Last Weekend:
Cornell had their last regular-season games against RPI and Union and pulled off a sweep.  Let's look a little closer at what happened each game.

RPI
While the first game of the Cornell-RPI series was close, this one was a bit more decided from the beginning of the game.  Coach Derraugh kept a very short bench, perhaps in hope to keep players healthy for the playoffs, but even with the shortened bench, Cornell started the first with a goal by Hayleigh Cudmore from Emily Fulton and Jessica Campbell.  The second was still all about the Big Red.  Cornell scored two power-play goals with one from Laura Fortino assisted by Cudmore and the other from Emily Fulton assisted by Jessica Campbell and Alyssa Gagliardi.  RPI scored a power play goal in the third, but Alyssa Gagliardi iced the game with an empty net goal with just a second left.  The Big Red outshot the Engineers 43-25 and were penalized seven times to the Engineers's five.

Union
In Union's last game of the season, Cornell played what seems like a tighter game than the box score shows.  In the first, senior defensemen Lauriane Rougeau and Laura Fortino scored a goal with Campbell, Rougeau, and Zorn assisting on the goals.  The second was scoreless, but the third was active again as Fortino got her second goal of the game from Brianne Jenner and Olivia Cook got her first goal of the season from Jenner and Cudmore.  The Big Red outshot the Dutchwomen 36-18 again with a shortened bench.  The penalties were split 4-3 with Cornell getting one more than Union.

ECAC Regular Season Champions
Due to Cornell's win over Union and Clarkson's win over Harvard, Cornell locked up the number one seed in the ECAC as well as the Regular Season Championship.  This is the Big Red's fourth in a row. Congratulations to the Lady Rouge for their title!

ECAC Playoffs
Here is the seeding for the playoffs:
8. Colgate at 1. Cornell
7. RPI at 2. Clarkson
6. Dartmouth at 3. Harvard
5. St. Lawrence at 4. Quinnipiac

The St. Lawrence-Quinnipiac series this season sits at 1-0-1 in favor of Quinnipiac.  The Dartmouth-Harvard series this season also sits at 1-0-1, in favor of the higher seed, Harvard.  The RPI-Clarkson series is 2-0-0 in favor of Clarkson.  Finally, the Colgate-Cornell series also sits at 2-0-0 in favor of the Big Red.  Though the highest seed holds the series edge in each of the quarterfinal matches, nothing is decided until this weekend.

This Weekend
Cornell hosts travel partner Colgate for a best-of-three series at Lynah this weekend.  In the past two games Cornell has played against Colgate, the Big Red outscored the Raiders by a collective 18-2 with eight different members of the team scoring, including a hat trick plus one from Brianne Jenner on the second night.  Though the scoring and the statistics may look lopsided, Colgate is going to come playing to win.  Cornell has a huge target on its back, having made the Frozen Four three years in a row and Colgate would love nothing more than the take down the Big Red when it matters: in the postseason.

But the Big Red can win this game.  Perseverance, determination, and discipline will all be key.  The Big Red will need to be sharp on all aspects of their game: special teams, five-on-five play, and goaltending.  If the Big Red put their minds to it, this is a series they will be able to win. 

Don't forget to #REpackLynah this weekend as the Lady Rouge take on Colgate at 7pm Friday and 4pm Saturday!

That felt good.

It would be very easy to focus an analysis of Cornell's last weekend in such a manner as though it would appear to be an ode to Greg Miller. He may deserve it in many ways. Nonetheless, Cornell's spectacular weekend was a product of amazing team work.

The Engineers and Dutchmen left the Capital District with high hopes. Union had completed a weekend sweep of Brown and Yale, and RPI had extended its winning streak to six games during the previous weekend. Online media began to give RPI well-earned attention. "Engineer Pride" began to re-emerge as even sources outside of the footprint of the ECAC began to think that the Engineers were on the cusp of a return to the NCAA Tournament just two years removed from their last appearance. The haughtiness associated with Union's run to Tampa Bay last season crept back subtly as many in the sphere of the Dutchmen began to imply heavily that Union would exact revenge against Cornell at Lynah Rink.

What the weekend taught us was not that discussion of RPI's return to the NCAA Tournament was premature. RPI is still a very talented team and WAFT has insisted on several occasions that they deserve to be ranked nationally. Union is a good team, and is no better or worse than it was when it left Schenectady last week despite the much changed refrains from Schenectady.

The main lesson of the weekend is that Cornell's return to form and dominance during its trip to Dartmouth and Harvard was not a fleeting, flash-in-the-pan moment. Cornell scorched two very talented teams with highly skilled goaltenders over Senior Weekend. Will the overwhelming dominance continue? One cannot say for certain, but with this roster's talent and regained confidence all signs seem positive.

RPI began Friday's game as aggressive and fast-paced as it had when it defeated Cornell 3-2 in January. Neither team showed reluctance to engage the other and the Engineers appeared hungry very early on to defeat Cornell at Lynah. Both coaches, as is not uncommon, made a point to highlight the importance of getting the first goal of the game. Cornell struck first. The manner in which the Big Red opened scoring set the tone for the weekend.

Ferlin's finesse with his crucial assists this season has become a thing well worthy of note. WAFT mentioned it explicitly with his assist to Mowrey in Cornell's game against Dartmouth at home. The Floridian unrolled yet another highlight-reel-worthy assist to help Cornell's leading goal scorer open scoring for the Big Red. Ferlin drove hard into the corner in RPI's zone, he dug the puck out, and connected with Miller in open ice on the inside of the left face-off circle.

