Looking For An Uptick
Cornell has assembled two respectable three-point weekends in a row. The two were very unlike one another. Cornell dominated Harvard from the opening face-off, then battled back twice with last-seconds goals to down the Crimson. At Dartmouth, Cornell's offense could not find a groove and could best a relatively inexperienced Big Green netminder only once in the contest. Against St. Lawrence, Cornell was expected to win. It was almost undeniable that if Cornell could hold the Saints to two goals, the Big Red would win. The Red jumped to a 2-0 led. Then it became complacent. Greg Carvel used his timeout to great effect and spurred his team on to erase 2-0, 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 deficits to tie the contest. Alternate captain Cole Bardreau had the game on his stick with a penalty shot in overtime, but could not convert. Clarkson pounced on Cornell with two tallies in the first period. The Big Red was held scoreless. Matt Buckles got the team rolling and Andy Iles settled in after an atypical outing against St. Lawrence. Cornell returned to the locker room with a 3-2 lead. The Big Red would hold onto that lead for the remainder of the contest.

Perhaps it is supporting Cornell's style of play or respecting closely contested game, but the 4-4 tie against St. Lawrence was far more disappointing than the 1-1 tie against Dartmouth. It may be time to move on, but the St. Lawrence outing was the first since the semester break where this writer found himself consistently puzzled at Cornell's play. Cornell got three points both weekends. Let's hope that Coach Schafer and the team have improved upon the defensive and penalty killing lapses that let St. Lawrence knot the contest late.

Schafer's general rule is that the Big Red should aim to split on the road and sweep at home. Cornell played two games on the road and two at home. In his ideal, Cornell would have earned six points over those contests. Cornell managed to equal that point total. So, at least in that regard Cornell's climbing of the standings is sound. However, Cornell will need a few big weekends to make up for weekends in the first half of the season that fell short of this pace.

All teams above Cornell in the ECAC Hockey standings are active this weekend. Union swings through the North Country, Quinnipiac travels to Dartmouth, Colgate exchanges with Cornell, and Clarkson battles RPI and Union. Several of those match-ups provide top-five infighting that may enable Cornell to make actual progress up the standings. The Big Red needs to make good of this opportunity.

New Era
Is the contest against Yale more psychologically important? Perhaps. However, not for the reason that some may think. The Cornell-Yale series has entered a new era. The pains of Yale's domination over Cornell in the ECAC Hockey Championship games of 2009 and 2011 are barely felt on the members of this Cornell squad. Only once in eight meetings that this senior class has played against the Bulldogs have they defeated the Big Red by a margin greater than three goals. Its last losses have been by one goal. These Cornell teams no longer live in any form of psychological dread of playing an Allain-coached Yale team.

Yale is the reigning national champion. And, can defeating the reigning national champion ever get old? In recent contests, Yale has been able to be contained. Clarkson and Brown have given the Elis their only post-semester-break losses. In both contests, the opponent held Yale in check defensively and won a war of attrition. Yale exacted revenge against Brown with a 6-0 thrashing the day after its 3-1 loss. Six goals was the most that Brown had surrendered all season. Cornell gave them the next highest total of five.

Yale averages just fewer goals per game than does St. Lawrence while allowing 1.66 fewer goals per game. Cornell and Yale are tied in terms of team defense. Yale's special teams find themselves in the bottom half of the country. It is its power-play unit that fairs much better converting 19.3% of the time on opponents. The penalty kill from New Haven ranks 42nd in the nation. Before that gives you relief, consider that Cornell has been unable to convert on three opponents over its last four games that rank worse.

Yale's roster attempts to execute the same system as it has for seasons under Keith Allain, failing to realize that the nature of its personnel are changing. There are few Christian Hilbrichs in the game, so an increase in size and weight of newer Yale recruits has made the Elis's game less up-tempo and mobile. Alex Lyon between the pipes has made up for whatever systemic shortcomings there may be elsewhere.

Lyon has produced a 0.936 save percentage since the break. He did not allow more than three goals over that span. However, it is interesting to note that in those victories over that span, Lyon has allowed only one or no goals. This save percentage places him among the ten hottest goaltenders since the end of December. Andy Iles checks in at 15th.

Brown has compiled some gaudy stories on its run to the present moment. The Bears tied Denver and Boston College, and downed Colorado College on the road. Colorado College may not be performing at its expected level, but defeating such a historic program in its own building is noteworthy. The return to league play has been less forgiving for the Bears. They have averaged only a 0.500 record since returning to conference play.

Brown's special teams rank in the bottom 20 of the nation. The Bears allow opponents to convert 24.4% of their power-play opportunities. Tyler Steel in net cannot be underestimated. He has seen challenges from some of the most skilled forwards in the nation and has performed admirably. A modest 0.911 save percentage represents his performance since the Bears resumed play in the second half of the season.

Room for Improvement
Solving Steel may prove as difficult as solving Lyon despite the fact that Brown averages surrendering three goals per game since the semester's break. Andy Iles will need to keep his play at a high level to outperform both netminders. Furthermore, Cornell needs to keep its scoring momentum from the Clarkson contest. 

Scoring for Cornell has been entirely unpredictable and unreliable. Three different lines scored on Saturday while in a four-goal outing on Friday, only one could find the back of the net. The line of Hilbrich-Mowrey-Ferlin has scored eight of the 11 goals that Cornell has tallied since resuming in-conference play. Meanwhile, the line of Lowry-Bardreau-McCarron has not scored since a two-goal outing against New Hampshire. Cornell's depth has carried it to success so far, but extreme reliance, to the effect of 72.7% of Cornell's offense, on one line is a decided weakness.

The mixed message of Cornell's scoring continues if one delves into other interesting statistics. Cornell is fourth in the nation in terms of its rate of scoring goals when it takes a shot on net. The Big Red finds the back of the net on 11.6% of the shots that it takes. Also, Christian Hilbrich, who has become quietly Cornell's second-most productive goal scorer, leads the nation in converting shots into goals. One-third of the shots that Hilbrich takes find their way behind the opposing team's netminder.

