WAFT begins a new feature this season. Each Thursday, WAFT will direct our readers's attention to the winning traditions of Cornell hockey with a feature piece that focuses on a tournament championship that the Big Red has won. These pieces will focus upon the story of the entire season that resulted in Cornell's ultimate success. WAFT will try to feature a championship season whose tenor resembles the tone of a given week in Cornell hockey.

Click the image above to be directed to this week's highlighted championship season.

Histories of Cornell's tournament championships are available at any time by clicking the "Traditions of Greatness" tab atop this page on the navigation bar as well as by clicking the "Champions" banner in the sidebar of this page.

Like last season, the historic conference of college hockey has made headway toward claiming this season's best out-of-conference record for any conference in college hockey. The programs of ECAC Hockey are determined to prove that last season was no fluke. The out-of-conference success rates of each conference began making the rounds last weekend with two weeks of play in the books. But, honestly, what can a bald record tell you? Statistics need context. Let's try to give it to them.

First, let's get the number out of the way. The historic conference of the East has earned a 26-11-4 record to date. That correlates with a jaw-dropping winning percentage of 0.683. The closest winning percentage for out-of-conference performance is from Hockey East. The secessionist faction owns a respectable 0.592 to date. Yes, ECAC Hockey has outperformed Hockey East  by a result differential of 9.1%. We'll let the readers draw their own conclusions about certain geographic arguments in college hockey after that fact.

A 0.683 winning percentage is fine and good, but what can it mean? Being the skeptic that I am, I viewed that gaudy stat with some healthy suspicion. Programs and, by extension, conferences can inflate their out-of-conference performances through selective scheduling of lower-end opponents. This form of puffing would do a lot for interconference banter, but not much in terms of testing the quality of a conference's teams. In essence, it would make the aforecited winning percentages meaningless and mere propaganda.

The only logical step is to analyze success relative to the expected success of opponents. How can one do that? Until objective in-conference results are abundant, the most accurate way is to rely upon the opinions of those who know the teams and players of each conference best. Sorry, media, we value your opinions, but not all conferences do a media poll like ECAC Hockey does, so consistency precluded that means. So, the coaches's polls were the metric.

Coaches have a good read of which teams will be able to grapple with the best of their own conferences. They understand which teams have what it takes when push comes to shove in intraconference battles. So, I aggregated all of the preseason coaches's polls. Each conference does not have the same number of constituents. For example, being expected to finish sixth in Hockey East (Boston University) does not have the same valuation as expecting a program to finish sixth in the B1G Hockey Conference (Penn State). The readiest way to divide conferences of varying numbers of programs is through consistent statistical division.

Quartiles were the division that I implemented because they provide a holistic feel while not being so nuanced as to give specific numerical placement and thus defeat the purpose of an across-the-board approach. The first quartile is defined as teams expected to finish in the bottom quarter of their conference. The second quartile is defined as those teams expected to finish between the 25th and 50th percentile of their conference. The third quartile represents those teams expected to finish in the 50th to 75th percentile. The fourth quartile represents those teams expected to finish in the top quarter of their conference.

Okay, now that the explanation is done, here are the results (below provided in graphical form). ECAC Hockey has recorded wins against a well balanced set of out-of-conference opponents. Against three of the quartiles, programs of ECAC Hockey have won 27% of their out-of-conference games, amounting to 81% of their wins. A perfectly even division would be winning 25% against three quartiles with a cumulative 75%. So, balance is good, but it merely may illustrate the law of large numbers at work.

How many of ECAC Hockey programs's out-of-conference wins have come against non-conference opponents expected to compete for league championships? 46% of the wins that ECAC Hockey teams have won have come against teams expected to finish in the top half of their conferences. Yes, the historic conference of the East has earned nearly half of its wins against programs that coaches anticipate to be the top tier of their conferences this season.

Let's dig a little deeper. I mean, the last statistic could be inflated by playing teams right at the 50th-percentile mark. Maybe, ECAC Hockey is gaming the system on the fringes. Guess again. The expected champions of other conferences have been the vanquished in 15% of ECAC Hockey's non-conference wins. For comparison, consider that the expected champions of each league account for just over ten percent of non-ECAC Hockey college-hockey programs. ECAC Hockey is disproportionately defeating the anticipated crème de la crème of opposing conferences.

ECAC Hockey's 26 wins are weighted disproportionately toward programs with the highest in-conference expectations. Second guessing that? 27% of those wins came against teams expected to be the runners-up or champions of their conferences. Yes, ECAC Hockey programs have played and defeated programs expected to be in the lower half of their leagues, but the historic conference of college hockey has defeated the best en route to its phenomenal 0.683 out-of-conference winning percentage.

One final thing. Clarkson was chosen to finish last in ECAC Hockey. Let's consider that with the same weight that we have given polls throughout this analysis. The Golden Knights have contributed two of ECAC Hockey's wins over expected league champions. Yes, the program expected to finish dead last in ECAC Hockey has knocked off an expected conference champion. Twice.

The last gasp of detractors? ECAC Hockey programs play too many Atlantic Hockey teams. Yes, we have all heard this before. Foremost, Atlantic Hockey came of age last season and should be respected. But, to dismiss this half-witted argument, consider that ECAC Hockey owns a 0.571 out-of-conference winning percentage when excluding contests against Atlantic Hockey teams. That's a record better than the overall records of all conferences except Hockey East.

Furthermore, consider that programs of the B1G Hockey Conference, Hockey East, and NCHC have suffered six losses to Atlantic Hockey already. No ECAC Hockey team has lost to an Atlantic Hockey team yet this season.

What does this all mean? This is not a ra-ra our-conference-is-better-than-your-conference post. It is an objective analysis, trusting the informed judgments of the college-hockey community. What the results indicate is that ECAC Hockey's 26-11-4 out-of-conference is real. It is legitimate. It is not inflated. It is not a result of playing opposing conference's weaker teams. In fact, it is the result of taking wins out of the best teams from other conferences.

ECAC Hockey remains nationally competitive and the top-to-bottom out-of-conference success of ECAC Hockey teams this season indicates it will remain the most internally competitive conference when intraconference play begins on Tuesday. ECAC Hockey's out-of-conference success is actual. The last two seasons were not aberrations. The programs of the historic conference of the East will prove so in March and April.

Ending a season in double overtime to the top-ranked team in the nation on the road in game three of the playoffs may have given solace to many programs; not Cornell hockey. The Big Red missed ECAC Hockey's championship weekend for the first time in six years. Cornell looks to reassert its status as the dominant force in ECAC Hockey and a national contender during the 2013-14 season. Redemption is the goal of this 98th season of Cornell hockey.

Last Meeting:
There has been none. The Mavericks of the University of Nebraska at Omaha have never met the Big Red of Cornell University on the ice of intercollegiate competition. WAFT gave consideration to this fact earlier this week in its post, A Welcoming Party (Of Sorts).