Miller and Kasdorf sized up each other. What transpired was one of the few events in sports that I have witnessed firsthand that appeared as though it happened in slow motion. Miller and Kasdorf positioned themselves and it was Cornell's senior forward who won the stand-off when he blasted a laser of a shot over Kasdorf's shoulder.

The Engineers were not entirely deflated. Lowry would deflate RPI just over a minute later. The Engineers would never regain their composure against Cornell that evening and the game was all but decided. Seth Appert would remark after the game that RPI "lost the game in the first period."

RPI's last gasp of life came as it drew three penalties from Cornell in less than seven minutes of game play. The first was divided between the first and second period leaving the Engineers with 51 seconds of a power play to begin the second period. Cornell killed that penalty and the one immediately following it.

When the whistle blew at 5:45 of the second period for the third consecutive penalty on Cornell in less than seven minutes, the composure of the team changed. Rather than the raw determination that overcomes most penalty killing units for the Big Red, the first penalty-killing unit on the ice acted as though the three penalties within seven minutes was burdensome at best and unjust at worst. One could tell that the team realized that it would have to make its own luck. A fact that it has learned all too well this season.

Cornell began killing the penalty. A rebound off of Iles's pad careened toward the blue line 26 seconds later. Greg Miller streaked up the ice toward the puck. Miller and the puck beat RPI's defenseman Dolan to the puck. This created another one-on-one duel between Miller and Kasdorf. Unlike the first time, this match was high speed but the result was the same. The senior forward converted on the highly skilled goaltender and put Cornell up 3-0 with a shorthanded goal. This Cornell team would not be denied on its Senior Weekend.

The final score of the game was 4-1 with senior John Esposito tallying the empty net goal. Miller was on the ice, but perhaps his classmate realized that he needed to give Miller something to aim for in the games yet to come this season. Friday's game was the second game in which Miller was working on a hat trick. Saturday's game against Union would be the third.

The senior class may have opened scoring Friday night against RPI, but Saturday night, it was the freshman class that had the honor. Freshman forward John Knisley wristed a shot past Troy Grosenick below the right face-off circle and began a cascade of offense that overwhelmed the Dutchmen. Ryan showed that D'Agostino's and his continued offensive generation helped Cornell as the sophomore defenseman scored just over two minutes later off of an assist from Miller and Ferlin.

Miller had tallied a short-handed and an even-strength goal the previous night. On some level, he must have wanted to complete the set. Miller tickled the twine on the power play midway through the first period against Union.

A penalty was called with 1:47 remaining in the first period. What transpired afterward was an odd sequence of events. Schafer called the officials over for an explanation of the penalty against Cornell that was called at the end of the frame. Then, Union's Bennett, noticeably irate, started waving his hands and gesticulating wildly at the officials after the last whistle of the period. Bennett made a bizarre post-game comment that "if [Schafer] want[ed] an explanation why doesn't he come onto our side of the bench and we'll give him one" to justify that exchange. Needless to say, Lynah Rink was in appropriate form as the Faithful serenaded the sinking Dutchmen and their coach as they left the ice for the first intermission with calls of "you just suck." Or was it "U just suck?"

The major intrigue of the remainder of the game was the need for Cornell to kill off a five-on-three opportunity for Union at the end of the third period. Cornell enjoyed only a two-goal advantage at that point in the game and going down two players with senior defenseman and captain Nick D'Agostino, one of Cornell's best penalty killers, put in the box for the second penalty made the task seem all the steeper.

The penalty called on D'Agostino was for a hit on Union's Carr. The whistle was blown. Carr began promptly to regain his feet then a Union player skated over to him, appeared to say something to him, and Carr somehow lost the ability to hold his own body weight.

Union drew the penalty. Cornell killed off the five-on-three opportunity with impressive poise. Then, just 1:50 after he could not muster the strength to lift himself from the ice surface, Carr, not missing a shift, mustered the strength to beat Iles and make the game a one-goal affair.

Cornell turned its offensive efforts on high again in a manner that seemed to imply that the Big Red had been operating under the goal of not embarrassing the visitors. Cornell retook control of the game and never relinquished it. The weekend's scoring ended poetically as Miller slid the puck into an empty net tallying the last remaining type of goal that he had not on the weekend and ending the scoring for a weekend series for which he had opened it.

Miller's performance is what will garner the most attention. His impressive offensive contributions with five points on the weekend are shown in the video at the end of this post. Miller's five points were more than the offensive contributions of highly and deservedly praised forwards such as Boston College's Gaudreau who tallied one point, Minnesota's Bjugstad and Haula who tallied one and two points respectively, North Dakota's Knight and Kristo who tallied three and four points respectively, and St. Lawrence's Carey who tallied two points over the weekend. Miller's four goals over the weekend is twice the total that Kristo and Haula scored, and four times as many as the total that Knight scored last weekend.

Miller's performance is astounding on paper and was breath-taking in person. His nomination as Hobey Baker Award candidate is well deserved. Any commentator who is not including him as a more than deserving nominated forward is not doing his homework.

Lost behind Miller's impressive offensive feats are several other key accomplishments. Few have noted that Ferlin was just one point behind Miller for his weekend point total. His ability to generate offense and find the opportunity to score or those who are in position to score is represented well in his four assists from the weekend.