Cornell's power play, which led the nation for a brief several weeks, has fallen to six in the nation. More alarmingly, the Red power-play unit has not converted in its last 15 outings. That is five complete games without a Cornell power-play goal. Cornell hockey is won along the boards and in special teams, and allowing such a drought is antithetical to how Cornell hopes to play and how it said it would win this season. Engaging the Lowry-Bardreau-McCarron line and converting on the power play are high priorities for proving that this Cornell team is headed in the right direction.

These road tests may be challenging but they are fraught with opportunities.

Two members of the 2013-14 Cornell team have been chosen for fan votes in the earliest stage of the Hobey Baker Award process. Senior netminder Andy Iles and junior defenseman Joakim Ryan. The contributions of Iles to the program over his already storied career are many of a growing contingent. He has honored Cornell's legacy of terrific goalkeepers. As good of an athlete as he is, he is an equally or surpassingly good person. However, it was not Iles, but Ryan whom USCHO highlighted recently to analyze the likelihood of the first ECAC Hockey Hobey Baker Award recipient since Lane MacDonald of Harvard in 1989. This writer agrees in the conclusion that of skaters, Joakim Ryan is the most likely recipient of the Award from ECAC Hockey.

Joakim Ryan's game dominates both poles of the ice. During parts of the early going in the season, it may have seemed that he was sacrificing offensive production and opportunities at the expensive of defensive soundness, but over the last few contests, Ryan is back to being one of Cornell's most responsible and reliable defensemen behind the blue line. How do national challengers stack up to Ryan?

Cornell's junior blueliner is the third-greatest producer of points among defensemen. Ryan averages 0.95 points per game. He stands 0.01 points per game out of second place. His goal production of 0.26 goals per game places him among the ten best in goal scoring for defensemen. 

One must be mindful that shots on goal are not created equally, especially with defensemen. A defenseman who has a tendency to pinch and unleash a haphazard shot has a high probability of creating an odd-man rush back into his zone as a result. The key inquiry is does a defenseman make good on his jumping into the play by keeping it in the offensive zone and possibly converting. Ryan has shown improvement on his already impressive game in the former category. The latter? The rate of shots on goal finding their way to the back of the net is a suitable standard. Ryan ranks among the top third in the nation on goals scored per shot on goal. The junior defenseman converts nearly 11% of the time the puck leaves his stick; the seventh-highest conversion rate in ECAC Hockey.

The lone blemish on Joakim Ryan's resume this season? His +/- is at a mere +5. It is a respectable figure, but modest when considering his other statistical contributions. A +5 among defenseman places him as possessing only the 15th-best +/- among defenseman nationally. Expect this statistic to trend upward as Ryan's improved defensive play in his own zone will prevent opponents's chances. He may not be able to reach the Conference-leading +16 of Quinnipiac's Danny Federico, but he should be in contention by the time the post-season arrives. 

There's another defenseman in ECAC Hockey that has drawn much, admittedly deserved, attention. However, it is astounding how Ryan's performance this season dwarfs even his statistics. Shayne Gostisbehere of Union converts a mere 6.6% of the shots that he takes on net. This stands among the 20 worst among defensemen in college hockey. 

When considering the four stated objective metrics, Ryan averages outranking Gostisbehere by 13 places in the standings. Even considering just points per game and goals per game, Ryan averages outranking Gostisbehere by nearly four places. This is a somewhat expected result. Considering that Cornell has produced some of the best defensemen in college hockey history, how does Ryan's offensive production compare to theirs?

The two metrics that I compare in the graphs above are offensive production in terms of points per game and goals per game. I chose defensemen from six distinct eras of college hockey. The use of defensemen in the offensive aspects of the game ebbs and flows over time, so as not to create sampling bias I chose great defensemen from six different eras to compare to Ryan.

The first set of statistics included is that of Walt Stanowski who was the national tournament's most-valuable player in 1967 and who played with the Big Red from 1965 to 1968. The next set was that of Dan Lodboa, most-valuable player of the 1970 national tournament and referred to as "the Bobby Orr of college hockey." Lodboa played from 1967 to 1970. The 1975-78 era is typified by the offensive minded play of all-American defenseman Pete Shier whose statistics are representative of the highest-scoring era in Cornell hockey history. Mike Schafer's production during the time from 1982 to 1986 captured the play of offensive defenseman during the late Reycroft Era. Doug Murray, known for his blast of a shot on the power play during a Frozen-Four run, provides a good representative of offensive Cornell defensemen in the early 2000s. A return to more mobile and scoring-oriented Cornell defensemen in the 2010s is captured in the skills and career of Nick D'Agostino.

The graphs above show comparisons of point production and goal scoring per game for each player mentioned. If the key is unclear, from the foreground to the background in each season it progresses from Stanowski to Ryan in chronological order. The freshman seasons for Stanowski, Lodboa, and Shier are necessarily zeroed because during that era the Ivy League did not permit freshmen to play on varsity squads. The senior campaign for Ryan is necessarily zeroed as it has not happened.

What do these comparisons reveal? Of the three defensemen who played four seasons at the varsity level, Ryan's point production in his freshman season trailed behind only that of Nick D'Agostino. Joakim Ryan trailed no four-season defenseman in terms of goals per game in his freshman season.

The arc to Ryan's junior rate of production is not a smooth one. Ryan dipped below Schafer in terms of goal production his junior season. His sophomore season saw him outperform no stated defensemen in terms of goals per game. His point production that season did surpass the associated rates of Stanowski, Schafer, and D'Agostino during their sophomore seasons.

Ryan's current trajectory of point production for his junior campaign has him outproducing Schafer, Murray, and D'Agostino in their junior seasons. Stanowski, Lodboa, Shier, and Murray all outpaced Joakim Ryan's current rate of goal scoring. Ryan is off the pace of Stanowski's and Murray's goal scoring by factors less than 47%. However, the junior-season goal production of Lodboa and Shier, both at 0.55 goals per game, is over double Ryan's current goal production.