This Season:
The Mavericks are off to quite a modest start considering the high expectations and demands of its loyal fanbase. UNO has allowed 15 goals, 12 of which came in the two losses that the Mavericks have suffered. It appears that when the Mavericks play defensively, they can deliver, but when their opponent pry open the flood gates, a tsunami results often. This highlights the early inconsistencies of this UNO team.

UNO has managed only splits. The Mavericks have not swept an opponent yet. They opened the season at home against a Bentley squad that was chosen to finish in the bottom fourth of Atlantic Hockey. The Falcons have not won since then. They have dropped three games straight after tangling at CenturyLink Center.

The other split was against friendly rival Northern Michigan on the Olympic sheet of the Upper Peninsula. An UNO team that tries to pride itself on its up-tempo and speed-oriented approach to hockey failed to finish off the Wildcats after battling to a 2-1 win in the series-opening game. Dean Blais cited immaturity and a lack of finishing as the culprits in UNO's second loss of the season. For comparison, Northern Michigan was tabbed to finish fourth in the WCHA Lite.

Kirk Thompson and Ryan Massa both have seen time between the pipe for Blais' squad. Each has ownership of one loss. The difference? Thompson carried his team to UNO's two wins. There is little doubt which netminder will get the nod in the first game of the series. Neither goaltender has established themselves as a fearsome presence. Thompson, in his first season as a collegiate goalie, has recorded a save percentage of 0.901 while surrendering nearly three goals on average.

Team defense has been far from a hallmark of UNO this season. Admittedly, it is early and a team led by a national-championship coach can right course in a moment's notice, but the team has allowed its opponents to find the back of the net 3.75 times per game on average. The Mavericks have outpaced their opponents by only 0.50 goals per game.

Half of the goals that UNO has allowed in its two losses have been on the penalty kill. In UNO's two wins, it surrendered only two power-play goals. The penalty killing of the Mavericks is respectable with killing off 72% of opponents's power-play opportunities. However, specialty teams remain bleak for UNO as it allows opponents to score 12% more often on power plays than it scores. Opponents of the Mavericks have lit the lamp on nearly 85% of their power-play opportunities.

Dean Blais was the head coach of North Dakota. He is credited by some as bringing speed and a shoot-first mentality back to Grand Forks. His team utilized it to great success. His UNO squad this year is producing goals at a respectable pace, despite its 0.500 record.

Four of UNO's forwards are on pace to score one or more points per game. Ryan Walters, a seemingly perennial Hobey Baker candidate, and Dominic Zombo are the usual suspects. Walters is averaging 1.50 points per game while Zombo has tallied a shorthanded goal already in this young season. Josh Archibald and Brock Montpetit round out the other point scorers on the team. The former is producing 0.75 goals per game. Only one deciding tally has been scored among these top four which indicates that UNO is a team with depth that must be respected.

What to Expect:
The Mavericks will put forth a tremendous effort. They play with a chip the size of the Penrose Cup on their collective shoulder. UNO was singled out to finish last in the inaugural season of the NCHC. The team's leaders and Dean Blais have set out to prove the naysayers wrong. They have not done that yet. Cornell stands as the first contest in a series of consecutive weekends when UNO will face off against perennial national contenders in Denver, North Dakota, and Michigan. The Mavericks hope that toppling a power like Cornell will set the right tone for their season.

Statistics are rarely destiny, but in this case of this series, it seems as though they might be. Cornell needs to play disciplined to ride out the early storm of freshmen getting acquainted with a hostile environment. The poise and skill that the freshmen exhibited last weekend makes it likely that it will not take them long to adapt. UNO is a team that prides itself on speed, but does not play any faster than Cornell. If Cornell imposes its flow of the game with controlled break-outs, UNO will not be able to run roughshod over the Big Red.

Dean Blais has implied that he expected Cornell to be similar to the Cornell teams he encountered in the 1990s. He has stated directly that UNO's one hope comes in getting Cornell out of its game. The score will likely explode if it does. If UNO's forwards have to fight for every inch, like they should, then Cornell can win the contest.

It is hard to prognosticate without Cornell having played a game this season, but special teams will likely decide the outcome of the series. UNO's two losses have come at the hands of special-teams implosions. Cornell needs to take advantages of the cracks in the Mavericks's uncured foundation. Relatedly, UNO lost the services of defenseman Brian O'Rourke for this series. The junior defenseman saw key minutes on the penalty kill and power play.

One must remember that UNO is a talented team that has underperformed up until this point. Cornell cannot make the mistake of underestimating it and giving its players the breathing space to find their games. One cannot oversell the fact that UNO has not swept an opponent as it quickly easily can be acknowledged that the Mavericks have not been swept. If Cornell plays the disciplined, pace-controlling game that is common of Schafer-coached teams on even strength and plays opportunistically on special teams then the Big Red will be well positioned to leave CenturyLink Center with favorable outcomes.

Historical Note:
The historical perspective on WAFT earlier this week acknowledges what many sources have neglected: that Dean Blais and Mike Schafer have squared off previously. Blais led North Dakota against Schafer and Cornell two times in 1997 including the former's run to his first national championship. Another interesting perspective is Cornell's level of competitiveness in its first meetings with programs. Cornell has earned a 5-2-0 record in first-time meetings against the current members of the NCHC. UNO is the only member of the Conference that the Big Red has not played. In those first-time affairs, Cornell has outscored its opponents by a margin of 25 goals for to 23 goals against.

WAFT begins a new feature this season. Each Thursday, WAFT will direct our readers's attention to the winning traditions of Cornell hockey with a feature piece that focuses on a tournament championship that the Big Red has won. These pieces will focus upon the story of the entire season that resulted in Cornell's ultimate success. WAFT will try to feature a championship season whose tenor resembles the tone of a given week in Cornell hockey.

Click the image above to be directed to this week's highlighted championship season.

Histories of Cornell's tournament championships are available at any time by clicking the "Traditions of Greatness" tab atop this page on the navigation bar as well as by clicking the "Champions" banner in the sidebar of this page.

Cornell began their regular-season slate last weekend by hosting Northeastern University.  We'll go into what happened over the weekend and what there is to look forward to next weekend in the first 2013-14 edition of Lady Rouge Roundup.

This weekend began with a season with a lot of questions.  The women slaughtered Brock in their exhibition game 13-0, but the question was whether that would translate to division I hockey success.  In the first game, we saw a considerable number of new faces and a team that was determined to prove they could still score. The second game saw a more solid defensive effort.  Now let's look a bit further into each game.

The first game, on Saturday afternoon, saw a considerable number of defensive pairings.  Gagliardi and Cudmore were each on the ice with sophomores and freshmen.  Between the two of them, they spent almost the entire game on the ice.  And it worked well.  While ensuring the underclassmen knew what it meant to be defensively sound, they also provided much needed stability for the team.  But scoring was the story of this game.  Scoring began only three minutes into the game, as junior Monika Leck netted the first goal of the regular season for the Big Red.  Not to be outdone, classmate Emily Fulton potted one of her own just over 30 seconds later.  In what was a dominant first half of the first period, sophomore Taylor Woods tallied one of her own just over nine minutes into the frame, marking the first power-play goal of the season.  After scoring three unanswered goals, Northeastern was not ready to go quietly.  In the last two minutes of the first period, they appeared to have retained control as they scored their first goal of the game after considerable pressure.  The beginning of the second frame saw a shorthanded Northeastern bring the differential within one as momentum seemed to shift entirely to the Huskies.  The Lady Rouge would not stand for that.  It took over ten minutes, but the senior leadership of the team was determined not to let this one get away.  Hayleigh Cudmore with a blast from the point scored on the power play to put the goal differential back at two.  Before the period was over, Emily Fulton would score her second of the game to give the Big Red a 5-2 lead after two periods.  With the flow of the game back on their pace, the Red scored one more goal from Hayleigh Cudmore as they stood tall for the rest of the game.