Axell delivered a very impressive senior weekend. The senior forward and captain may have appeared on the score sheet only once, but his contributions were key to the success of Cornell. The determined and reliable forward gained the zone, corralled pucks, and most impressively cleared the zone on several crucial penalty kills on Friday in particular. His contributions ensured that Cornell's penalty killing remained stellar.

Cornell killed off 90.9% of penalties that the Capital-District visitors enjoyed. RPI and Union brought to Lynah Rink two of the nation's best power-play units. This Cornell team has maintained a penalty killing rate of 80-85% during previous weeks and managed to improve that number over senior week. The determination, confidence, and focus of the Cornell team left even some of the nation's best power-play units with only poor shots from the outside or just enough time to chase the puck at the other end of the ice.

The one statistical category that Cornell let slip away this weekend was shots on goal. This weekend was the first weekend in several weeks during which Cornell was outshot both nights. Schafer's system is one of puck possession and when defending a lead, it is not necessary and is sometimes foolish, to take shots on net. The lower-than-average shots on net for Cornell this season is likely a product of the development of the game less than territorial and possessive dominance. The only time over the weekend that the game noticeably slipped out of Cornell's control was after RPI's first goal. Cornell regained its composure within two shifts.

The shot totals are somewhat less startling too when one considers the manner in which Iles has continued to sustain his play at a heightened level of the last three weekends. Iles recorded a save percentage of 0.956 against RPI and Union while allowing only three goals. Those totals include Iles's crucial role in killing 10 of 11 penalties that Cornell faced over the weekend.

The other main accomplishment is off of the ice. The Lynah Faithful returned in full force. They had not been missing, but they had not been at their best. This last weekend, they were. The reaction of the Faithful during one of the most emotional parts of the night was spectacular.

Miller shot the puck into the empty net against Union. Iles took off his helmet and began motioning to the officials to acknowledge Schafer on the bench so that Cornell could make a substitution. Then, Arthur Mintz announced that Omar Kanji was taking the ice for the first time against an NCAA Division I opponent in his four-year career at Cornell. The Faithful erupted in applause for one of this team's and the Lynah Faithful's most beloved players. The spirit of family was back in full force among the Faithful and this team.

It could have been Senior Night. Or Senior Weekend. It may have been that the Faithful in Sections A and B as well as Sections D and E realized that their taunting of Kasdorf bothered the green goaltender noticeably.

Victory tasted just as sweet as it had when Cornell opened the regular season with a sweep of Colorado College. The embrace of the Faithful was just as warm. No matter the cause, whether it was on the ice or among the fans, something special happened last weekend with a team that WAFT has no hesitance in calling special.

Like families must, sometimes we will travel to the most depraved of places for one another.

US Women's Worlds Camp Roster Announced
Team USA announced their Women's Worlds Camp Roster.  The roster is a 28-person roster with 3 goaltenders, 10 defensemen, and 15 forwards.  The final roster will have 23 players on it by the time World's rolls around on April 2.  The camp takes place right after the Frozen Four in Lake Placid, NY.  Of the 28 players, all but one are current or former NCAA players.  One is 15 years old and will likely continue on to play hockey in the future.  Of these 28 players, Cornell's alternate captain, junior defenseman Alyssa Gagliardi was named to the roster. She is one of four current ECAC players, including two from Harvard and one from Quinnipiac.  When taking alumni into consideration, all women's NCAA leagues including the CHA, the ECAC, the HEA, and the WCHA, are represented.

ECAC Regular Season Champions
For the fourth year in a row, Cornell has claimed the ECAC regular season championship.  As you can see in the slideshow below, the women celebrated and are now looking forward to their next goal.  Beating Colgate to advance to the ECAC semifinals.  Here are some pictures of the team with the trophy.

#REpackLynah
Speaking of the women's team...due to winning the regular season, they will be hosting another game at Lynah.  At least one weekend, hopefully more.  They would love the support and if you are in the Ithaca area, there is no reason NOT to pack Lynah again for this amazing women's team.  The record attendance can still be broken and they deserve the support.  The men will be at Brown and Yale, so if you are in Ithaca, be there Friday at 7 and Saturday at 4.


As if it weren't bad enough already...this happened.  We have no words.

ECAC Players of the Week
The ECAC players of the week were all Ivies and 2/3 Cornellians.  The player of the week named was senior forward Greg Miller.  Miller was great with two goals on Friday against RPI and two goals and an assist.  Andy Iles was stellar in net for the Big Red, backstopping two victories as well as a stellar save percentage to earn him Goaltender of the Week.

Senior Night
There can't be enough said about how great it was for the men to pick up a win on senior night. Some amazing pictures from Mark H. Anbinder exist from the evening, including a particularly touching one after Omar Kanji gave his stick to two kids waiting to see the seniors skate off.

Here is WAFT's sendoff to the seniors.

The Big Red Pep Band will play all six verses of "Far Above Cayuga's Waters" during the second intermission of Cornell's game against Union on Saturday February 23, 2013 in commemoration of senior night. The lyrics for the entire song including the verses beyond the first and second that are sung usually are provided .

The song can be sung as reproduced below.

Far above Cayuga's waters,
With its waves of blue,
Stands our noble Alma Mater,
Glorious to view.

Lift the chorus, speed it onward,
Loud her praises tell;
Hail to thee our Alma Mater!
Hail, all hail, Cornell!

Far above the busy humming
Of the bustling town,
Reared against the arch of heaven,
Looks she proudly down.