It is clear that Lodboa and Shier represent an unequaled and untarnished gold standard of great offensive defensemen at Cornell. It is interesting to note that Ryan is a mere 0.15 points per game off of tying Shier's 1.10 points per game production of his junior season. If Ryan can muster a marginal improvement of 15.7%, he will tie the legendary Red defenseman's total.

All but two of the cited defensemen increased their offensive production from their junior to senior seasons. For Joakim Ryan, the best is likely yet to come. What is striking about this analysis is how he measures up against Cornell greatness already. Ryan may not be an all-time great offensive defenseman in Cornell hockey history yet, but he has proven that he is one of the best playing college hockey today.

A New Measure of Success
What did you find yourself asking yourself after last weekend's series? I know what I did. Isn't a three-point weekend great?

Such is the mindset of a member of the Lynah Faithful after the jarring experience that was last season. The mental gash that remains from watching one of Cornell's most talented teams in recent memory not reach the championship weekend, something that had become all but a birthright for Cornell teams, is slow to fade. This lends itself to a certain degree of pessimism and alarmism. Who can blame us? It has been four years since a Whitelaw Cup was hoisted.

Further exacerbating the situation is the competitive congestion atop the ECAC Hockey standings. While Cornell got three points, the one other team in action above Cornell in the standings got four points. However, taking a page out of Schafer's and most great coach's playbook, I took a deep breath and realized that if the process is there, the results will take care of themselves. The process was there.

Last weekend, Cornell manifested archetypical Cornell hockey. The Big Red dominated Harvard from the first faceoff. More than half of the first period had elapsed before Andy Iles even had to make a save. During that time period, Harvard even benefited from a power play. Cornell came to win the contest. It would do that. 

It was on said power play that Madison Dias collected an up-ice pass from Joakim Ryan at the blue line. Dias, who showed a knack for puck placement in the second half last season, slapped a shot into the upper glove-side corner of the net. It was Cornell's first shorthanded goal of the season. It was Dias's first goal of the season. It was not Cornell's last of the night.

The adrenal and theatricality of the rivalry between Cornell and Harvard was on extreme display. Christian Hilbrich and Brian Ferlin on a last-seconds rush down the ice before the first intermission generated an offensive opportunity. Hlibrich decided to opt out of the open pass and shot from Ferlin, and deposited the puck into the corner opened by Dias minutes earlier. A goal with four seconds remaining in the period usually breaks the will of opposing team, especially when it gives a team a multiple-goal lead. Harvard did not get the memo.

Harvard converted on two opportunities that seemed benefited oddly by Cornell defensemen backchecking Harvard forwards to the ice. The second of which was a talented execution from Sean Malone behind the net to Devin Tringale. Each time, Harvard celebrated in jubilant fashion in a manner that manifested well what Harvard's broadcasters stated was a perennial season goal of Harvard: sweep Cornell in the rivalry series.

The ante was upped and once again, Cornell struck when it seemed least likely. Harvard corralled the puck behind its net. The seconds were dwindling. The Crimson, contented with taking a tie into the second intermission, did not expect a dedicated and onrushing Ferlin to challenge with puck possession behind the Harvard's net. Patrick McNally, disgraced captain of the Crimson, seemed none the sharper after his hiatus from hockey at the end of last season when Brian Ferlin with superior skill and grit muscled him off the puck. 

The junior forward slid the puck from behind the net to Christian Hilbrich at the red line who found Dustin Mowrey. Mowrey sized up Michalek and exploited the same glove-side void that had proven exploitable early. The senior forward punched the air viciously in overjoy as Cornell had retaken the lead again in the closing seconds of the period. Mowrey must have known his tally would stand as the difference.

Harvard clearly improved as the contest lingered. But, Cornell was undaunted. The game transitioned from sheer Red dominance in the first 15 minutes of the contest to a well balanced contest as Harvard had found reason to play well against its rival. Despite Harvard's improvement, Cornell still tallied two of its goals when Harvard had regained footing. Cornell was generally defensively sound and creatively offensively opportunistic. Some goals were left on the ice, but Cornell did what was needed to win the contest.

Gaudet chose to start unknown James Kruger against a Cornell team that exploited clearly the weaknesses of Michalek's goaltending. It may have been the wisest choice of the evening for the Big Green. There were certainly choices made that were far less wise. Mowrey scored his second goal of the weekend less than five minutes into the contest. It seemed inevitable that more goals would come for Cornell. They would not. Dartmouth tied the game before the midpoint of the game. The game was tied. Cornell generated considerable offense in the waning minutes of the contest, but could not convert. Dartmouth was held in check by responsible defense and a stellar Iles who made the Big Green's shot differential irrelevant.

Three points and a win against Harvard. All achieved on the road, well, at least technically. Nearly three weeks without a contest against a collegiate opponent and the hangover from the Harvard game were endured in admirable fashion. Many great teams have forfeited two points to Dartmouth because of attention to the more emotional Harvard contest on the road. This team kept its focus, defeated Harvard, and took a point out of a Dartmouth team that should improve over the second half of the season.

Prior to the weekend, Coach Scott fell victim to a Freudian slip when interviewed. When asked what did Cornell need to do last weekend, he responded, "get two points on Friday." It was an honest moment of accuracy and candor. Cornell needed points against Dartmouth, but a win against Harvard infuses a jolt of enthusiasm and focus into the season.

Cornell will catch those that it needs to before the playoffs approach. It is best to be getting hot when the playoffs arrive than continue an unquenchable burn that fizzles out before contests of championship consequences are played. Cornell is warm and getting warmer.

North Country Revisited
Clarkson is on a tear through the season. There is no doubt about it. This comes as no surprise to this writer. Casey Jones seemed all but destined to have a great season. Now, his Golden Knights come to Lynah Rink. St. Lawrence has been described as the laughing stock of the Conference. However, such criticisms are entirely misplaced. The Saints went into Ralph Engelstad Arena and took a victory out of a North Dakota team that surrendered only two out-of-conference losses.

Two theories as to the disconnect exist. Maybe ECAC Hockey is that much better than every other conference in the nation including the elite programs of those conferences, so even a low-standing team can dominate a great program in a hostile environment. Or, perhaps St. Lawrence is vastly underperforming from where it once was. Choose the former at your peril.

