Cornell fall 2005 holiday break - post-mortem

[billhoward]

The season's more than a third of the way over at the exam break. Cornell is 8-3-1, 5-2-1 in the ECAC. Were we expecting more than that?

The record seems a lot better standing on its own than the rundown of the close calls. Cornell had one good game against Michigan State, showed grit in coming back against Harvard, and what else? No blowouts. (Correction, we didn't blow out anyone else, but there was Dartmouth.) Got taken twice to OT (and came 22 seconds away from going to OT against Quinnipiac). Got manhandled by Yale, of all teams, but won. Had a one-point homestand weekend against Union and RPI - who'd have thought? Won, what, seven of the eight games by one goal excluding ENGs and the exception was game No. 11, against Princeton Dec. 2. We're allowing more than 2-1/2 goals a game, twice what it was last year. (To be fair, the Dartmouth fiasco accounts for 0.5 extra GA against the average: it's really ~2.25GAA plus the Dartmouth thing.) Take away special teams and Cornell is averaging 1.7 goals per game (12 games, I believe 20 even strength goals for.) Did anyone expect Cornell and its opponents would have the same number of power play goals (15) and we'd give up more man-short goals (3-2)? Maybe the puck hasn't bounce Cornell's way yet.

Maybe the expectations after last year were too high: Moulson, McKee and Hynes were due back, we lost a bunch of good defensemen but, hey, it's a system, we thought, and there was a bumper crop of freshmen coming in. Frozen Four, here we come. Nobody wants to say "wait 'til next year," but there's also some suspicion Cornell is a less solid candidate now than it was Oct. 1 to make the Frozen Four - based on performance-to-date - and Cornell might struggle to make the ECAC title game.

Anybody suspect Cornell would head into exams without a shutout to its credit?

It's still great fun watching Cornell play, the teamwork, the hustle, the crisp power play (first unit), the aggressive defense, the exuberant fans (the ones who don't get tossed) home and away. In fact, one of the highlights must be the away arenas where Cornell and the pep band are more of a presence than than the home side's fans and musicians.

Maybe it will gel. It's a young team and there have been injuries. Cornell I believe is even with the ECAC leaders in fewest losses (others have played more and won more). 8-3-1 is pretty decent. Let's hope: There's got to be a pony in there someplace.