Lift the chorus, speed it onward,
Loud her praises tell;
Hail to thee, our alma mater!
Hail, all hail, Cornell!

Sentry-like o'er lake and valley
Towers her regal form,
Watch and ward forever keeping,
Braving time and storm.

So through clouds of doubt and darkness
Gleams her beacon light,
Fault and error clear revealing,
Blazing forth the right.

To the glory of her founder
Rise her stately walls.
May her sons pay equal tribute
Whene'er duty calls.

When the moments, swiftly fleeting,
Ages roll between,
Many yet unborn shall hail her:
Alma Mater, Queen!

In the music of the waters
As they glide along,
In the murmur of the breezes
With their whispered song,

In the tuneful chorus blending
With each pealing bell,
One refrain seems oft repeated:
Hail, all hail, Cornell!

Here, by flood and foaming torrent,
Gorge and rocky dell,
Pledge we faith and homage ever
To our loved Cornell.

May time ne'er efface the memory
Of her natal day,
And her name and fame be honored
Far and wide away!

Union Dutchmen
Record: 15-10-5
Series Record: 31-14-7
Saturday February 23, 2013

Last Meeting:
Friday January 18, 2013
The last meeting between the Dutchmen and the Big Red ended 3-2 in the Big Red's favor.  It was Cole Bardreau's first game back, and Shayne Gostisbehere and Cole were both honored before the game.  Cornell scored first with John Esposito scoring just over a minute into the game.  Union matched the goal and added a power-play goal to go ahead 2-1 at the end of the first.  The second remained scoreless, with the Big Red going into the third period with a deficit of one goal.  Cole Bardreau and Brian Ferlin each tallied one in the third to put the Big Red up at the end of the night 3-2 over the Dutchmen of Union.

This Season:
Union had high hopes at the opening of this season that it would earn its third consecutive regular-season title and second Whitelaw Cup in as many years. The alarm bells went off perhaps when the Dutchmen lost 4-1 to Merrimack in their season opener. The Warriors have done their part since then to make that loss seem quality, specifically with a win over Boston College just last week, and Union gained some redemption when it defeated Merrimack later in the season 4-1.

This Union squad unlike recent years past does not have a quality out-of-conference win over a quality out-of-conference opponent. Over the last few seasons, Union has defeated Minnesota and Michigan. It has enjoyed no such success this season. The Dutchmen were unable to book a schedule of such difficulty and rigor, then proceeded to drop another embarrassing loss to Vermont in the Catamount Cup.

Union has gone 4-2-1 since Cornell traveled to Messa Rink. Some in the Capital District believe that this shows that the defending Whitelaw Cup champion is gearing up for a deep playoff run. Union is battling to maintain home ice and inch toward a first-round bye into the playoffs.

Union has swept two weekends since the Big Red defeated the Dutchmen including sweeps of Harvard and Dartmouth, and Brown and Yale. Yale is reeling from the loss of goaltender Malcolm against Princeton, but the wins over Dartmouth and Yale cannot be discounted. Union has found a way to win and even though it may not be anywhere near as dominant as it was last season, the Dutchmen will be ready to play Cornell and have the ability to beat Cornell on senior night.

Union has continued its success on penalty killing later into this season. The Dutchmen have the eighth-best penalty killing unit in college hockey. They kill penalties at a rate of 86.3%. Union's power-play unit has slid somewhat in national rankings from when Cornell beat them in Schenectady as the Dutchmen have fallen from first in the nation to third. Union finds the back of the net on the power play 25.0% of the time.

Keys to the Game:
Cornell allowed Union to convert on half of its power-play opportunities when it entered Messa Rink. Cornell committed only two penalties, but Union took the lead in the first period behind a power-play goal from Kyle Bodie. Cornell's penalty killing has been much improved from the effort that was seen against Union during which the defense inadvertently screened Iles on the power-play goal and was never eager to clear the zone when given the chance. Cornell will need to continue its penalty killing poise against the Dutchmen if the Big Red wants to end the regular season at home with a win.

Union has scored more than two goals only three times since Cornell and Union last met. Cornell has accomplished that feat just two times over the same span of time. It is likely that Saturday's Union-Cornell meeting will be a low-scoring affair in which the goaltending may make the difference. All recent reports out of Schenectady indicate that Grosenick has elevated his game in recent weeks.

Grosenick was pulled in Union's game at Cheel, and Stevens and he both saw ice time during the game against St. Lawrence. Grosenick has not delivered a game with an in-game save percentage of less than 0.923 since the Ferlin and Lowry rush beat him at Messa outside Union's road trip to the North Country. Grosenick's save percentage has remained between 0.923 and 1.00 with a non-shutout peak of 0.962 since Cornell's win over the Union.

Iles's numbers have not been as impressive, but in the last two weekends, his performances have been. Iles will need to deliver another stellar game against the Dutchmen to bolster Cornell's chances of a senior-night win. Iles registered a 0.941 save percentage against Union in last meeting and will need to do similarly to hold off Union.

Cornell's opportunism will need to be at a high against Union. Cornell was able to seal victory at Messa with an odd-man rush that developed from a blown Union defensive assignment. Grosenick was no match for the combined offensive skills of Ferlin and Lowry. Similar plays and opportunism will need to be a key part of any strategy to beat a Union squad that makes only a handful of egregious mistakes.