The Saints of St. Lawrence produce offensively among the best in the nation. Their offensive production is ranked in the top ten. The Brothers Carey may have fallen out of their lofty perch in the national standings for goals scored per game, but they are still in the elite of the top 15 of the nation. They contributed nearly 40% of St. Lawrence's goals. The power play from Canton converts 30.2% of its power-play opportunities; it is the one ECAC Hockey program more lethal than Cornell on the man advantage. The Saints average nearly one and a half power-play goals per game.

However, St. Lawrence cannot keep the puck out of the back of its own net. Three goaltenders have seen action this season. None of them have produced a save percentage above 0.890. Each has a goals-against average of more than three. Only six teams in the nation have a statistically worse defense than St. Lawrence. Take pause however. One of those teams held Cornell to one goal last weekend.

Clarkson is ranked 31 places behind St. Lawrence in terms of scoring offense and a mere 33 places ahead of St. Lawrence in terms of team defense. That disparity in itself indicates the way Clarkson wins contests. The Golden Knights play with incredible balance in their game. Their power play is toward the median in the nation. It does nothing the best, but it does many things well and executes on a consistent level. 

No pairing of players contributes more than 25% of Clarkson's offense. Clarkson's offense is balanced. The majority of Clarkson's skaters, 65%, have scored multiple goals this season. Greg Lewis and Steve Perry have performed admirably. The former owns a 0.895 save percentage while a 0.919 belongs to the latter. Steve Perry has seen the last two starts and Greg Lewis took the team's last loss, but Jones has made it apparent that he is still waiting to determine a durable starter.

Clarkson's main advantage is a no-frills approach to the game this season. It resembles some previous Cornell teams. Such a description is no insult, because it yields great results. It makes a team difficult to defeat because no single thing is its tool for victory. The one intangible that Clarkson has his patience. While Clarkson and Cornell resemble one another this season in their opportunism, frustration and impatience rarely plague Clarkson. This combination defeated Cornell with a goal scored with 37 seconds remaining in a game.

Clarkson's apparent weakness? Clarkson has allowed at least one power-play goals in its last three contests. Clarkson ranks 47th in the nation in terms of penalty killing. Cornell's power-play unit finding its menacing form again may be essential to the Big Red avenging its loss in the North Country in a game when goals could come at a premium. Cornell was on the verge of winning the contest against Clarkson earlier this season, but for a momentary mental and systemic lapse.

Finishing chances like those generated last weekend that lay on the ice will be crucial to success this weekend.

Ithaca.com sat down with Arthur Mintz '71 in an interview that should be read by all familiar with the distinct way that Mintz's public announcing adds to the aura that is a game at Lynah Rink. His role in solidifying and continuing the legendary status of Cornell hockey cannot be overstated. He is what brings the goings-on of a contest to life for the Faithful. From "good evening, hockey fans" to waiting for the crowd to celebrate or defame scorers of goals to the "thank yous," the experience of a Cornell hockey game for generations of Lynah Faithful is linked intimately to the involvement and service of Arthur Mintz. In the interview, he discusses his motivations for taking the position as well as why Cornell hockey drew him in. The interview is a good read from Chris Hooker.

An excerpt:

The article in its entirety is available here.

Why beat Harvard once when you can do it twice? The Big Red toppled Harvard at Lynah East on Friday. Be at Lynah Rink on January 18, 2014 at 4:00 pm when the Lady Rouge look to give Cornell its second win of the weekend over its archrival.

There is a dirty little secret in Cornell hockey right now; and it needs to die. What better place than Lynah East? What better place than now?

We all know deep down what that dirty secret is. Cornell, in recent memory, has not quite dominated its historic foil the way that it once did under Coach Schafer. Harvard's Ted "I played in the NHL" Donato has many shortcomings. He gave the Crimson five seasons under 0.500 and looks to be gifting them a sixth in the near future. Already, Donato has given Harvard 18% of the losing seasons that it has endured in its 116-year history in a mere nine seasons.

How does this relate to our collective, communal secret? Much has been made about the fact that Cornell has not defeated the Crimson since November 2011. It is true that Cornell is 2-3-1 against its archnemesis since Schafer and the 2009-10 team complied the most dominating trouncing that either participant of this rivalry has ever wrought with a 4-0-0 season record. What's alarming is how Donato has fared against the carnelian and white. 

Harvard's current bench boss has held Cornell to an 11-11-2. A coach that languishes below 0.500 on a regular basis has managed to equal Cornell's record in contests that he coached against the Big Red. That span includes two Whitelaw Cup teams and four teams that narrowly missed the Frozen Four. Clearly, or Cleary if you prefer a misspelled pun, Donato has the ability to motivate his team against its rival, the fearsome Big Red hockey machine.

Let's put an end to this.

This series is the one for which the common, impassioned tropes are needed least, but come most readily. In light of the last few seasons in Cambridge, the philosophical distinction between these two athletic programs scarcely could be starker. That adds yet another wrinkle to this already rich rivalry. It is sufficient to say that the usual barbs that the Lynah Faithful level at Harvard have gained particular acuity, in many cases replacing the satire of bygone eras.

More than a Diversion
Perhaps the hardest part of Harvard Week on the road is the need to play Dartmouth. The emotional build-up or hangover, depending upon the sequence of the contests, many times proves fatal for Cornell teams. Cornell will need to avoid too great a catharsis, no matter the result against Harvard. Assistant Coach Scott stated that Dartmouth, despite its misleading record, is playing sound hockey. Usually, a member of the Faithful would consider that mere class and respect for one's opponent, but after last season, the Lynah Faithful have an appreciation for how true that can be.

Half of Dartmouth's losses have been within one goal. Among those one-goal losses are impressive performances against Providence and Union, two teams that execute at a very high level. The Big Green recently defend ECAC Hockey's honor in tackling Boston University. Yes, a win against Boston University is not worth what it once was this season, but it is a feat that Cornell could not achieve. Furthermore, in a clear battle of defenses, Dartmouth forced Northeastern to accept an 8-8 tie. Not impressed? Northeastern is nestled solidly in the prospective NCAA Tournament field presently.

