Cornell-RIT post game

[Karlmoose]

McKee looked pretty solid. He had to make a few tough saves, especially on deflections. Guimond really stole the show, but I agree that McKee is starting to play better.
Speaking of improving players, did anyone else notice Pegoraro a lot more last night? I thought he had a much higher presence than he has all season. He blocked a bunch of shots, was great on the boards, and had at least three good scoring opportunities that I can remember. It would be great to see him step up to last year's level again.

[duffs4]

[q]Where the hell has the physical play gone?? [/q]

You must have been getting popcorn when O'byrne made one of the RIT players forget how to skate. Best hit of the year.

Assesment:  Cornell plays to the level of the other team.  

With that said CU had 56 shots!  Without that goalie the score would have been 10-1.  Anyone catch the glove save, I think it was on Bitz, in the second period, WOW!!  He was in the game.

[Tom14850]

that's not the way I saw it. Salmela tried to pass it to Pokoluk and it was picked off before it even got close to Pokoluk. Pokoluk, with forward momentum, did not have even half a chance to get back and prevent the breakaway.

[redhair34]

[quote Tom14850]that's not the way I saw it. Salmela tried to pass it to Pokoluk and it was picked off before it even got close to Pokoluk. Pokoluk, with forward momentum, did not have even half a chance to get back and prevent the breakaway.[/quote]

Ding! Ding! Ding!--we have a winner!!

[cth95]

http://cornellbigred.collegesports.com/sports/m-hockey/recaps/010806aaa.html    "RIT drew even just less than six minutes later when Cornell junior defenseman Evan Salmela (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) tried to pass the puck across the slot to sophomore defenseman Sasha Pokulok (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.) in his own end. Tigers' sophomore Simon Lambert batted the puck out of the air, made a move on Salmela and slid the puck past a diving McKee for an unassisted goal."
     Incidentally, may not be against the best competition, but only 4 goals allowed in the last 5 games.  Hopefully can keep this return to typical Cornell defensive numbers as begin to play the stronger teams in the league.

[ebilmes]

[quote duffs4]
Assesment:  Cornell plays to the level of the other team.  
[/quote]

Could not agree more. At Yale we brought down our level of play to match theirs; same thing against Niagara. The UMD game was the most solid of the few games I've seen this year. Last night sounded like we just played a boring game physically and offensively (with the exception of OB's hit). Sure, we had 56 shots, but like others have said, the majority didn't appear to be quality.

[Brian]

[quote duffs4][q]Where the hell has the physical play gone?? [/q]

You must have been getting popcorn when O'byrne made one of the RIT players forget how to skate. Best hit of the year.

Assesment:  Cornell plays to the level of the other team.  

With that said CU had 56 shots!  Without that goalie the score would have been 10-1.  Anyone catch the glove save, I think it was on Bitz, in the second period, WOW!!  He was in the game.[/quote]

...and maybe you had already left when O'byrne was completely flattened by #15 of RIT in the 3rd.  O'byrne's helmet even came off before he hit the ice,  he got rocked!  We need to wear down teams with our physical play, which quite frankly is non-existent right now.  I agree with the other threads about playing to the other teams level.  However, last night RIT dominated us in the physical aspects, we got beat up.

[BigRedBrouhaha]

I wouldnt say that RIT dominated us physically at all. If anything, yes we should have been more physical but the way you are making it, it seems like every three seconds a cornell guy was getting killed, which wasnt true. There were decent hits by each team which is kinda sad considering that RIT was MUCH smaller than Cornell. RIT showed alot of hustle and heart throughout the game.  The scariest thing to take from this game is the fact that we couldnt score 5 on 5 versus RIT. Well that and on going defensive lapses. I cringe everytime our d men start up the ice. Those defensive lapses will cost us big time versus a better team *cough* St. Lawrence Clarkson weekend *cough* . On the bright side, McKee and our penalty kill are looking better than they did earlier in the season.

[oceanst41]

This is my view from the webcast, but the physical play was there from the guys that have been showing it all year. OB, Sawada, and Mugford pretty much carry the physical play for Cornell, that's probably why Schafer opts to start them most of the time. There are other guys who like to mix it up out there, the Abbotts and Barlow for instance, but they are never gonna really knock someone out like OB did unless someone is skating with their head down.

More disturbing is the offense, because Cornell hardly generated anyting 5 on 5. Probably the best opportunity happened right of the bat with the move Pegs pulled to get the 2 on 1. Cornell seems to only be able to capitalize of the other teams mistakes (i.e. short handed breakaways and PPs) instead of creating opportunities. If they get into an even game with lots of flow and few whistles it's scares me because I don't know how much Cornell will threaten. It's nice to capitalize off other team's mistakes but you can't always rely on the other side to screw up.

The defense, PK and goaltending seem to be coming together and we know that's what will carry Cornell if they are going anywhere this year. I think I've gone on long enough now.

[Will]

[quote Brian]However, last night RIT dominated us in the physical aspects, we got beat up.[/quote]

There's a difference between "being physically dominating" and "throwing dirty, cheap shots for the majority of the game".  That said, Cornell could/should still have been more physical, and doing so cleanly as well.

[JasonN95]

I'm starting to think that the refereeing this season is putting a damper on Cornell's physical play.  It now seems to be (more so than in past seasons) that delivering a clean, powerful hit that stuns the opponent is a penalty in the eyes of the refs. Charging (when the player correctly coasts) and elbowing (when its all shoulder or when a tall player keeps his elbow tucked but still makes some contact against a shorter opponent) are getting called unfairly on good, clean hits.  And if your a big player, like Cornell has, it's all the worse.  If anyone caught today's Yale vs Q game on tv, there was prime example.  A Yale player delivered a clean shoulder check to a Q player --who's helmet was clearly on too loose (you could see the face mask bobbing up and down in the replay before contact was made)-- who got a gash on his face when his helmet spun.  As a result, the Yale player was given a *5 minute major* for elbowing. That elbowing call was made simply because the Q player got hurt, I'm convinced of it.

[KenP]

How much of Cornell's offensive "issues" can be attributed to the coaching staff?  Schafer's skills are broad based, but he's certainly not an offense specialist.  Who are the assistant coaches?  How long have they been there?  Did we lose anyone?  Are they helping our players achieve to their fullest potential?

[Give My Regards]

[quote KenP]How much of Cornell's offensive "issues" can be attributed to the coaching staff?  Schafer's skills are broad based, but he's certainly not an offense specialist.  Who are the assistant coaches?  How long have they been there?  Did we lose anyone?  Are they helping our players achieve to their fullest potential?[/quote]

I wouldn't be able to say exactly how much the coaching staff has had to do with Cornell's performance on offense (or perceived lack thereof), but there hasn't been any coaching turnover in quite some time.  The assistants are Brent Brekke (in his seventh year with the Big Red) and Scott Garrow (also in his seventh year -- he was here from 1995-99, then went to Western Michigan for four years before returning in 2003).  From http://cornellbigred.collegesports.com/sports/m-hockey/mtt/corn-m-hockey-mtt.html, it appears that Garrow works more with the forwards and Brekke more with the defense.

[Trotsky]

Early in the season McKee was giving up goals in bunches, for whatever reason (missing Hynes and the forecheck, newbie Ds, his own bad streak).  Seems clear that the team has retrenched and total team D is once again the priority.  That'll cut into scoring, especially 5x5.

[Omie]

Actually on the Q v. Yale game, the Yale player totally charged and elbowed Reid Cashman on the face on purpose, another Q player then charged the Yale player. The announcers were surprised the Yale player didn't get a DQ or suspended for a game. They gave a 5 minute major to both the Q and Yale players.