Union may not be as disciplined as last season, but its systems have not imploded. Cornell has adopted the mantra of making its own luck at this point in the season and to do so it will be crucial for our talented forwards and offensive defensemen to capitalize on the errors that Cornell's guests from Schenectady make.

Historical Dimensions:
Union began the season with high expectations. The Dutchmen established one of their key goals as winning the ECAC as Whitelaw Cup champions in March. WAFT mentioned in its historical perspective of the connections between Cornell, RPI, and Union that Harkness won ECAC Championships for Cornell but not RPI. Union was ineligible because it was not yet a member of the ECAC. Another similarity exists between Cornell, RPI, and Union's aspirations. Cornell was the first program in the history of the ECAC to follow winning its first ECAC Championship with a successful defense of that championship. Cornell did this in 1967 and 1968. It was not until 1971 that a team other than Cornell won the ECAC. The only other program to defend successfully its first ECAC Championship is RPI. The Engineers won their first ECAC Championship in 1984 and defended it in 1985. Union won its first Whitelaw Cup last season. Were the Dutchmen able to win the 2013 Whitelaw Cup, they would join their fellow Harkness-influenced programs as the only programs to accomplish the feat of defending their first ECAC Championship.

The Capital District foes have become "rivals" as of late if you somehow missed that astroturfed fact. Union has beaten RPI eight times consecutively. So, to sweeten the pot of RPI and Union meeting at least three times a year, the programs have decided to host an event in Albany each season in which the two programs exchange the Mayor's Cup, for the mayors of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy. Yes, the plural possessive form was rejected as the name of the trophy. Union won the trophy this season, but alas the trophy must be presented to the mayor of the host city of the winning program rather than in a program's trophy case. The presentation of the trophy is shown in the video below as it occurred earlier this week.

RPI Engineers
Record: 14-11-5
Series Record: 59-33-7
Friday February 22, 2013

Last Meeting:
Saturday January 19, 2013
The last meeting between the Engineers and the Big Red saw a tight game, a season-ending injury, and inevitably an RPI win.  RPI had just beaten Colgate the night before and Cornell had beaten Union.  RPI lit the lamp first.  Cornell then was given the opportunity to score on a major when Cole Bardreau's neck was fractured.  Less than forty seconds into the major, John McCarron scored the only goal Cornell would see in the first.  The second had an RPI goal with the second ending exactly the same as the previous night for Cornell.  Down 2-1.  RPI put on a third goal and even though Lowry tried to battle back with a second Big Red goal, the Engineers pulled out the win.

This Season:
RPI was on the beginning of an upswing the last time they met the Big Red.  Since that game, the Engineers have tallied only a single loss (Union) to their six wins.  That puts RPI at an overall record of 14-11-5 and in second in league play overall.  A stark difference from the last time the Engineers met the Big Red.  What seems most different about the Engineers from the first part of their season is Jason Kasdorf.  Kasdorf has seen 14 games and has a record of 10-2-2.  Their other goaltenders have combined records of 4-9-3.

Keys to the Game:
Solving Kasdorf.  Kasdorf has an impressive .942 save percentage and a 1.52 GAA.  In our last game against him, we managed to out-compete his GAA.  The special teams for RPI are also important.  Most important to watch will be RPI's power-play unit.  RPI scored two of its three goals on the power play in January when they played the Big Red.  What is of note, however, is that this time, the RPI power-play unit is tenth in the country.  Goaltending and the Big Red penalty kill will remain the biggest keys to winning the RPI game.

Historical Dimensions:
As WAFT has explored in a post in a post earlier this year, Ned Harkness has historical significance for both Cornell and RPI.  Harkness helmed RPI from 1949 through 1963 and garnered a record of 176-96-7 in his time there, a 0.643 winning percentage.  But how did he do against his future team?  In fact, in that time RPI never played Cornell.  Before Ned arrived, the last time the Big Red met the Engineers was January of 1931 and the fall of 1963, after Harkness left.  On the other hand, when Harkness was the head coach of Cornell, from 1964-70, he grabbed an even more impressive record, 163-27-2, a 0.854 save percentage.  How did Ned do against his former team?  Ned played them seven times in that span, winning six of them and losing only one, a 4-3 overtime win in Houston.  His winning percentage against his former team was very similar to his overall winning percentage at Cornell, coming in at 0.857.

This weekend, when RPI and Cornell meet for the 100th time in series history, let the best formerly Harkness-helmed team win.  And as we both are so fond of saying, Let's Go Red!

While we by no means wish to imply that this video is the GREATEST Harlem Shake video ever, (that honor clearly belongs to the Cornell one done in the AD White Room), it is nice to see an RPI version with the ever-excellent mascot, Puckman in Houston Field House during the Brown-RPI game.

Cornellians in the NHL
In addition to the plethora of Cornellians who have played in the NHL for seasons and seasons, but several more recent alumni have made a splash in the NHL.  Class of 2012 alumnus Sean Collins made his NHL debut for the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Riley Nash was recalled for the Carolina Hurricanes, and class of 2010 alumnus Ben Scrivens, who has been playing for Toronto all season, posted not only his first NHL shutout, but back-to-back 3-0 shutouts for the Maple Leafs, one night against fellow '10 alumnus Colin Greening.  WAFT does not take a side when it comes to pro-games, but we do support Cornellians in the NHL.  As Ben Scrivens tweeted, #LeagueisturningRED.