Dartmouth's offense has been unable to compensate for its shortcomings behind the blue line. The Big Green scores nearly three goals per game, but surrenders on average one more goal per contest. Dartmouth's defense is ranked in the bottom five of the nation. Three goaltenders have seen action for the New Hampshire Ivy. None of them have produced a save percentage above 0.900. Charles Grant is closest at 0.895. Grant has seen all of Dartmouth's start since the middle of November. He is the netminder whom Cornell will oppose.

Depth seems to be escaping Dartmouth's offensive front. Eric Neiley has been producing a respectable season, but the attention paid to Dartmouth's less-than-stellar record has directed attention away from it. More than one-fifth of the times that the Big Green has bested an opposing netminder, it was Neiley who did it. His goal total more than and point total nearly doubles the pace of Brad Schierhorn, his nearest competitor on Dartmouth's roster.

If Cornell can shut down Neiley, then the task of defeating Dartmouth becomes much easier. Dartmouth is a team that will find a rhythm at some point this season. Cornell's greatest task will be to ensure that it does not occur at its expense. An emotional hangover after a game against Harvard and a Dartmouth team's anticipating getting hot could spell disaster for an undisciplined Cornell effort. However, this Cornell team in particular has shown that it can demonstrate keen mental and emotional discipline.

The Task at Hand
Beat Harvard. Is that not enough? A cursory glance through the annals of Cornell hockey indicates how the Cornell-Harvard series of a season sets the pace for that season. There is neither a definite nor predictable way that it does, but its influence is undeniable. These two games are the biggest of the regular season.

Harvard is mere seasons removed from owning the best power-play unit in the nation. This season, that honor nearly rests on East Hill where Cornell's power-play unit is ranked second nationally in terms of power-play conversion. Harvard has been relegated to the bottom 15 in the nation on the power play. However, Raphael Girard and the penalty killing in Cambridge have the Crimson among the nation's elite in reducing opponents's conversions rate.

Yeah, Raphael Girard. He is the near-bane of Cornell's existence in recent memory. He manages to produce stellar performances against Cornell no matter his general statistics over the season. He had a veritable implosion at Madison Square Garden last weekend. If he gets the nod, the goaltender who owns a 0.931 save percentage and 2.38 goals-against average, he will be ready to outperform both against the Big Red.

The difficulty that Harvard poses is very unlike that which Dartmouth poses. When Dartmouth begins to win, it will do so as a result of playing as a more cohesive unit in sounder systems. The opposite will be true of Harvard. Harvard will tack together a series of wins when it begins embracing its overwhelming talent and ignoring the rudiments imposed upon it. Harvard's greatest chance for success is to give into the temptations of its raw talent and play like a traditional all-star team.

Any team, like a Cornell or Union, that harnesses the skills of individual players but puts them to use for a collective, team good through sacrifice and selflessness will make quick work of an all-star approach. But, succumbing to the latter is Harvard's best chance. Harvard is awash in talent. That is its greatest threat to Cornell.

Cornell is talented. The Big Red have employed a creative and efficient power play throughout the season. The penalty kill seems poised to join its man-advantage counterparts in the second half of the season. Since Fall final exams ended, Cornell has killed every power-play opportunity that it has relinquished to opponents. That includes two stifling efforts against special teams ranked in the top 20 in the nation. Look for this trend to continue.

All hands will need to be on deck for generating Cornell's offense. The midseason exhibition contest against the Russian Red Stars indicated the promise and depth of this squad. The second half of conference play has arrived. Now is the time to realize potential. Cornell's top producers will need to continue to produce. And, it is time for more freshmen to step up.

No freshman, including Mitch Gillam, who has played in more than one contest has not tallied a point. If the freshman talent on Cornell's squad has seasoned over this brief hiatus, Cornell will have an untapped arsenal with which to challenge its historic foe. Contributions from freshmen, especially considering past results, should become an expectation rather than a surprise.

The reason that Cornell's offense will need to be spectacular is the same reason why Andy Iles will need to maintain his outstanding form from Florida. Iles has never surrendered more than two goals at Lynah East. He stood many times as the difference in Cambridge. He will have one last time to do that. If he delivers a flawless performance, he would enter another elite of Cornell netminders.

It Is Time
Cornell has the skills to make a run. What better place than here? What better time than now? Schafer and this team can put Donato back in the losing column and give Cornell its first victory over the Crimson in far too long. A suspect call on an obvious Ferlin goal erased the tally that would have stood as the game-winning marker at Lynah East. Cornell has been on the cusp of another breakout in its series with its loathsome opponent. It can begin tonight.

Here's hoping we see the carnelian and white strike the match for a red-hot run.

Cornell women faced their final non-conference test of the season last week when they took on the perennial power of the CHA and the team who ended the Big Red's season last year, Mercyhurst.  As the men had compressor issues cancel their game at Lynah against UMass, the women took on the Lakers of Mercyhurst in Erie.  Scoring was not a problem the first night as goals flew back and forth between the squads.  Senior captain and Hockey Humanitarian nominee Alyssa Gagliardi opened scoring with a power play goal.  Mercyhurst answered back in less than a minute, but before the period was halfway through, Anna Zorn tallied her second goal of the season to put the Lady Rouge up by one going into intermission.  The ice titled in the Lakers's favor in the second period with Mercyhurst scoring the opening and closing goals as Emily Fulton notched a goal of her own in the middle.  With the score knotted after two periods, both teams were itching for a win. After half of the period had expired Mercyhurst found the back of the net first.  Senior Jessica Campbell wasn't willing to let it end there, though, as she shot a power-play tally in to tie the game.  In spite of a 34 save outing from Slebodnick, the women ended the game right where they began, even.

