Clarkson at Cornell postgame thread (2/21/06)

[KeithK]

Very interesting quote and it does completely explain why they've been playing on separate lines for a while now.  Makes sense too - I can see how twins who've been playing together forever could end up relying on each other too much at the expense of a linemate.

[RichS]

Exactly the same problem we have with two brothers on the HS team.  The other winger feels left out because the two know each other's tendencies so well.

[andyw2100]

I had a good view of the stick incident.

O'Byrne did put a good hit on the Clarkson player, but also used his elbow to ram the guy's head into the boards. I was actually sure he was going to get called for that. Add it to the list of non-calls we got away with that night, because from where I sat, it was pretty blatant.

The Clarkson player's stick did fly up into Section C. O'Byrne had also dropped his stick, and the Clarkson player picked up O'Byrne's stick, and skated off with it. O'Byrne even gestured towards the other player, looking for a ref, before getting back into play himself. And unless I am mistaken, shortly thereafter he was called for interference and almost certainly would not have been if he had been playing with a stick at the time.

I had wondered about not seeing the Clarkson player's stick returned. It reminded me of the incident in the mid-80's when a Yale player's stick wound up in Section D, and at the next stoppage Yale got the ref to demand the return of the stick. This resulted in a "Yale is Cheap" chant from The Faithful, and, at the next stoppage, Mike Schafer skating over to section D with a Cornell stick for the woman who had given up the Yale stick.

Anyway, I thought I had just missed the return of the stick. But I had not. It was actually returned after the game ended.
                                      Andy W.  '86

[billhoward]

[quote KeithK]Very interesting quote and it does completely explain why they've been playing on separate lines for a while now.  Makes sense too - I can see how twins who've been playing together forever could end up relying on each other too much at the expense of a linemate.[/quote]
The quote may be for distribution to the Journal's 25,000 readers, but it's also a telegram to two brothers in particular. When the coach says to players, "Don't pay attention to the media," he really hopes this kind of word gets back. He seems quite skilled at saying so-and-so needs to ratchet up this facet of his game in a way that's generally praise, but not 100%.

[Jordan 04]

[quote billhoward][quote KeithK]Very interesting quote and it does completely explain why they've been playing on separate lines for a while now.  Makes sense too - I can see how twins who've been playing together forever could end up relying on each other too much at the expense of a linemate.[/quote]
The quote may be for distribution to the Journal's 25,000 readers, but it's also a telegram to two brothers in particular. When the coach says to players, "Don't pay attention to the media," he really hopes this kind of word gets back. He seems quite skilled at saying so-and-so needs to ratchet up this facet of his game in a way that's generally praise, but not 100%.[/quote]

I'd hazard a (pretty good) guess that after 3 1/2 years with the Abbotts, this past week in the Ithaca Journal isn't the first time they've heard these sentiments from Coach.

[Rich S]

[quote billhoward]He seems quite skilled at saying so-and-so needs to ratchet up this facet of his game in a way that's generally praise, but not 100%.[/quote]

Absolutely.

A smart coach at any level knows his players' mental makeup and can send the right message or push the right buttons in a way that the public often can't understand or see.

On the pro level, Bill Parcells was a master at this when he was with the Giants...and since as well.