Outdoor Games Ahoy
This weekend, two outdoor games were played at Soldier Field.  Miami vs. Notre Dame and Minnesota vs. Wisconsin.  As outdoor hockey games become more and more common in college hockey, it begs the question of when Cornell will host its first modern-era outdoor game.

Harvard has Fans?!
This exists.  Make sure you listen through for full entertainment value.

Suspensions Ahoy!
It seems that Hockey East and future Hockey East members are being suspended left and right.  BC's Kevin Hayes was suspended indefinitely by Jerry York for a violation of team rules.  BU's Alex Privitera has been suspended indefinitely by Jack Parker for "on-ice discipline problems."  Notre Dame's Jared Beers was also suspended indefinitely following an arrest.  Are coaches being stricter or are players testing their boundaries more?

SG6
Colgate's Spiro Goulakos is one of the strongest people in college hockey, bar none. It was recently announced that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.  In addition to fighting that battle, he is still playing for the Colgate Raiders.  He dressed and played against Dartmouth.  As a player, as a student, as a person, Spiro Goulakos is admirable and we, and the rest of the Lynah Faithful, wish Goulakos the best and are proud he's a member of the ECAC.

The losing streak is broken. Cornell snapped in spectacular fashion the losing skid that had plagued this talented team since it recorded its last win at Messa Rink on January 18, 2013. Cornell's seven-game losing streak ended far short of setting an infamous program record for most consecutive losses. That record will remain with the 1959-60 team that suffered 19 consecutive defeats bookended by wins that opened and closed that season.

Dartmouth has been riding high periodically throughout the season. Its highest moments included its impressive beginning to the season and a win over in-state rival New Hampshire. However, the Big Green was unable to record a win in the regular season against Cornell. Cornell earned a win and a tie against its fellow Ivy-League opponent known as an oversized color.

The clash between Cornell and Dartmouth produced no goals in the first period. Sophomore forward Joel Lowry broke the deadlock less than one minute into the second frame. Cornell continued to generate great offense as it had in the weeks before. It was not until Madison Dias scored his first collegiate goal that the balance of the game tilted entirely toward Cornell. Dias's was an unassisted blast from the point that beat cleanly Morris. Cornell did not look back.

The type of offense that one could expect of this Cornell team in the first half of the season was put on display by the end of the second period. A great offensive chance generated by Ryan who has continued to heed Schafer's advice and contribute on offense led to a gorgeous drop pass from Hilbrich that landed on the stick of Miller who effortlessly put the puck behind Morris when the Big Green netminder committed right to block Hilbrich. Was Cornell's offense back?

The scoring for the Big Red was not complete. Dartmouth solved Iles in the final minutes of the second period. Sikura had put the Big Green on the board, but Cornell was not done. Cornell continued to dominate the game. However, the goal differential was cut to one less than two minutes into the final frame.

Dartmouth's Bligh deflected a cross-ice pass from Neiley into Cornell's net with his stick well above the goal post. Iles demanded a review for a high stick. The review was granted, but if one consults the review feed, there was no angle available for official review for the one directly above the goal. So, there was effectively no review available that would show if Bligh's stick was above the plane of his shoulder. It appears easily to be a high stick. The Dartmouth radio announcers acknowledged such and were profusely grateful that the appropriate view was not available.

Cornell continued to control the flow and pace of the game as time wound down. McCarron found the back of the net with an empty net goal that sealed the fate of the team from Hanover and snapped Cornell's seven-game losing streak. Cornell scored four goals against a team that was averaging an allowance of less than two per game.

Saturday was The Game. The rivalry of the Ivy League. The rivalry of the ECAC. This edition took upon a tenor very different from seasons past and even from earlier in the season as Cornell and the Crimson, the traditional powers of the post-Divorce ECAC, are fighting to secure home ice going into the 2013 ECAC Tournament.

Cornell picked up against its most hated foe where it left off against Dartmouth. Cornell's Miller scored a second goal on the weekend just over two minutes into the game. The goal was not as pretty as the one that he had scored the day before, but a dirty goal put Cornell on the board to the raucous applause of the Lynah Faithful at Lynah East.

A Harvard offense that had found its confidence after the loss of key players who were ensnared in a cheating controversy at the United States's oldest college struck back. The Crimson had scored 11 goals in the two games preceding Saturday's rivalry clash. The Harvard offense that embarrassed Cornell at Lynah Rink on national television was back with a vengeance before this game.

The Crimson's Fallstrom struck at one of the worst times psychologically for Cornell. He tickled the twine with a power-play goal with only 26 seconds remaining in the first frame. The Crimson had knotted the game right before both teams would exit the ice for the intermission.

Harvard would score again within nine minutes. Everson beat Iles and Harvard took the lead. The balance of play for the following four or five minutes was heavily in Harvard's favor. Cornell's defense and Iles stood strong, but Cornell had difficulty regaining the zone and seemed tepid about challenging Girard in Harvard's zone.

The torpidity gave way slowly and Cornell's confidence led the Big Red to controlling the remainder of the game. This turnaround seemed microcosmic of the season to date. A bad break or an unexpected change in momentum led to Cornell having to fight its way back into the game. The team doubled down and fought its way back into the game. It did not give up. Its effort as it has been for most of the season was indefatigable. That is why this game was fun to watch and that is why this season has become a joy to watch: the team does not quit.

