clarkson @ cornell, ecachl second round chatter

[redhair34]

On the flip side, Leggio has only allowed 1 goal in his career (100mins--all at Cheel) against Cornell.  The one goal he did allow was a rebound which Bitz stuffed in off a Moulson shot--he had know chance on it.  Granted he needed the help of 2 crossbars and 2 posts in the third period at Cheel earlier this year, but he made a couple of spectacular saves (including a breakaway and a 2 on 1) and was the difference maker that weekend.  I think Clarkson's X-Factor is Leggio.  If he continues his strong play against us, I think it will be a very, very tough grind it out series.

[daredevilcu]

I'll agree that Leggio and the Knights young defense is our x-factor.  Pokuluk and O'Byrne are yours, in my opinion.  Are they going to be fully healed?  Will they even play?  If so, how will they be in their first game back?  Motivated?  Rusty?

I say this series comes down to special teams.  The top two PKs in the league, two of the top PPs, should be very interesting.  Unfortunately, that puts a lot of burden on the referees to call the game fairly and correctly, and with the ECAC, that's always a wild card.

[billhoward]

[quote daredevilcu]I'll agree that Leggio and the Knights young defense is our x-factor.  Pokuluk and O'Byrne are yours, in my opinion.  Are they going to be fully healed?  Will they even play?  If so, how will they be in their first game back?  Motivated?  Rusty?

I say this series comes down to special teams.  The top two PKs in the league, two of the top PPs, should be very interesting.  Unfortunately, that puts a lot of burden on the referees to call the game fairly and correctly, and with the ECAC, that's always a wild card.[/quote]
Aye. Or oy. That's the real X factor -- the striped shirts.

Bring back Giles Threadgold and Percy Shore. Speaking of which, why aren't we working on more ref-cheers? One of my all-time favorites was a leather-lunged fan -- this guy could be heard over the cowbell -- who caught a quiet moment in the action and bellowed, "Hey, ref! One more eye -- you'd be Cyclops."

Plus, Moulson's on a tear. In recent games, he's averaging 1.0 goals per game beyond his power play scoring.

[redredux]

[quote oceanst41]I think the best odds for Cornell winning in Albany rests on playing Clarkson this weekend (obviously since we have to win to move on I know). The point is rather than having an opponent Cornell knows it can and should beat like say QU, Cornell has a tough series instead. This series is by no means an afterthought on the way to Albany, so the team will be more mentally prepared than perhaps they have been against some weaker competition this year. That way they are more ready to face their next opponent in Albany if they get that opportunity.

I couldn't picture a better team to come into Lynah to get these guys up for the playoffs, other than maybe Harvard.[/quote]

It's not a good sign if the guys are going to need a reason to get up for the playoffs.  They should have plenty of reasons without having to seek motivation from who the opponent is.  First and foremost on the list of motivations might be giving the seniors a better sendoff from Lynah than they did on Senior Night.

[Steve M]

[quote JasonN95][quote Trotsky]Gonna be a very, very tough series.[/quote]

Agreed.  I somewhat understand the desire to have a chance to improve PWR or to face a tough opponent who'll hopefully bring out Cornell's best, but, frankly, I'd be much happier with the ECACHL championship and Cornell having the path of least resistance that leads to that.  Playing Clarkson is not that path.  Consider this: would you choose (a) bowing out in the ECACHL but heading into the NCAAs as one of the 1 seeds (I'm speaking hypothetically; I know that cannot happen this year), or (b) winning the ECACHL and heading to the NCAA's as the 14th seed just ahead of the CHA and AHA champ? I'd take "b" in a heartbeat.[/quote]


Not only is (a) impossible, but I think that playing Clarkson raises the stakes to the point that it's win or go home for the season this weekend.  Clarkson is a TUC and will certainly remian one if they pull off another upset.  Two TUC losses plus the RPI hit would probably push Cornell out of the NCAAs.  Losing to Q, as unlikely as that would be, wouldn't hurt as much since they aren't a TUC, and even if they became one, our 2 earlier wins against them would buffer the losses.

In any case, if Cornell can't beat Clarkson in a best of 3 series at Lynah, they're not good enough to make any noise in the NCAAs.  Clarkson will be a tougher opponent than Q, and better competition now will hopefully help the team raise its game to a higher level that they will need in Albany and beyond.