The second night each team wanted to go away with the win.  Cornell had something to prove and fought harder than even the previous night.  The first period saw four goals scored, three belonging to the Lady Rouge.  Taylor Woods started the scoring off with a power-play goal and Jess Brown notched her first goal of the season, unassisted, though that would not be the end of the night for the Cat Lady.  Jillian Saulnier rounded out scoring in the first with the Red holding a 2-goal advantage at the first intermission.  Mercyhurst opened and closed the second which saw four more goals tallied.  Emily Fulton scored the Big Red's first of the frame as she continued her incredible production on the season.  Jess Brown gave the Red a 3-goal lead, notching the eventual game winner before Mercyhurst tallied their third of the night to go into the final frame down by the same margin they had been after the first intermission.  Mercyhurst got within one, but as Slebodnick stood tall, Jill Saulnier notched an empty netter to ice the game and give the Lady Rouge the win they needed at the end of the weekend.

This coming week is the Lady Rouge's homecoming.  They have not played a game at home since November 29 and 30 when they hosted Boston College.  But this weekend is different.  It is Harvard week.  Friday sees the women play Dartmouth before they host Harvard on Saturday.  The games are both important for the season and neither should be overlooked.  So let's look first at how the Lady Rouge match up against the Lady Verde.

Dartmouth
Cornell still has three players in the top ten in scoring in points per game with Jill Saulnier (1), Emily Fulton (2), and Jessica Campbell (9).  Dartmouth's highest scorer comes in at 87 in the country behind four more Cornellians in the top 100 (Hayleigh Cudmore, Alyssa Gagliardi, Cassandra Poudrier, and Taylor Woods).  Saulnier leads the country in goals per game while Fulton comes in at 3 in assists per game just 0.05 behind first place.  Poudrier leads the country in power-play goals in 4-7 fewer outings than those who also sit atop the rankings.  Three of Cornell's defensemen sit in the top ten in scoring defensemen in the country (Cudmore, Gagliardi, and Poudrier), while Hanna Bunton leads Cornell rookies in scoring, with a spot in the top twenty.

When it comes to defeating the Big Green, Cornell will need to ensure that it does not take them for granted.  They are a far stronger team than their 4-12-1 record leads one to believe.  Peppering the Big Green with shots and take advantage of power play opportunities.  The Green take just over 10 minutes of penalties per game, but they are within the top ten for penalty kills in the country, coming in a tenth of a percent below the Big Red.  Cornell needs to take its nation leading 30.1 power play into the game with serious ambition.

Harvard
Harvard is going to be a tough team to beat.  Their record speaks for itself at 12-2-2 overall.  But on the heels of their latest game, a 2-0 loss to Yale, Harvard has something to prove.  This was the first time since the early 1980s that the Lady Bulldogs beat the Crimson.  Over twenty years had passed and last weekend both Yale teams swept both Harvard teams.  The women will certainly be coming for blood against their hated foe.  Last time the two met on Lynah's ice, Cornell denied Harvard an ECAC championship, extending the drought for the Crimson, a typical league powerhouse, to 6 years. 

In spite of its losses of players to the Olympics and an interim head coach, Harvard still has found ways to win.  Maschmeyer, a sophomore who saw significant time against the Red in her freshman campaign, leads the country in save percentage and places third in the country in goals against.  She seems to have upped her game from last year, stopping 28 Big Red shots in the 3-3 tie earlier in the season.  The special teams battle will also be an intriguing matchup.  Cornell leads the country in power play percentage, at 30.1.  Harvard leads the country in penalty kill percentage, allowing only two chances on the year to give them a 97.5 % kill.  One of those two goals was from Cornell senior Jessica Campbell.  Harvard's power play, however, is a dismal 16.9%. Cornell will need to find a way to score whenever they can, on the power play or even strength, because goals come at a premium against the Crimson.  The are the country's stingiest team, allowing a single goal per game.  Cornell is going to have to give everything it has against this team to come away with the win.

The interregnum between the first half and second half of Cornell hockey's season, a period dotted typically with haphazard efforts and results, has ended in quite atypical fashion. The Big Red's last out-of-conference game was canceled, Cornell conquered a foreign opponent in a mid-season exhibition contest, and the skaters from East Hill brought more hardware back to Cornell's trophy case. The highs have seemed quite high. Now, with a nearly two-week layoff between games, what does this brief period between halves tell us we can expect from Cornell as it bursts into the second half of the ECAC Hockey schedule this weekend?

Florida and the Florida College Hockey Classic long has been a wasteland for Cornell hockey. Great teams, championship teams, including the 2003, 2005, and 2010 teams, crumbled along the crags that Cornell's and Maine's tournament in the Sunshine state presented. That was not to be so this year. Cornell met New Hampshire for the first time in a non-rebuilding cycle since the Wildcats eliminated the Big Red in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

The rust that had corroded Cornell's game was apparent early. However, it was rust and only rust. New Hampshire dominated the first period. The first frame ended knotted. The carnelian and white shook off its oxidized shackles from exam week and regained most of its form in the second period. Cornell took a two-goal lead. The game was in hand. A wild bounce off of the back boards behind Iles found its way into the back of Cornell's net, but not even fate could deny the composed effort of Cornell's skaters in Florida. Bardreau on an empty net joined Ferlin, Ryan, and The Captain with a goal in the contest.

Maine stood as a familiar unknown. Cornell and Maine had met a year before in the Christmas tournament's title game. The Red skaters and the Black Bears totaled three meetings in the title game before the December 29, 2013 contest. Cornell had lost all of them. An exacerbating factor was that Red Gendron, formerly of Yale's and Shawn Walsh's national title-winning staffs, would stand as a head coach against Mike Schafer for the first time. This added an intriguing wrinkle.

Maine struck first in the 2013 contest. Devin Shore solved Iles in the last 61 seconds of the second period. A goal that would have otherwise been deflating that late and the period had little apparent effect as the Big Red retook the ice for what many believed would be the ultimate period.

Martin Ouellette, one of the five best goaltenders in the nation in terms of goals-against average and save percentage, seemed contented to make the lone marker count. Maine did not retreat into a defensive shell. Cornell roared to life with reasonable physicality and relentless pressure. Less than six minutes into the period, a grueling scrum yielded a Cornell goal that evened the score. At first it appeared that Brian Ferlin tipped the puck into the net, then review confirmed that Christian Hilbrich bested one of the nation's best netminders while Maine fans maintained that the puck was an effective own goal.