The second game was a purely dominant showing in terms of defense.  The Lady Rouge took only three penalties and did not allow a single goal all game.  Lauren Slebodnick earned a 16th career shutout and tied the all-time wins record with former goaltender Amanda Mazzotta '12.  Not enough can be said about the defense in this game.  Every player blocked shots, from Alyssa Gagliardi and the other defensemen to the forwards, every player was committed to defense and it showed.  Only 23 shots were allowed through, though an appreciable number were blocked.  Northeastern was only allowed three power play opportunities, and only 5 shots were allowed through all of them.  Lauren Slebodnick played an excellent game and her skaters scored a goal in each period to top it off.  Emily Fulton and Monika Leck each scored a goal and Jillian Saulnier netted her first goal of the season to end scoring for the weekend.  The women played a solid game where Cudmore and Gagliardi got to have shifts off. The defensive pairing of Murray and Poudrier was incredibly solid. Impressive play by freshmen in particular Hanna Bunton showed the bright future of this team.  The scoring was led by co-captain Jessica Campbell and her four assists. Hayleigh Cudmore with her pair of goals and pair of assists, and Taylor Woods with her goal and three assists.  In all ten women tallied points with six different goal scorers over the weekend while Lauren Slebodnick earned Goaltender of the Week honors from the ECAC.

A Look Ahead
Cornell opens ECAC play this coming weekend hosting Clarkson on Friday and St. Lawrence on Saturday.  Let's take a look at what the teams have done thus far this season and what Cornell needs to do to get the job done this weekend.

Clarkson
Clarkson thus far this season is 5-1-1 with the only tie and loss coming last weekend against Mercyhurst.  This shows a chink in the armor of the media's and coaches's number one, but could also prove to be a curse for the Lady Rouge as Clarkson will have something more to prove after their single-point weekend.  Their first outing of the season was against the CHA's RIT.  That resulted in a 12-1 rout of the Tigers.  In a non-conference home-and-home series, Clarkson next took on St. Lawrence, besting them both times by a combined score of 9-3.  The following weekend, Clarkson played another home-and-home series, this time against CHA opponent Syracuse.  The first game was the tightest Clarkson had played in yet, a 2-1 win, with the second game providing a more comfortable 4-0 victory to the Golden Knights.  This past weekend saw the aforementioned Mercyhurst games as the Lakers traveled to Potsdam.  The first night saw the Lakers hold Clarkson scoreless in a 2-0 victory.  The second game was even tighter as the teams skated to a 1-1 tie.

Clarkson is a team which is incredibly impressive offensively AND defensively.  Erin Ambrose holds 1.71 points per game and Carly Mercer holds 1.43 points per game.  Ambrose also leads the country in power-play goals by an absolute number, though Cornell's Hayleigh Cudmore has more PPG/game. Goaltender Erica Howe has a GAA of just over one, coming in at fourth in the country, after seven games played with a save percentage of 0.954 garnering her the same spot just behind Slebodnick in the national rankings.  Clarkson has taken just under 12 penalty minutes per game, while their kill percentage is  88.6%.  They also are opportunistic on the power play, scoring on 18.2% of chances.  Clarkson has an incredibly solid team, but they are not the all-mighty juggernauts that everyone thought they would be, especially given their last weekend. Cornell will be able to match up well against Tech this weekend, but will need to be incredibly disciplined in order to do so.  Getting a lot of shots on goal is going to be key.  Mercyhurst outshot Clarkson in their win by almost a 3:2 margin. They also managed to score on the power play in their win.

St. Lawrence
Thus far this season, St. Lawrence has compiled a disappointing 1-5-0 record.  Are they the team that made a deep run into the ECAC playoffs last year or have they returned to mediocrity?  It should be noted that St. Lawrence is better than its record.  Their sole win was in their season opener against New Hampshire, a team which aims to be at or near the top of its conference and already has tallied an important conference win against Hockey East favorite Boston College.  But back to the task at hand.  St. Lawrence split their season opener with UNH, winning the first game 4-2 and losing a tight rematch 2-1.  Their second weekend was a home-and-home series where Clarkson swept the Saints.  To finish off the early season non-conference schedule, the Saints took two tough losses to Boston College.  The Saints took an early 1-0 lead in the first game before BC scored its four goals.  The Saints fought back at the end of the game, but it was too little, too late as BC skated off with the win.  The rematch saw BC score first with St. Lawrence responding in the period.  Though the game was mostly even, BC freshman Andie Anastos was the difference maker scoring an unassisted even-strength goal with less than six minutes remaining in the final frame. 

St. Lawrence has not been shut out yet this season, and more importantly, their losses have been close, with the Saints playing a full 60 minutes.  Cornell will need to not sleep on the Saints if they get a lead.  Additionally, goaltending is a question when it comes to the Saints.  Cornell is most familiar with junior netminder Carmen MacDonald who was stellar in her appearances against the Lady Rouge.  But interestingly, sophomore Guilia Mazzocchi has seen the most playing time this year.  Whichever netminder Cornell sees, the women will need to ensure that she sees a lot of shots.  SLU has a power play conversion rate of 15.4% with an 88% kill rate on their nine penalty minutes per game.  Cornell will need to be disciplined and remember that SLU can skate with them.  Especially after a game to Clarkson, win or loss, Cornell needs to remember not to be complacent when playing St. Lawrence.

Scoring:
4 - Campbell, Cudmore, and Woods
3 - Fulton, Leck, and Poudrier
2 - Gagliardi and Saulnier
1 - Bunton and Murray

It is uncommon for a program of Cornell's history to play teams that it has not played at all in its past. The series with Nebraska-Omaha that opens the 2013-14 season is such an occasion. The Mavericks of UNO and the Big Red of Cornell have never faced off against each other. This is for good reason. UNO is among the youngest programs in college hockey.

Cornell is the fourth-oldest college-hockey program that sponsors hockey at the NCAA Division I level. The Big Red began its first season in 1900. Omaha University, the predecessor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, was not founded until 1908. The University and Omahans would need to wait 89 years until their community sponsored college hockey.

The roots between the Mavericks of Omaha and the former WCHA run very deep. The first coach to helm college hockey's second-youngest program (Robert Morris is the youngest. For those who think Penn State is the youngest, they need to consider that Penn State sporadically sponsored college hockey in the 1900s and 1940s in addition to consistently sponsoring club hockey from 1971) was Mike Kemp. Kemp had learned the craft of coaching college hockey at Wisconsin under Jeff Sauer.

