overcoming a deck that was virtually stacked against them. 20, 30 minutes into that game, we were being outskated, drastically outshot, but then... then we took the lead! As it got late in the third, we started skating better, winning the battles, playing more of our game. As overtime started, we had a few good chances, and it seemed the longer it went, the better we would... shit.

Losing to OSU the night before, after being down 2-0 would have been less painful, because we could have had time to prepare for it as the game wore on. More disappointing, less to feel good about in the long run, but less painful.

So...
disappointment/finishing short of our beginning of season hopes: 2002 < 2005 < 2003
actual pain at game end: 2003 < 2002 (esp with the memories of Placid) < 2005

[Jordan 04]

Having been at both, it's hard to pick.  They were both painful in their own ways.

2003 was painful because I think we were a true national championship contender, and it had to be that year because of all the departing seniors (and we knew Lenny leaving was a possibility as well).  It was also painful for me, because even down 3-0, I was unusally confident that we were going to chip away and come back to win.  When we made it 3-2, in some ways I felt the game was ours to lose.  And if not for a fortunately placed Ayers facemask, who knows....  To lose that game knowing the firepower we were losing, and how special a year it had been (perfect at Lynah included), it was rough.

Sunday was painful because of how beautifully sweet  it would have been to advance to the Frozen Four under those circumstances....300 Lynah Faithful celebrating on Minnesota's home turf, as 9500 Minnesotans beat the traffic.  And after the shorthanded goal, it was becoming even more of a reality.  But deep down, did I feel we were a "true" championship contender....even after the unbeaten streak, I had my doubts.  I've been saying for over a year now that 2005-06 was the one I was eyeing for another legitimate championship run, and this season felt like it was going to mirror 2001-2002.  As it turns out, it was eerily similar (at least in how and when it ended).  And think back to the weeks before Red/White, and see what the opinions were regarding a potential Frozen Four.  I think "make the NCAA's and maybe win a game" was the realistic goal, much more so than "reach the Frozen Four."  As it should have been, with a relatively young team, a sophomore goaltender, and a terribly disappointing result the previous year.  So in retrospect, I think we reached our realistic goals this season, and it was painful in that we didn't stretch beyond those.  2003 was painful because you fully believed you would walk home with hardware.

[dozens]

As a Red Sox fan, I find the tone of these posts all too familiar. No worries, folks. This team overachieved. They'll be back next year, and they'll be better.

[jtwcornell91]

This year has one huge advantage over 2002, and his name is Whitelaw.  (Plus we beat a real team in the first round rather than a MAAC patsy.)

[dargason]

This team and its fans are nothing like the Red Sox and theirs.  There's a big difference in being disappointed that your team did not win a championship and wondering how the team is going to blow the run to the championship this year.

A few more heartbreaks to go before Cornell fans get any sort of Red Soxian complex  :-D

[dadeo]

Even though we will have a strong team next year, certain players will have to step up to fill roles of departing seniors (ie. Sasha and O'Byrne for Charlie and Jeremy).  
That said, 2003 was alot tougher, especially since I was sitting 5 rows back from the ice behind Ayers when teh shot got disallowed. (bs).  
Oh - and there's a new article on http://www.uscho.com/news/2005/03/29_010521.php
where Adam convinced the NCAA to get rid of some big ice rule.  We will see.

dave '02

[DeltaOne81]

Haha, Adam, I love you... in the way a guy can love a sports journalist... it probably means nothing overall, but its a major moral victory. One I greatly appreciate right now :-D

[Will]

One wonders if this will be our ultimate revenge on Minnesota.  Then again, the NCAA likes to make money and Minnesota likes to host regionals, so it might do nothing.  But it'll be nice to have the rules on our side in the future.

[Beeeej]

Well, it's not like Adam convinced the rules committee to change the rule to prefer NHL ice, he just convinced them to get rid of the rule preferring Olympic ice.  And even if they went further and made a rule preferring NHL ice, that's all it would likely be - a preference.  I doubt they'd ever institute a rule that would require schools to spend serious money on renovating their rinks.

Maybe it'd be possible to require new Div. I programs to have facilities with NHL ice, but they'd probably have to grandfather in the existing ones.

Beeeej