The teams remained even through regulation. A difference could not be found between them in overtime. Unexpectedly, overtime was when Cornell became the more aggressive and pressuring team; the Big Red would not settle for another loss in Estero in the title game. Maine appeared contented in the five-minute frame to defend a pairwise tie. Cornell outshot Maine three to one in overtime and the flow of the game reflected that well.

Andy Iles had proven he was Martin Ouellette's equal. There was no better way to prove himself the superior to Maine's goaltender than in a tête-à-tête contest where Iles would stare down Maine's best while Ouellette braved East Hill's most talented scorers. A five-frame shootout resulted.

Maine shot first. Devin Shore bested Iles. Undaunted Iles re-positioned himself, despite allowing the first shooter to find the back of the net, Cornell's starting goaltender knew, what he would confirm in post-game interviews, that he played the first shooter nearly perfectly. One of Iles's defenseman, freshman man of all trades, Patrick McCarron whistled a shot past Ouellette. Then, the following three frames would be Ouellette and Iles exchanging opportunities to up the ante.

Iles made a flawlessly executed save on Maine's fifth shooter. Then, it was as one would have scripted it, Florida native Brian Ferlin lined up at center ice. If the forward could best Maine's goalie, he would give Cornell its first tournament title in the Sunshine state in five years. It was not to be. The task would fall to Rodger Craig.

If it was not to be the usual suspects of Cornell goal scorers, then who else could the game-winning goal fall to other than clutch goal-scoring Craig? When WAFT previewed this season's seniors and captains, this writer stated that Rodger Craig would have a few more key goals in him during his senior season. He proved that correct. In a beautiful move and powerful snap of the stick, Craig gave Cornell the tournament-winning goal.

Only three Cornell teams before the 2013-14 team had won the Ned Harkness Cup on the ice of Germain Arena. It is a tremendous achievement. However, what did it prove? Would Cornell stumble when it returned back to Central New York?

Cornell has played only one game since it departed Florida with hardware in tow. That lone contest was an exhibition game against the Russian Red Stars. What was impressive about that game was less the gaudy 6-0 score and more the consistency and depth that it showed that this Cornell squad possesses individually and collectively.

The Cornell roster was credited with six goals during that exhibition contest. Players who had not scored goals in a Cornell uniform before tallied one third of them. No player who was playing in his first game ended the contest with a +/- rating of less than plus one.

Players such as Cole Bardreau, Brian Ferlin, and Joel Lowry continued to produce gaudy point totals with eight of Cornell's credited 16 points. Matt Buckles and Jeff Kubiak showed signs of possibly heating up during the second half. The latter scored his first collegiate goal. The former tallied two goals and an assist in his first multiple point game of his young Cornell career. If the maturation of point-producing freshmen like Buckles, Freschi, Kubiak, McCarron, and Weidner continues, then from top to bottom this Cornell team will be wielding potent offensive might when Cornell's time of year arrives.

The highlights of the game against the Russian Red Stars were those that occurred away from the more alluring scoring. The Lynah Faithful were sent into a frenzy when hometown and Lynah Faithful favorite Craig Esposito wrapped a shot from down low on the crease past Volkov in the Red Stars's net. It was Craig Esposito's first hockey game in the carnelian and white. There are few figures in recent memory who are as devoted to the success of Cornell hockey than Craig Esposito who works behind the scenes, in practices and other contexts, to help the program as it needs. It was great to see the reward of Craig Esposito celebrating with his team mates as the Lynah Faithful earned an appropriate moment to show their appreciation for the senior who dons number four. It was the highlight of the game.

Two other players behind the blue line who have gotten to enjoy the limelight somewhat less than expected are freshman defensemen Holden Anderson and Eric Sade. Both suited up for the exhibition contest against the Russian Red Stars. During the first period, Holden Anderson stood out with his impressive offensive abilities and his responsibility behind the blue line. He continued to impress throughout the contest. Eric Sade warmed up in the second. His game continued from his junior days to demonstrate a near-uncanny seamlessness in transitioning from high-paced offensive rushes to blocking shots in the Red's own end.

This neglects the fact that Cornell earned a shutout against the Red Stars. Mitch Gillam was the netminder who for 55 minutes of the contest had answers for every salvo from the Eastern European challengers. Ryan Coon did the same for the balance of the contest. Not impressed? No other team during the Red Stars's North American journey shut out the all-star team. That trip included contests against Yale, Harvard, and Colgate. The Raiders of Colgate that recently defeated Minnesota and Ferris State in the Mariucci Classic nearly lost to the Red Stars. Cornell's impressive shutout stands as a testament to what degree this season's Cornell team has bought into Schafer's traditional and newly modified systems.

The second half of the season is always the proving ground for Cornell hockey teams. It is when playoff runs begin and Cornell's tradition is defended. Cornell will have its eyes on earning a high playoff seed. What have the last few weeks taught us? The first is that Cornell is incredibly deep. Using players who had not seen much or any ice time, Cornell outcompeted a better practiced team that competed with and nearly upended numerous other collegiate teams with their starters. Furthermore, it indicates that as Cornell makes a run to the playoffs that it has the depth to fill voids that are opened from injuries that occur during that run.

Experience engenders confidence. When the ECAC Hockey Tournament begins, this Cornell team will begin the playoffs knowing that it had won a tournament and a tournament trophy with back-to-back efforts and tournament wins. No player on this season's roster had won a tournament championship. This experience cannot be overstated. Yes, there will be no banner hung in Lynah Rink's rafters from the championship win. But, it was an exciting experience to watch and, based upon the players's reactions, it was an exhilarating one to achieve. The experience prepares them for success in tournaments like those of the ECAC Hockey Tournament first rounds, ECAC Hockey Championships, and NCAA regionals during which back-to-back efforts are needed to advance.