Ironically, it was the CCHA that admitted UNO for membership. A lag year of independence was endured before admission. Crucial facets of the identity of Mavericks hockey were discerned during that one year. Foremost, Kemp led his young program to a sweep of Denver. Secondly, UNO had shown that it could sell out its building regularly. Omaha and the University of Nebraska at Omaha loved its hockey and they remained loyal to it despite a less than 0.500 in the Mavericks's first season.

UNO broke through to a plus-0.500 record in its fourth season of play. This occurred after a rousing end to the Mavericks's first season. UNO made a run to the 2000 CCHA Championship game. The Mavericks fell to the Spartans in a disappointing trouncing, but they had let the college-hockey landscape learn that even three seasons into its existence that their program and their fans could not be taken lightly.

The next season, UNO's first winning season, the Mavericks would again make it to Joe Louis Arena. They would fall this time in a semifinal contest. This tremendous progress began to seem for naught. The next few seasons would tax Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavericks would not advance out of the first round of the CCHA Tournament for the next three seasons. Over two of those seasons, UNO would find itself again languishing below 0.500. UNO's fans stayed loyal.

The Mavericks climbed their way above that disappointing threshold in its eighth and ninth season. The CCHA Quarterfinals were where the Nebraskans fell both years. The Mavericks fell to their friendly rival the Wildcats in the 2006 CCHA Quarterfinals. The rivalry between the two is unique in college hockey. It is a persistent vestige of the time when Nebraska-Omaha played in the CCHA.

The rivalry began in an interesting way. When UNO made its run to the 2000 CCHA Semifinal, some fans of the Northern Michigan Wildcats traveled down to Detroit from the Upper Peninsula. Their rooting interest? They supported the Mavericks from Omaha. It may have been partial embrace of the philosophy of my enemy of my enemy is my friend, but Wildcat fans cheered on Kemp's Mavericks as they downed the Wolverines of Michigan (or weasels as some UNO fans call them). UNO returned the favor and supported the Wildcats alongside Northern Michigan fans in the 2002 CCHA Semifinals. The connection was forged. It did not take long for the head coaches of each program to embrace it.

The friendly rivalry that Mike Kemp and Walt Kyle devised between Nebraska-Omaha and Northern Michigan resembles traditional college-football rivalries in some ways. Think Cornell-Penn for the Trustee's Cup, Columbia-Cornell for the Empire Cup, Michigan-Minnesota for the Little Brown Jug, or Cal-Stanford for the Stanford Axe. The winner of UNO-Northern Michigan series takes home or keeps the Spiritphone. The organized fanbase of each program, the Red Army of UNO and the Puckheads of Northern Michigan, keeps the Spiritphone while its supported team is in possession of it.

Wisely, Kemp and Kyle agreed that in the event of a split in the series, there would be no resort to a total-goals tiebreaker and the current holder would retain the Spiritphone. The friendly rivalry remains just that on the records book. Neither team has taken control of the series. The current record is 17-17-2. Cornell will face a reinvigorated Mavericks squad that is coming off a split in the Upper Peninsula. The rivalry survived UNO's defection to the WCHA in 2010 and looks as though it will continue to flourish after UNO joined the NCHC.

No Cornell rivalry, neither real nor quasi, manifests such reciprocal support. Of the candidates of Boston University-Cornell, Cornell-Harvard, Cornell-Yale, and Cornell-Wisconsin rivalries, it appears that the lattermost is closest in nature. Nonetheless, the nature of Nebraska-Omaha's rivalry with Northern Michigan adds to the intrigue of college hockey.

While one of Cornell's rivalry was set to add to its distinct tenor in the 2006 NCAA Midwest Regional Final in Green Bay, the Mavericks made their first appearance in the national tournament. The UNO skaters fell to Boston University by a 9-2 margin. It was the highest point that the Mavericks would reach in the playoffs in five seasons. Over those five seasons, the Mavericks would experience many changes.

Mike Kemp departed after recording two more seasons under 0.500. Many administrators and fans began to demand more success for their loyalty. The Mavericks did not deliver after the almost-banner year of 2006. Most looked and saw empty rafters instead of two deep runs into the CCHA Tournament and a berth in the national tournament in less than a decade. It became apparent that UNO fans, including perhaps the Red Army, demanded success from their beloved program.

The Athletics Department at the University of Nebraska-Omaha did what any new or rebuilding program does to show its intentions and ignite passions. It made a big-name hire. The coach it would hire had won two national championships in ten years at North Dakota. Such was the type of result that UNO demanded. UNO hired Dean Blais, former head coach of the Fighting Sioux, to replace Mike Kemp before the 2009-10 season. Blais had seen stints as coach and recruiter for the Columbus Blue Jackets and the USHL's Fargo Force. It was the allure of building a winning program with passionate support that drew him to the UNO program.

Dean Blais played at Minnesota. He coached at North Dakota. It was apparent that it would not be long before UNO called the WCHA home. The implosion of the CHA in 2010 hastened that process. The WCHA officials yearned for UNO's impressive attendance figures and wanted to add teams to its Conference in pairs, Bemidji State would join with UNO.

The choice of Dean Blais indicates several things about Nebraska-Omaha's desires. Programs choose, actively or subconsciously, to value either regular-season or playoff titles more. Programs like Cornell and North Dakota generally value playoff titles. Programs like Clarkson and Minnesota value regular-season titles. Blais led North Dakota in a manner more similar to the latter. While head coach at North Dakota, the Fighting Sioux won five MacNaughton Cups, two Broadmoor Cups, and two national championships. Half of the seasons Blais was at North Dakota, he brought them a regular-season trophy.

One can assume Nebraska-Omaha made its choice with those goals, as well as national championships, in mind. The Mavericks played three seasons in the WCHA. They never advanced out of the first round of the WCHA Tournament. Bemidji State swept them at home in 2011, St Cloud State swept them at National Hockey Center in 2012, and Minnesota State defeated them in three games in 2013. Shockingly, the 2013 WCHA Tournament marked the first time that UNO had won a playoff game since joining the WCHA.

The recent modus operandi for the Mavericks has been to charge out to a strong start to the season then collapse in the second half. The 2011-12 season experienced UNO's accumulating nine wins before the end of December. Only five wins would be added to that total in the second half of that season. Last year, during the 2012-13 season, it appeared at one point that UNO may even threaten for the final MacNaughton Cup. The Mavericks racked up 11 wins in the first half of the season. They would add a respectable sevens wins over that span, including one playoff victory, but it was apparent that the trend of beginning the season far better than it ended it still plagued the Mavericks.

Despite what some Mavericks fans perceive as Dean Blais's underperforming, he did lead UNO back to the NCAA Tournament in 2011. The Mavericks triumphantly forced the eventual national runners-up to overtime. In a game that is very much alive in the memory of UNO fans, Michigan won the game in the first overtime. The game is not without its controversy to UNO fans, especially considering it came at the hands of much-loathed, once-intraleague foes, the Wolverines.