This era's Crimson Killer, Nick D'Agostino, righted the cosmic wrong that was his not tallying a point against Harvard earlier in the season. A beautiful pass from behind the net from Ferlin connected with D'Agostino at the left face-off circle and the nemesis of the Cantabs put the puck away behind Girard. The senior captain tied the game and put victory within the ready grasp of Cornell.

Enter Andy O'Brien. Any fan or member of the Faithful who witnessed his performance at the Quinnipiac game at Lynah Rink realizes his calls against Cornell have begun to raise eyebrows. O'Brien called three of the four penalties against Cornell in that game. That in itself may not be sufficient to draw the ire of the Lynah Faithful, but on at least three occasions he kept the puck in Cornell's defensive zone when the Bobcats were unable to do so with their own efforts. Some involuntary interference with the play of the game is expected by some officials, but this occurred on what appeared to have been more than a coincidental basis including pinning the puck against the back boards when Cornell was about to clear the puck successfully on penalty kills. WAFT shrugged it off as mere happenstance and bad luck. Then, last Saturday happened.

The would-have-been goal is shown below in the video. The video shows that D'Agostino streaks down the left side of the ice, takes a shot on Girard, Girard makes a left pad save, but the puck rests clearly beside his left pad uncovered and Ferlin collects the rebound and deposits it into an empty net. Leaving aside Biega's clear demonstration of character with shoving Ferlin (Danny Biega, ladies and gentlemen, a Senior CLASS Award Finalist), the goal was disallowed because O'Brien whistled the play dead as the puck laid on the ice, unsmothered, before Ferlin put it in the net.

The whistle was blown before it crossed the goal line. That cannot be challenged reasonably after watching the video. It was clear to all the Faithful in attendance and in the video that the whistle was suspiciously premature considering that the puck is clearly visible on the ice when an extremely early whistle blew the play dead on a near-guaranteed goal for Cornell. A game that should have ended in 3-2 Cornell victory was pushed into overtime 7:43 later and the game ended in a draw.

Another fanbase in the ECAC has grown to recognize one official as snatching defeat or disappointment from the clutches of victory for its preferred team. For Rensselaer, it is Kotyra.

For Cornell, it seems that Andy O'Brien has begun to place himself in an analogous position. Would Cornell have won the Quinnipiac game had O'Brien not intervened? That's unlikely. However, his blown call against Harvard is not only suspicious, especially in light of his officiating of the game one week before, it changed the result of the game. O'Brien has developed a penchants for interjecting himself into game play and blowing calls that cost Cornell dearly on Saturday.

The lesson of the game is not the fact that Cornell should have won the game against Harvard. As crucial as that is to understanding the game in context, the most important takeaway from the weekend is that even with two blown calls that cost Cornell one goal against and one goal for, the team battled and created the good luck that it has been lacking during the losing streak to claim three out of four possible points over the weekend. The team has not lost the will to fight and if anything appears more dedicated to battling for each accomplishment.

Iles has not allowed more than two goals in three games. His save percentage has normalized around a respectable 0.913 over last weekend. Despite this number not being overwhelming, his product on the ice has been impressive as he has risen to thwart some of the most potent chances from Cornell's opposition. Harvard redoubled its efforts in the last three minutes of regulation and Iles rose to the challenge. He stonewalled two odd-man rushes that would have tilted the game in the Crimson's favor.

Cornell's penalty kill has continued to dominate in the fashion that it has over recent weeks. Cornell killed 83.3% of the power-play opportunities of Dartmouth and Harvard. It seems that Cornell's penalty kill has begun to remain consistent at killing 82-85% of penalties over any given weekend. The lone blemish on that trend is the allowance of four goals on five-minute majors in the North Country. Cornell has been consistent in its penalty killing since then and has continued to play disciplined hockey drawing few penalties.

The question on everyone's mind is whether last weekend marks the turning point in this season after which Cornell will not look back and will continue rolling as we know that this team can. The tie against Harvard leaves this team with a chip on its shoulder. I think for the time being that may be good. The players of Cornell's 97th team have tasted victory again and they like it. I think the best answer to the question of whether Cornell has begun rolling is this:

There's a game Friday; I'd watch.

This past weekend in Cornell hockey was exciting for more than one reason.  On Friday fans packed Lynah, for an important ECAC and Ivy match-up, on Saturday the senior class was celebrated and a share of the Ivy League was won.  Let's look back at last weekend and ahead to the final weekend of regular-season play for the Lady Rouge.

Harvard
In an initiative to pack Lynah, the women's team drew almost 2,200 fans to Lynah to see their penultimate regular-season home game against rival Harvard. Rally towels were given out to the first 2,000 fans to enter and the atmosphere was electric.  The first period was even in terms of shots (7-5 in favor of the Crimson), but the scoreboard told a different story.  Lauriane Rougeau netted one six and a half minutes into the first from Taylor Woods and Erin Barley-Maloney.  The second was controlled by the Big Red, at least in shots as they had a 16-7 shot differential, but Harvard evened it up.  The third was tight for the first eight minutes.  Then Jessica Campbell scored the eventual game winner from Erin Barley-Maloney and Alyssa Gagliardi.  That wouldn't be it for Campbell, though.  She scored a shorthanded goal from Barley-Maloney and Laura Fortino.  The Big Red ended the game 3-1, outshooting the Crimson 31-20.