[action jackson]

Hey.  I'm not sure if this has come up yet, but I was wondering what the chances that Clarkson remains a TUC if we were to pull off a sweep this week?  I'm thinking slim to none.  Cause 2 more wins against TUC's couldn't hurt in the PWR but regardless I would think that 2 wins against Clarkson would help the RPI right?  So a win this weekend could go a big way in clinching a spot in the NCAA's and maybe moving us up from the 10 spot right now.  Anybody who has actually looked at this stuff, could you let me know how this series could effect pairwise?

[Chris \'03]

According to JTW's script, if the games are played in a vacuum, a Cornell sweep makes CCT's RPI ~.5007 (i.e. still TUC) and moves CU to 6th in the PWR. Of course there are at least 30 other games this weekend that can impact that.

[oceanst41]

I guess I didn't make myself too clear. What I was going for is that Cornell would be more mentally prepared for a long playoff run starting with a team like Clarkson as opposed to Q.

Cornell will have to play its best hockey this weekend, not some of the good hockey they've been getting away with in some games. Cornell has shown in the past that the "best" hockey can grow on itself and become a pretty decent run. This team may not have that 18-1-1 record down the stretch, but why not bump the level of hockey to "best" this weekend.

It's not saying the team can't get up for Q, just that they may not have to beat them (i.e. their 2-1 win earlier this year at Lynah).

[Liz '05]

[quote jtwcornell91][quote Liz '05][quote billhoward]Post-post-post. Do you guys have classes or anything? All we could do was stare out the window when a lecture got dull. I envy you. Except for the papers got coming due.[/quote]

Not I - hence the "'05" :-}[/quote]

So shouldn't you be out defending our freedoms or something? :-P[/quote]

Freedoms I'm currently defending:

Freedom to enjoy the weather by going to the beach.
Freedom to drink large quantities of alcohol every night.
Freedom to work out at the gym for hours every day (or until I get bored).
Freedom to post incessantly on eLF.

I'd say those are pretty good, wouldn't you? B-] (no, I'm not sunburned yet)

[calgARI '07]

[quote oceanst41]I guess I didn't make myself too clear. What I was going for is that Cornell would be more mentally prepared for a long playoff run starting with a team like Clarkson as opposed to Q.

Cornell will have to play its best hockey this weekend, not some of the good hockey they've been getting away with in some games. Cornell has shown in the past that the "best" hockey can grow on itself and become a pretty decent run. This team may not have that 18-1-1 record down the stretch, but why not bump the level of hockey to "best" this weekend.

It's not saying the team can't get up for Q, just that they may not have to beat them (i.e. their 2-1 win earlier this year at Lynah).[/quote]

Completely agree.

[Josh '99]

[quote daredevilcu]I'll agree that Leggio and the Knights young defense is our x-factor.  Pokuluk and O'Byrne are yours, in my opinion.  Are they going to be fully healed?  Will they even play?  If so, how will they be in their first game back?  Motivated?  Rusty?[/quote]I'm not worried about motivation - Schafer has never had a problem getting his guys fired up for the playoffs - but rust certainly could be a factor.  I guess it depends in large part on how much practice Sasha and OB have been able to get in while they've been out of game action, and we really can't say that with any certainty.

[Rosey]

[quote Liz '05]Freedoms I'm currently defending:

Freedom to enjoy the weather by going to the beach.
Freedom to drink large quantities of alcohol every night.
Freedom to work out at the gym for hours every day (or until I get bored).
Freedom to post incessantly on eLF.

I'd say those are pretty good, wouldn't you? B-] (no, I'm not sunburned yet)[/quote]
Wow, sign me up!  Where's the nearest recruiter?

Kyle

[jy3]

hmmm, was anyone able to get tickets from the clarkson ticket office today?

 we got ours thru other sources...

[Will]

[quote jy3]hmmm, was anyone able to get tickets from the clarkson ticket office today?

 we got ours thru other sources...[/quote]

Glad you were able to secure tickets in any case.

[jy3]

[quote Will][quote jy3]hmmm, was anyone able to get tickets from the clarkson ticket office today?

 we got ours thru other sources...[/quote]

Glad you were able to secure tickets in any case.[/quote]
thanks, me too