It is not hard to see why many in the college-hockey world love Nebraska-Omaha even if they have not ventured to the CenturyLink Center. UNO represents great exposure of the great game of college hockey to an audience that may not have experienced it otherwise. An audience that clearly loves it. Nebraska-Omaha games averaged an attendance of 7,697 over the last three years. The Mavericks may not fill their building to 99.0% capacity like Cornell does Lynah Rink on average, but they consistently draw crowds that rank among the top-five largest in college hockey. If that is not an element of tradition, then what is?

Furthermore, who cannot appreciate a program that manifests an unquenchable hunger for success that will catapult them to the elite level with the humility to acknowledge that it is not yet on that plane? UNO is proud of its program, but not prematurely boastful. The Mavericks and their fans know that they have a good program, but they realize that it cannot have the attitudes of historic and established programs like Boston University, Cornell, Minnesota, North Dakota, or Wisconsin.

The sign that hangs above the entrance to the ice from the Mavericks's locker room at CenturyLink Center reads "our relentless battle to the top begins here. Step forth and believe." This writer has seen no better capturing of the passion and humility of a new program that someday will be regarded as elite. It is refreshing, if not moving.

The Mavericks, their coaches, and their fans show great appreciation for history. In the build-up to this first series between Cornell and Nebraska-Omaha, Mavericks fans have regarded Cornell and its history in the most respectful, if not reverential, terms. Furthermore, they are very aware that Cornell is one of four programs that they have not played. The other three being Penn State, Robert Morris, and RPI. Cornell has played a slightly narrower swath of the college-hockey landscape as the Big Red after this series still will not have played Alaska-Anchorage, Bentley, Connecticut, and Holy Cross. The excited anticipation of UNO's fans captures their appreciation for college-hockey history and diversity.

The programs at Cornell and Nebraska-Omaha have few parallels at first gloss. Cornell sponsored a hockey program nearly ten years before Omaha University opened. Cornell's two NCAA national championships in hockey bookend Omaha University's merger with the University of Nebraska in 1968. Cornell won nine Whitelaw Cups before the University of Nebraska at Omaha began to entertain the prospect of creating a varsity hockey program. Dean Blais won a national championship for North Dakota the season before the first Mavericks laced up their skates.

The paths of the two programs unknowingly crossed even before UNO created its team. Blais and his Fighting Sioux squared off against Mike Schafer and Cornell in the 1997 NCAA West Regional Final in that season. The two coaches would compete at the same venue nearly nine months to the day later in a mid-season tournament. Since that time, the paths of the two programs have not overlapped. Cornell won three Whitelaw Cups since then, earned a berth in the Frozen Four, and appeared in seven NCAA tournaments. UNO got excruciatingly close to a Mason Cup once and earned two berths to the NCAA tournament. The two paths seems disparate, but UNO has laid a great foundation.

It took Cornell ten years to win a national championship from when it reinstituted its program in 1957 after disbanding it. Nebraska-Omaha has existed for just six years longer than that in an era when it is arguably harder for programs to establish themselves. UNO hockey has a proud tradition. It is a developing one. It has established rivalries. It includes devout adherents of the hockey program. The Mavericks are battling to make it a winning tradition.

Nebraska-Omaha plans to move into a new 7,000-seat, on-campus facility by the beginning of the 2015-16 or 2016-17 seasons. If the trajectory of the Mavericks continues, they may be semi-regular contenders for the Penrose Cup by the time they face off at their new building. It is likely that in the not-too-distant future that college-hockey fans will not remember a time when UNO was not consistently nationally relevant.

There is little doubt that this season, the first of the NCHC, is pivotal in determining whether the Mavericks will continue to ascend or will remain stalled in a place of mere respectability. Most in college hockey can agree that UNO and its loyal fans deserve success. Can it really be denied? However, the Lynah Faithful and Cornell hope that Nebraska-Omaha's eventual climb to the top of the college-hockey heap does not come at the expense of emerging victorious when it battles Cornell. Let's celebrate the first meeting of two great, albeit historically different, programs while waiting for the day when college hockey's second-youngest member joins Cornell as an established winning program.

Wearing the Carnelian and White
The truest sign of leadership is the ability of an individual to stand up and do what is needed for his team. The 2012-13 preseason saw Cornell lose a goaltender and a defenseman abandon the program. Two players showed their loyalty to their alma mater through their willigness to fill the void left on the roster of the team representing Cornell's proudest tradition. They were senior Chris Hogan who joined the Big Red to serve as a relief goaltender from the ranks of Cornell's ACHA team and Craig Esposito, a successful golfer for the carnelian and white, who volunteered to play behind the blue line if Schafer and his staff needed.

This brief anecdote illustrates not only how hockey is deeply entrenched in the culture of Cornell University and Central New York, the region from which Craig Esposito hails, but how passionate and dedicated Esposito is. It took true leadership to stand up with uncertain challenges and rewards on the horizon to make oneself available for his team in need. That is what makes Craig Esposito a player worth celebrating on this 98th Cornell hockey team and what makes him truly a Cornellian.

Craig Esposito was gifted in several sports when he played at his high school in nearby Lansing, NY. The varsity squads for Lansing on which he played were undefeated. For six years. Yes, Craig Esposito played for his varsity squad when he was in only seventh grade. The links were not his only place of dominance. The Central New Yorker showed tremendous skill playing for his high school's hockey team.

His skill on the golf course continued at Cornell the season before he would volunteer his services to Schafer and his staff. In just his sophomore season, Esposito average just 5.65 strokes above par. This result was second-best on Cornell's golf team. This performance included two outings shooting under and at par. He saw time in the Big Red's eight tournaments during the 2011-12 season.

The offseason before the 2012-13 season was when Craig Esposito contacted Schafer and his staff. He informed them that he would be willing to do what was necessary to ensure that his hockey skills were at the needed level if his new team needed to call upon him. He prepared in this manner while his golf game remained a work of consistency. All but one of his tournament rounds counted toward his team's score.

His junior season on the golf course saw Esposito serve as a captain of his golf team. He did this while being at the beckoning need of the Cornell hockey team. Craig Esposito proved to be a dependable leader as well as contributor as he again finished with the second-best score on the Cornell team including remarkable individual performances at several tournaments. Cornell never needed to call on him during its 2012-13 season, but what the history and character of Craig Esposito indicates is if it had, he would have been ready to help his team in whichever ways it needed.

What to Expect
Craig Esposito is off to a successful season again with Cornell's golf team. He helped the Big Red finish third in the University's golf invitational. Furthermore, he is on pace to remove nearly 1.5 strokes from performances from his last two seasons. These promising indicators are all while Craig Esposito has been readying himself to see competition for two of Cornell's varsity programs. One can expect that his preparation for both has yielded equal results.

Esposito saw time in basketball, football, golf, and hockey when he was in high school. He was skilled to contribute in all four sports. Craig Esposito saw time in practice helping Cornell's skilled forwards get accustomed to new defensive schemes and regimes as the Big Red prepared for each opponent last season. This role was integral.