Dartmouth
The Dartmouth game the next afternoon was even tighter than the previous night.  In spite of 34 shots by the Big Red and 23 by the Big Green, and a five-minute overtime, the game ended as it began, tied at 0.  The Big Red did score a goal in overtime, but for some reason, it was called off.  However, in spite of a tie, all was not lost.  The Big Red won a share of the Ivy League title.  Should Harvard lose or tie a game against Brown or Yale, Cornell is the outright winner.  Otherwise, the two will both hold a share of the title.  This is the fourth year in a row that the Big Red have a share of the Ivy.

Next weekend
RPI
The last game Cornell played RPI was a closer one than expected.  Cornell ended up winning 3-1 in a hard fought match-up against the Engineers.  The Lady Rouge outshot the Engineers 38-18, scored on one of six power plays, kept the Engineers scoreless on five power-play opportunities. Since their last meeting, the Engineers have gone 1-2-1, and have 18 points in ECAC play.  They are firmly in seventh place.  Assuming #8 Princeton sweeps their weekend, they can only reach 16 points; #7 Colgate can only get to 15 points with a sweep; #9 Brown can get to 16 points if it beats all three teams it plays this weekend; #10 Yale can get to 14 points if they gather three wins.  The Engineers will not be touched.  Additionally, their nearest neighbor to the north is Dartmouth, at 24 points.  RPI cannot reach them in two games, so RPI will end the regular season at #7, with a spot in the playoffs against the yet-to-be-decided second seed, regardless how they do this weekend.

Cornell, on the other hand, does not have a set spot in the playoffs.  It can finish as high as first or as low as third.  Let's look at what Cornell will have to do in order to beat RPI.  The Engineers have an 81.1 percent penalty kill and a 14 percent conversion rate on the power play.  Their starter in net has just over a .900 save percentage.  Cornell will need to do what they did last game against RPI in order to win. They'll need to control the shot count, control the power play, and control the special teams battle.

Union
Cornell will go to meet the Dutchwomen on their Senior Night at Messa Rink.  The Dutchwomen have gone winless in ECAC play in spite of seven wins out of conference.  They tied four times against ECAC teams, both games against Yale, as well as ties against Princeton and Quinnipiac.  Union has proven itself to be a tougher team than expected, but it finds itself in quite a similar yet distinct place from RPI.  Like RPI, Union's ECAC rank is set.  It will come in 12th regardless of what it does this weekend.  However, unlike RPI, the Dutchwomen will be shut out from the playoffs.

They have, however, tied the number five team in the league, a team that found a way to defeat the Big Red.  So the Big Red will have to do all the little things right that ensured it its 8-1 victory against Union at Lynah.  The Lady Rouge will need to outshoot the Dutchwomen, and be disciplined on the power play and penalty kill.  They will need to find the net in a way they did not this past weekend.

12. Dartmouth Big Green
Record: 11-8-4
Series Record: 77-43-4 Cornell
Friday February 15, 2013

Last Meetings:
Saturday, November 17
The last time the Big Red and Big Green clashed was this season at Lynah where they skated to a 1-1 tie.  The game was tight and scoreless through two when the only scoring of the night occurred.  Cornell got on the board first with just over half the period left.  Dustin Mowrey put it in net after a beauty of a pass from Brian Ferlin while the play was begun by Nick D'Agostino.  It looked like the Big Red would be able to split the weekend as it was able to hold Dartmouth for almost ten minutes when the Big Green made their final push for a tying goal.  They scored with less than a minute left, pushing the game into overtime.  The Big Red had the edge on shots in the final five minutes, but the game ended in a tie with the shots evenly distributed 27-27.

This Season:
Dartmouth went on an unbeaten streak early in the season before it met Cornell and Colgate.  It has since suffered streaks of winning and losing, in small measure.  Since the break it has been 3-5-2 in ECAC play, pushing Quinnipiac into overtime.  In fact, Dartmouth has played five games this season in overtime, with an overtime record of 0-1-4.  Most recently they skated to a 1-1 tie with Harvard.

Keys to the Game:
The last game played between these two schools saw Charles Grant start against Andy Iles.  It appears that Cab Morris is their main starter with the better numbers and record, so it is entirely likely that he will get the starts this weekend, especially given that Morris has started the last four games.  Dartmouth still has one of the best penalty-kill units in the country, killing just under 90 percent of all penalties, though they only convert on 18.2 percent of power plays.  Special teams will need to be sharp in order to hold an edge this game. However, in all likelihood, this will not come down to a special-teams battle.  Should Cornell play the way it wants to, it will be an even-strength battle.  Dartmouth scores 2.93 goals per game while allowing just 2.30.  In its previous game, Cornell kept Dartmouth to a single goal, almost three times smaller than its average.  Cornell will need excellent netminding and the ever-illusive ability to find the back of the net against a relatively stingy defense and a more than solid goaltender.

Historical Dimensions:
Dartmouth is a program with history, but relatively little tournament success.  In fact, even though they held a share in the Cleary Cup in 2006, they did not make the national tournament.  The last time they made the national tournament was also the last time the US won an Olympic gold in ice hockey: 1980.  Dartmouth has made the tournament four times in its existence (1948, 1949, 1979, 1980), making the Frozen Four as many times.  It should be noted that in the first two tournaments it made, it was a four-team tournament and the final two times it was a five-team tournament.  Their record in their first two tournaments saw them making the national final game and losing to Michigan and making the national final game and losing Boston College.  In the later tournaments they lost in the semifinals, but won both consolation games, against UNH and Cornell.  The last game that Dartmouth played in the NCAAs was a win against Cornell.  Not many teams that did not win national championships can say that.