Yale - Cornell post-game

[profudge]

Ok  I'll start this thread -  give credit to both teams for playing very hard and tough game.    Thought teams were pretty evenly matched....
Yale  keeper played very well as did McKee.  

I'd pick  Mark McCutcheon, Jared Seminoff, and Chris and Cam Abbott as our top players tonight  but almost everyone played well.  

OK Lynah forum freinds - have at it :-)
P.S.  Should have said I thought Mugford was awesome!

[Oat]

Bad bad bad bad bad game. In the third period, it seemed like there was a penalty on Yale that should have been called but wasn't. This was right before they scored their second goal to tie up the game. I didn't really see what happened, but our players were flipping out at the ref after they scored. Did anyone see anything?

[billhoward]

Anybody have an alcoholic friend in rehab who can't stay on the wagon for more than a week at a time? Last week, Cornell lights up the scoreboard like they're still playing junior hockey. This weekend past, Cornell falls down and plays at the level of the league's weaker teams on defense ... and on the second night goes into a scoring drought on offense. Hic.  

How much of the five overtime minutes was the Moulson line out for? It's our best line and with Moulson on the ice it's a great defensive line ... and at the same time, the numbers say there's just one even-strength goal from the team's best forward after 20 games.

We wuz lucky twice over ...  
1) Yale failed to score on the penalty shot. A penalty shot is about a 50-50 proposition. The replay shows McKee appeared beaten but his right pad argued otherwise.
2) That may be the finest, and hardest, goal McCutcheon scores in his life. The Yalie defender could have ridden him off the play and there would have been no goal ... or McCutcheon simply could have failed to get around him ... or more likely he could have run out of time to get his stick down once he and the puck arrived at the goal crease. Most electrifying Cornell goal since the our man short goal against Minnesota in the NCAAs last spring.
... otherwise this could have been a 3-1 Yale victory.

Yale's two goals seemed less works of art than Cornell behind-the-cage lapses.

Let's hope Ryan O'Byrne is okay, whether he reinjured himself or suffered something else at the end.

You can't from the video that much about the officiating. It does seem our concerns seem amplified in close games we don't win.

Colgate weekend is crucial. We need both games, or a home win and an away tie (with our quirky luck it'd be the opposite) to stay more or less even starting off the final month. The No. 1 seed of course gets the weakest opponent and the home team advantage in every playoff game (final line change on faceoffs).

FWIW, I was out Saturday night and watched the Webcast Sunday morning w/o checking the outcome beforehand. It's scary seeing the archive running 2:40 when most of the time it is maybe 2:15 or 2:20, assuming the go live at 6:55 (hah) and sign off 5 minutes after the game ends typically at 9:10 ... so you suspect the worst, that it was't a bunch of game-delaying fights, but rather a game that got pushed into OT, and the outcomes are not good - a Cornell win (nice but it didn't need to be that close), a tie, or the unthinkable. Sheesh!

[Lauren '06]

[quote billhoward]Colgate weekend is crucial. We need both games, or a home win and an away tie (with our quirky luck it'd be the opposite) to stay more or less even starting off the final month. The No. 1 seed of course gets the weakest opponent and the home team advantage in every playoff game (final line change on faceoffs).[/quote]
Considering that the hallmark of this team seems to be playing down to its opponent's level, are we sure that we WANT the weakest opponent? :-D

[calgARI '07]

I don't really agree that Cornell played poorly.  Cornell outplayed Yale for a large portion of that game but they didn't generate enough quality chances.  It baffles me how little flack Moulson gets for having one even strength goal this year.  He did nothing last night in a game where he needs to be the difference offensively.  The team is not generating enough offense.  It can't just be the powerplay but the real difference last night was when Cornell didn't convert on that golden 4-on-3 powerplay in the third period.  Need a lot more from Moulson, Bitz, Scott, Cam Abbott, Pegoraro.  They aren't doing enough.  I never thought I'd be saying that McCutcheon has been the team's most consistent offensive player.

[oceanst41]

It seems that the combination of Chris Abbott and McCutcheon are filling the roll of Iggulden last year, scoring all the big goals.

Like last night, McKee comes up with the huge penalty shot save and McCutcheon used that energy and momentum to score an amazing goal to pick the rest of the team up.