Schafer has emphasized, especially this season, that practices will be the most important in a week, not the games on Friday and Saturday. Schafer has stated that momentum is built and maintained on Monday through Thursday. It cannot be found on Friday morning or Saturday. Good habits and honed skill are the in the realm of practice, not game time. It is with this that Craig Esposito has contributed greatly and will continue to lend his services to help the team.

It may be a long shot to expect that Craig Esposito will start a game this season. However, this writer hopes to see it. He is the embodiment of hard work and drive. He made himself available to the Cornell hockey coaching staff, not for his own glory, but for the betterment of the team. Craig Esposito will deliver if given a start. Schafer has stated that he recruits work ethic more than skill. Esposito exhibits seemingly boundless grit and hard work. In this way, he is very much part of Cornell hockey culture and will do great things if he is given a start for the Big Red. At the very least, expect him to make an appearance during Cornell's senior week when he can level and stifle academically unscrupulous Cantabs.

A Look Back
The history of defenseman who wore the number 4 is a distinguished one. One of the more influential, but oft-forgotten, players of the early Bertrand Era experienced great success with a number 4 affixed to his carnelian-and-white sweater. Cornell was a program in transition when Dave Street rose from the freshman team before the 1970-71 season. Most of the talent that had propelled Cornell to four consecutive ECAC Championships and two national championships had graduated. The team was under the untested leadership of Dick Bertrand, a coach who had just months before been playing alongside his current charges. It would take Bertrand's maturation and leadership on his team to bring championships back to East Hill.

Dave Street, a sophomore during Dick Bertrand's first season, would provide that leadership. Street was a reliable defensemen who in an era of high-scoring defensemen like Dan Lodboa typically patrolled behind the blue line rather than blistering past that of the opponent. Street accumulated just 29 points over his first season. His point totals would tick up his senior season when he became the highest scoring defenseman on a championship Cornell team.

Bill Hanson and Dave Street captained Dick Bertrand's third team. Dave Street had scored one playoff goal over his career before his senior campaign. That goal evened the score between Cornell and Providence at Lynah Rink before the Big Red began a rout of the Rhode Islanders. It was his steady hand more than his scoring prowess that would pace Cornell during his senior season.

Street's senior season did not begin as he had hoped. Before the first game was played, Dave Street learned that a knee injury would hold him out of play until at least Christmas. His injury would linger somewhat longer. Cornell went 3-1-0 in his absence. The captain defenseman missed the wildly controversial Boston University-Cornell game of December 1972 that ended in a 9-0 Cornell loss on the ice, but that the Terriers would be forced to forfeit.

Dave Street notched four points including a goal against the Engineers of RPI in the 1973 ECAC Quarterfinals. His last point of his career was scored against Clarkson in the 1973 ECAC Championship Semifinal at Boston Garden. His dependable defensive play held an explosive Boston University Terrier squad to just two tallies in the 1973 ECAC Championship Final.

Dave Street through his resolve and determination to fight back from injury lifted his team to its first tournament championship in the Bertrand Era. It was the first championship that Cornell won after the departure of Harkness. The leadership of Street was decisive. His hard work was inspiring and integral. In these ways, wearers of the number 4 labor for their teams to give them what they need; tireless hard work and determination. It is apparent that Craig Esposito has chosen the right number for his jersey.

The college-hockey world lost the voice of one of its most prolific and dedicated contributors a few weeks ago. The retirement of Thank You Terry by its creator, Kyle Rossi, has a particular effect upon the contributors to this blog. Many have wished him well, as they should, but few have taken the time to thank him for his contributions and services. And, in the spirit of elements of WAFT and TYT's former segment of Breakout Past, let's begin with a brief history lesson why Cornell fans should and why this writer in particular cares about the legacy of TYT and its relationship with Penn State hockey.

Interestingly, the first real conversation I had about the history of Penn State hockey was on a transatlantic flight. The conversation started in earnest. I, somewhat unsurprisingly, was wearing gear that prompted my neighbor on the plane to inquire about my knowledge of college hockey. After I acknowledged that my undergraduate years on East Hill had familiarized me with the best of college hockey, my neighbor asked if I had heard that Penn State was going to elevates its wildly successful ACHA club program to the NCAA Division I level. I indicated my knowledge. The conversation then took an interesting turn.

My neighbor, whose name disappointingly escapes me, confessed that he was one of the earliest members of the Penn State Icers, the proud moniker of teams from a great era in Penn State hockey history. The conversation continued with him asking if I knew that Cornell hockey was integral to the establishment of club hockey at the Pennsylvania State University. I had no clue. He retold the story of how in the seasons leading up to the first season of the Icers Era that future members of the Icers traveled to Ithaca, NY. Their host? If one trusts the informed narrative of the passenger, was none other than Ned Harkness.

The story unfolded with Harkness, Dryden, and other members of the team discussing the sport of college hockey with the Penn Staters and their faculty adviser. The Penn Staters departed East Hill not only with the experience of watching the Cornell hockey machine and the Lynah Faithful, but with what few provisions that Cornell's hockey staff could provide. I was determined to research further into the connections between Cornell and Penn State hockey. I would have to wait until I was back in North America as my work schedule would not abide my delving into deep historical research of either program.

When I returned home, I was shocked to discover how easily one could delve into the history of Penn State hockey. Kyle Rossi via Thank You Terry had chronicled large swaths of Penn State hockey history. His blog was an infectious read for anyone curious about the history of college-hockey programs and the different forms of college hockey. I discovered the rich history of ACHA college hockey and the roots of Penn State hockey.

College hockey, like college football, is defined by history. A program that has history possesses legitimacy that almost no amount of winning can equal. Success in college hockey must have a vintage. Rossi taught his readers and me that despite the talking points of higher profile media sources that Penn State hockey was not a new phenomenon.

The treatment of the ACHA as an afterthought or lesser brand of hockey began to grate on me. This is thanks to my regular reading of TYT. The ACHA in many ways is college hockey distilled to its essence. The fans that go care about the outcome of games and the players in them. TYT led me to these conclusions.

The readiest analogy is that the ACHA is an entire level of hockey filled with fans like those found in the ECAC and a few other programs throughout the college-hockey landscape, not the likes of fans who sit in ~10,000-seat arenas and cram around televisions in concourses and suites to watch a football or basketball game with a hockey game unfolding before them. Kyle Rossi was very much a part of this culture in the ACHA. And, in many ways, that may explain his retirement of TYT as the program he followed made the ultimate jump.

TYT covered Penn State's last run in the 2012 ACHA Division 1 National Tournament with the zeal that more regularized media cover the Frozen Four. The loss to Oakland University was heart-wrenching. Kyle Rossi began covering the Icers program as a student at Penn State and the loss signified the end of the era that drew him to Penn State hockey; an era that he loved. An era during which Penn State won five ACHA national championships.

Kyle Rossi became a friend of WAFT's contributors over that time. It was during the off-season before the 2012-13 season that he encouraged us to start WAFT. Rossi was a long-time fan of ECAC Hockey, two programs in particular, and believed that our voices could add to the college-hockey dialogue. Many stylistic and tonal elements of WAFT are influenced by TYT.