Cornell will be rested before this weekend. All injuries should be things of the past. The Big Red will not have played an opponent for two weeks before Cornell takes the ice of Lynah East. There is the usual concern that skaters need to play against real opponents to be ready for games. This is axiomatically true. However, the week between Cornell's cancelled but scheduled game and its next game to be played is not a typical week. It is Harvard Week. Focus will not falter and intensity will not wane because Schafer and Cornell always can get focused for Cornell's archrival.

Let's enjoy the success of a midseason tournament championship and await a contest against Cornell's most hated foe.

The fall semester has come and gone and Cornell Women's hockey has had an incredible run in the first part of the year.  While they're on their month-long break, let's look back at what has happened thus far this semester and what we have to look forward to for the Spring.

Last Undefeated
The Lady Rouge held an auspicious honor this season: they were the last team in division I to remain undefeated.  They rode the wave past the Golden Gophers and ended the first half with a stunning 10-1-2 record.  The sole loss came on the last day of November as the Big Red played their second game against Boston College.  After shutting them out the night before, the Golden Eagles came back blazing to beat the Lady Rouge 4-1.  Cornell remains undefeated in league play and has taken 14 points.  When looking at the points, you might be mislead.  Cornell has the second-most points, but overall it leads for points per game.  ECAC teams have played as few as six and as many as 11 games, so looking at pure points is incredible misleading.

A More Well-Rounded Look

When you look at the pure points, you do not take into consideration the incredibly different number of games played by a team.  While some teams fall within the same place, most particularly the 9-12 spots.  But the top of the league shakes out quite differently.  Cornell leads the league in points per game, gaining 1.75/2 points, with Harvard right behind.  Tied for third are Clarkson and St. Lawrence, with Quinnipiac and Princeton trailing them.  Yale is ahead of RPI in terms of points per game.

Given that eventually teams will play the same number of games, the pure points will mean more as the season progresses.  But right now, Cornell is still undefeated in league play, while Brown has yet to win an ECAC game.  With the exception of two games in mid-January, the rest of Cornell's schedule is filled with league games.  This is similar in the rest of the league, so it will be a full-out fight for playoff spots once play begins again.

By the Numbers
Emily Fulton leads the nation in points per game, with teammates Jessica Campbell and Jillian Saulnier in the top ten of the country as well.  Cornell has the most number of women in the top ten for scoring in the country.  While she comes in at sixth in terms of overall points in the country, Jillian Saulnier leads the nation in goals per game, almost scoring a goal in each outing.  Fulton leads the nation in assists, rounding out the big offensive numbers for the Big Red.  Defenseman Cassandra Poudrier is tied for the lead in the country with power play markers and she has done it in fewer games than her peers.  While the remainder of those tied for first have played between 17 and 21 games, Poudrier has the same number of goals in only 13 games.

Lauren Slebodnick has fewer than two goals allowed per game, a particularly important measure given that Cornell scores over 4 goals per game on average.  The team goals allowed is just over two, which is pretty steady.  Cornell outscores their opponents on average just about 2:1.

Importantly, Cornell leads the country in a measure that many consider to be fundamental to winning games: Power Play Conversion.  The Lady Rouge convert on over 30% of their opportunities.  They are the only team with a percentage over 30 and are ahead of WCHA powers Wisconsin and Minnesota.  The penalty kill number is not as gaudy as it has been in the past but is still in the top ten of the country, stopping 88.7% of opportunities.

The Second Half
Cornell starts the second half of the season on the road against Ivy and ECAC foes Brown and Yale.  Though Brown has yet to tally an ECAC win, the Bears will play a tight game against the Big Red and should not be overlooked.  Yale is another team that could easily be seen as a "gimme" win based on record against in the past, but ECAC play is always tighter than the record shows.  The Big Red continue their road jaunt as they travel to their final regular season out-of-conference opponent, Mercyhurst, and take on the Lakers in a weekend series.  The following week brings the women back to Lynah for the first time in a month and a half.  They will face perhaps their biggest game of the weekend just before the spring semester begins again.  Cornell hosts Dartmouth on Friday and Harvard on Saturday.  Harvard will be hungry for the win and huge ECAC points will be on the line.

The rest of the season will consist of an always difficult jaunt to the North Country, hosting Brown and Yale, an exciting home-and-home series against Colgate, and a trip to the Capital District before the Lady Rouge close out their season hosting the feline travel partners for senior night.  The second half is no easier than the first, but even more important if the women have the post-season aspirations that the Lynah Faithful know they are capable of achieving.

First Thing's First
Brown and Yale will be tests for the Lady Rouge after the long winter break.  The Bears have been off for about the same time as the Lady Rouge so the rust factor will be equal opportunity. Whichever team can shake off the rust faster will have the edge in this game.  Lauren Slebodnick was injured when the first half ended with freshman Paula Voorheis stepping in valiantly.  Which netminder will backstop the Big Red will be a question likely not answered until 7pm Friday night.  But we can look at who the women will be shooting against.

Senior Aubree Moore has played the lion's share of games for the Bears, so odds are she is the one who the Big Red will have to solve.  Moore is strong in net, having a 0.923 save percentage.  She is used to being outshot appreciably, but that is what the Lady Rouge will have to do to solve her.  They will also need to take advantage of whatever power play opportunities they are given.  Brown has played a lot of tight games in spite of their record. They have six games on the season that have gone into overtime and four of them are in their last five games with the fifth being a one-goal loss.  Brown will be a tough team to beat and they should not be overlooked.

Yale's likely netminder will be junior Jaimie Leonoff.  She has a higher GAA than Brown's Moore, but her save percentage is pretty close to that of Moore.  She is used to having more than 10 more shots on goal than her opponent and Cornell will need to take advantage of the low penalty kill that Yale holds.  The biggest problem that the Cornell team could have against Yale is similar to that against Brown, they cannot underestimate their opponent.  Yale's last game was a commanding win against Hockey East foe Providence.  They also have experience against out of conference opponents, Boston College, Boston University, Minnesota, Providence, and UConn.  The only out of conference opponent that the Lady Rouge share in common is Boston College.  Cornell went 1-1 with the Eagles while Yale went 0-1 in a tight 4-3 loss.

Let's Go Red!
The second half is upon us and we cannot wait for the Lady Rouge to play again.