As for Moulson, I think Yale did a pretty good job on him last night. They had a player glued to him for most of his shifts. Maybe that really is the product of Hynes leaving, there isn't anyone on the line to protect him. Until Bitz or Carefoot shows they can score goals consistently why would anyone ever leave Moulson any room to operate? I've noticed that this year all his goals are coming on slap shots or in close on rebounds. Has he scored one of his patented laser guided wrist shots yet this year? I'm not claiming to be any expert, so am I correct in saying this is probably because he's getting space when he's on the ice.

I could be totally wrong here, but he's got such a great shot that he needs to use it more. On plays when the team is rushing into the zone, instead of Mouslon going wide down the boards, why not cut to the middle and let Bitz or Carefoot drive to the net. Moulson can shoot and score from the point area, and the added traffic will create a difficult save situation and a possible rebound. That looked like it was an option a few times last night, but it was passed up.

[redhair34]

[quote oceanst41]
As for Moulson, I think Yale did a pretty good job on him last night. They had a player glued to him for most of his shifts. Maybe that really is the product of Hynes leaving, there isn't anyone on the line to protect him. Until Bitz or Carefoot shows they can score goals consistently why would anyone ever leave Moulson any room to operate? I've noticed that this year all his goals are coming on slap shots or in close on rebounds. Has he scored one of his patented laser guided wrist shots yet this year? I'm not claiming to be any expert, so am I correct in saying this is probably because he's getting space when he's on the ice.

I could be totally wrong here, but he's got such a great shot that he needs to use it more. On plays when the team is rushing into the zone, instead of Mouslon going wide down the boards, why not cut to the middle and let Bitz or Carefoot drive to the net. Moulson can shoot and score from the point area, and the added traffic will create a difficult save situation and a possible rebound. That looked like it was an option a few times last night, but it was passed up.[/quote]


I agree with basically everything you said about Moulson.  Yale mugged him every shift.  And yes, until Bitz or Carefoot start to score or even threaten why should the opposition stop cloaking Moulson?  There were a number of times last night when Moulson would get the puck in the neutral zone with Bitz along the right boards and instead of carrying it into the zone he would pass off to Bitz.  Bitz carried the puck into the offensive zone the Yale defencemen cut off the passing lane to Moulson and Bitz takes a low percentage shot just outside of the slot.  Moulson needs to be much more selfish with the puck.  I think Moulson has proven over the last two years that he doesn't need someone (Vesce) to feed him the puck.  He's a more dynamic offensive player than that. I'd even take Moulson from the point any day over a Bitz version of the "Matt McRae BC game-winner."  Bitz has really stepped it up the last two weekends, but I'd like to see Moulson be more selfish.

[calgARI '07]

Moulson has a great shot but he does not have a quick release.  He needs a ton of time to get it off if it is to be accurate.

[Trustnduzt]

Was it just me, or did it seem that we really couldn't get our normal rhythm on the powerplay last night. It seemed that we made some bad passes and didn't take the shots when they were there. Pokulok tries to do way too much, as well. Yeah, he's the point man on the powerplay, but often a feed inside would be more effective that a slapshot from the top.

Also, what happened to coming out physical that they said they wanted to last weekend?

[Will]

[quote Trustnduzt]It seemed that we made some bad passes and didn't take the shots when they were there.[/quote]

I would say bad passing and squandered chances were the theme of the entire weekend (despite a respectable 64 total shots on goal for the weeeknd).  We're lucky we didn't give up more bad turnovers.

[Ken \'70]

[quote calgARI '07]Need a lot more from Moulson, Bitz, Scott, Cam Abbott, Pegoraro.  They aren't doing enough. [/quote]
The player we need a lot more from is McKee.  Despite the stop on the penalty, he's average, at best.  A team like Cornell is not going anywhere with average goal tending.

[French Rage]

Anyone see if the waved-off goal was in?

[Trustnduzt]

Last night?

No, that goal was not in -- Richards trapped it under his pad after it hit the post.

However, the goal last weekend agains SLU was, in fact, a goal. What's funny is that we had that goal called off because of the net coming off the posts, or whatever, and Brown had a similar goal this weekend where the defender rammed into McKee, but nothing was said.

Weird.

[cp20]

I sat in sect. o puck was over the line ref screwed us!!!!!

[Trustnduzt]

Really?

Damn...