He taught us that there are fans who care about historical research and supported even our rougher efforts to find our voice. WAFT hoped to create reader-friendly narratives for Cornell fans, both new and old, with the living anecdotes of the fanbase and data that are available. TYT and its creator were supportive all along and for that we are personally grateful.

Penn State's first season in NCAA Division I hockey began in October 2012. The Nittany Lions fell to American International. TYT was there to provide historically informed and in-depth coverage of the momentous event. The first win for the Lions came the next day. However, as the season continued, tensions began to emerge between Rossi and members of the official Penn State Athletics Department. The cause could not properly be discerned at the time, but retrospect sheds possible light on the situation.

Rossi would goad the official accounts of Penn State for its obvious and insulting white-wash of the history of the Penn State Icers. Why the athletic accounts had such thin skins over such corrections, one may never know. As stated above, college-hockey programs are their history. Reduction of more than four decades of hockey history to a couple of sentences is insulting to the contributions of generations of players, coaches, and fans who made the transformation from the Icers to the Nittany Lions possible.

Cornell fans, imagine for a moment if someone tried to rewrite Cornell hockey history as beginning with the arrival of Ned Harkness in 1963. Would that go uncorrected? It is comical to even ask that question. To do such would erase the Beebe-Lake Era of Cornell hockey as well as the career of the longest tenured Cornell hockey coach in Nicky Bawlf. No dedicated fan would tolerate such an omission. However, such corrections in the case of Penn State caused tension.

While Penn State began to woo favorable coverage from higher profile college-hockey sites and other media, they began to reduce Rossi's media access. It became obvious that those governing Penn State hockey cared not for the fanbase that TYT and others had maintained when it was the Icers, not the NCAA-sanctioned Nittany Lions, that made crowds of blue and white roar.

The current season of Penn State hockey began with the above conjecture becoming more apparent. Unceremoniously, Penn State hockey did not renew the contract of Steve Penstone. Penstone had served as the play-by-play caller for the Icers for several years.

Penstone and his wife were tireless in their efforts to broadcast all Penn State Icers game, both home and away, via ustream. If there was a voice of Penn State Icers hockey, it was that of Penstone. He had an apparent love for hockey and the Pennsylvania State University. The solely business-minded juggernaut behind Penn State hockey did not care. It coldly did not renew Steve Penstone's contract. Penn State may not have suitably thanked them, but I would like to thank them. They served Penn State hockey and college hockey admirably.

Can anyone imagine Cornell doing the same to Arthur Mintz? Or Minnesota acting similarly to Wally Shaver? Steve Penstone was no less integral to the unique experience that was a Penn State Icers hockey game.

It was probably at this time that Rossi began to become critically disheartened with those who manage Penn State hockey. It is around this time that it began to raise eyebrows from even passersby. Kyle Rossi continued to insist that Penn State Athletics not neglect the long and tortured history of hockey at Penn State. He offered at various times his sizable work product to official Penn State Athletics representatives. All signs indicate that the offer was rejected.

Rossi's research indicates that Penn State hockey is one of the oldest programs in the country. It is the 11th-oldest program in the history of college hockey. The first skaters to represent Penn State did so at venues like Duquesne Gardens in Pittsburgh as early as 1909. The official narrative of Penn State hockey neglects those skaters. The program was discontinued.

Histories from TYT continue that varsity hockey returned in the late-1930s and mid-1940s. It was during this era that Cornell squared off with Penn State. Cornell and Penn State, the land-grant universities of New York and Pennsylvania, had tried for several seasons to play one another. The uncertain ice conditions of Beebe Lake and the lack of a home rink for the Penn Staters resulted in many cancellations. The Bawlfmen of Cornell would defeat the Penn Staters in the one meeting in the series in 1944. Penn State hockey has since eliminated Penn State's pre-NCAA contests against Army, so one can conclude that the Cornell-Penn State series is equally zeroed.

Official Penn State narratives indicate that Penn State did have hockey in the 1930s and 1940s. They state that those were the first Penn State hockey teams. A clear falsity. John Dufford was a phenomenal player for Penn State hockey in that era. There is no doubt. However, despite the best efforts of official sources to change history, he was neither the first nor only Penn State hockey player before October 2012.

The Icers era is treated as a footnote in all official sources now. It is worth mentioning that since Pegula Ice Arena has opened, there have been no reports that Penn State's ACHA banners hang from the rafters. There were promises made to such effect during the transition. The sum total indicates that the party-line tale of Penn State hockey is that Penn State sponsored varsity hockey briefly in the 1930s and 1940s then Terry Pegula decided to create a program from the ground up for no reason in particular (ignoring the fact that Pegula's children attended Penn State's summer hockey camps when the Icers program managed them, a fact I learned from TYT).

There is definite irony in the fact that those who serve a program that represents the Pennsylvania State University place such a peculiar emphasis upon NCAA endorsement. Official accounts continue to refer to collegiate hockey as "NCAA hockey" and not the more common "college hockey."

The NCAA did not create college hockey. It was not even its first formalized sponsor. Organized college hockey tournaments date back to 1899. People no less influential than Jack Parker have stated that the NCAA does not understand the culture and needs of college hockey to the detriment of the sport. Yet, Penn State, a university that presently has many qualms about the NCAA, insists on impliedly making the NCAA the end all be all of college hockey. Penn State hockey does this to the disrespect of players from at least three distinct eras of its hockey history.

This understandably upset Kyle Rossi. It is difficult to understand these choices even for outsiders let alone someone so passionate about his alma mater and its hockey program. Officials behind the scenes at Penn State hockey have forsaken the roots of their program. The moment that Penn State announced Terry Pegula's gift provides yet another wrinkle of irony.

The $88-million gift that Pegula gave Penn State was the largest in the history of the University. Terry and Kim Pegula would increase their gift's size to $102 million to ensure that the Nittany Lions could compete with their opponents in the Big Ten Hockey Conference. The cameras were directed at Joseph Battista during the first formal announcement of the gift. The former coach of the Icers remarked that "the Icer family is celebrating today."

Steve Penstone and Kyle Rossi were among the most public members of the said Icers family. Yet, their dedication and passion have been ignored, if not shunned. It appears as though modern Penn State hockey cares little for "the Icer family" that made championships, NCAA Division I hockey, and Pegula Ice Arena possible.

The most financially successful program at Penn State is without question its football program. When recruits are asked why they chose Penn State over programs like Alabama, Michigan, or Ohio State, what do they answer commonly? Because Penn State football has preserved the family atmosphere of its program and feels neither professionalized nor commercialized. For some reason, those governing the hockey program in Central Pennsylvania think an antithetical approach will produce success. The organic Icer family has been forsaken in the hopes of building a broad, albeit less passionate, fanbase. For what has a program profited, if it has gained scholarships and a new building, and lost its altruistic and loyal essence?

This is truly a sad turn of events. Perhaps fans of Cornell hockey should relish when the Big Red rose to prominence. The early rise of Cornell hockey may have insulated Cornell from the forces of commercial interest. The family-like feeling of games, shared appreciation for history, and loyalty of the fans became institutionalized before money-making desires could adulterate them.  Lynah Rink was renovated to preserve the family atmosphere of the experience for fans as well as for teams within the locker room. The Lynah Faithful are family.

Penn State hockey could become a great program at the NCAA Division I level, but a college-hockey program that ignores its history can never be great. It is a contradiction in terms. Kyle Rossi cultivated a wider fanbase before the behemoth of Penn State athletics public relations kicked into full force. Thank You Terry had avid readers whose experience of Penn State hockey was enriched with nearly every post. He suffered and covered the emotional ups and downs before high-profile college-hockey figures could tell you when puck drop was at Greenberg Ice Pavilion. That is why the institution of Penn State hockey should be grateful. Rossi cared when there was no financial incentive to do so and it was not kitsch yet. His coverage and passion were real.

His social media tactics may have at times been polemical, but they were almost without exception to good effect for his audience and his University. Kyle Rossi and the medium of TYT represented Penn State and Penn State hockey well. He never embarrassed his alma mater in his work. He was unabashedly proud of his University and the student-athletes who represented it. For that, Penn State hockey and Penn Staters should be grateful.

The work of TYT may be unappreciated by some, but the contributors of WAFT appreciate its service. TYT and its creator provided advice and support while WAFT found surer footing. For this, we at WAFT are very appreciative. The work of Kyle Rossi preserves the legacy of innumerable players, coaches, and fans that would be otherwise neglected. TYT provides diehard Penn State hockey fans, both those who exist and who have not yet found their passion, with the ability to learn the full and actual history of their beloved program.

Fans will discover it. Like works of art after the deaths of their creators, it may take time for the true value of the research behind TYT to be appreciated fully by the desired audience. Kyle Rossi provided an informed and learned voice for a once-fringe program at a major university. He added to the dialogue and diversity of college hockey. For this, the college-hockey community should be appreciative. We must say thank you for Thank You Terry. Thank you, Kyle.

As evidenced by the form that WAFT's countdown takes in counting down not 'til Cornell's exhibition contests but instead its first regular-season contest, it may be obvious that this writer has a preference for games that count. However, this preseason in particular, I have found myself over the last week or two looking forward eagerly to tonight's exhibition contest. I am perplexed by this. So, I have decided to offer seven reasons (the number of inclusive days until Cornell's regular season begins at Nebraska-Omaha) that you should be excited to watch Cornell's exhibition game tonight as well.

7. Red Front
A lot has been made from other media sources that Cornell's loss of Greg Miller, who served as leading point producer for three season in a row like his now-franchisemate Matt Moulson, will be a stumbling block for the young Cornell squad. The York Lions may not play the staunchest of defense, but it will be evident early how new freshman forwards fit in and if players like Dustin Mowrey, Cole Bardreau, Brian Ferlin, Joel Lowry, and John McCarron are poised to have the big years that Cornell may need from them. Schafer has alerted the Lynah Faithful and fans that Matt Buckles, Eric Freschi, Jeff Kubiak, and Jake Weidner are forwards he expects to contribute in their own rights early. So, sit back and enjoy the early developments of an offensive front that soon will be forged into a red-hot blade that cuts through the defenses of opponents.

6. Return of Cole
Cole Bardreau means a lot to this Cornell team, the Lynah Faithful, and the Cornell community. The junior won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2013 World Junior Championships in Ufa, Russia. He was an alternate captain for the red, white, and blue. His season ended after a punishing and questionable hit at Houston Field House. Bardreau suffered a neck injury and but for a slight anatomical anomaly may not have been able to recover fully for normal life let alone playing hockey at such a high level. The junior would have been drafted in the 2013 NHL Draft had he not been injured. The contest against York will be the first time that Bardreau throws on the Cornell sweater since January and will have been a long time coming for the passionate forward. For new fans, watch him to ignite the energy of his teammates both on the ice and on the bench. His flair for leadership will reach you whether you are at home or in the friendly confines of Lynah Rink. And he does not take no for an answer when it comes to success and achievement of goals. Watch, cheer, and welcome Cole Bardreau back to the ranks of the carnelian-and-white-clad skaters.

5. Last Season Ended Too Soon
This writer has let go of ranting about a few questionable calls in Cornell's 2013 ECAC Quarterfinal contest against Quinnipiac. At least on this medium. The Big Red fell in game three of that quarterfinal series. Nonetheless, this is Cornell hockey and, as Joakim Ryan stated recently, the Lynah Faithful have come to expect more out of their teams. The team last season made Cornell proud. There is no question. They swept Princeton in the playoffs and then dominated Quinnipiac through much of the first and third games of that series. They played with skill and integrity. However, that does not dull the lingering pain of an offseason too long. The last time that Cornell's season had ended so early was in March 2007. Cornell made the ECAC Championships weekend in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. Furthermore, Cornell made the national tournament in 2009, 2010, and 2012. One can see why the Lynah Faithful were left with the feeling that Cornell's season ended two weeks too early. It has been a long offseason, too long by Cornell standards, and it will be cathartic to see the historic power of the ECAC rolling again on the ice against York University.

4. First Game on the Ivy League Digital Network
I am not sure what to expect from a hockey broadcast on the Ivy League Digital Network. But, isn't that part of the fun? Okay, okay that may be too optimistic. I hope that we are long past the days of the infamous red question mark on Redcast. This is the first season of the Ivy League's newest pet project. The Digital Network seems the perfect platform for airing all of Cornell's games at Lynah Rink as well as those at the barns of the other five Ivies (20 regular-season games in total). A digital platform, such as the Ivy League Digital Network, allows Cornell's sizable fanbase in Canada to watch the games with ease with purchasing a subscription. It is also advantageous to American fans who do not reside in the Northeast or Central New York because it allows a cost-effective à la carte choice that does not require purchasing expanded cable packages and is not subject to regionalized channel services. With perennial Cornell radio broadcaster Jason Weinstein with the call, how can you go wrong? Subscriptions are available at a 20% discount now with the promo code IvyHockey2013 here.

3. New Blue Line
Even though the offensive potency of Cornell has been highlighted and questioned most, it is the Red's blue line that lost the most talent last season. It is hard for many to imagine finding easy replacements for Braden Birch and Nick D'Agostino. Both will have a tremendous legacy in Cornell hockey history. Kirill Gotovets, Joakim Ryan, Jacob MacDonald, and Reece Willcox who all saw significant ice time and found their respective niches return. Senior Craig Esposito figures to contribute this season. Esposito has made a name for himself on Cornell's golf team and it will be interesting to see how his skills on the links parlay to success on the ice. However, it is arguably the freshmen who present the most intrigue. Each defensemen that joins Cornell this season is highly touted. They include Holden Anderson, Clint Lewis, Patrick McCarron, and Eric Sade. Each come from different paths, but each already has the potential to contribute mightily to Cornell's ambitions this season. The learning curve of these defensemen likely will pace how quickly Cornell can reach its potential. Andy Iles will be more than able to hold up his end of defending Cornell's net while the talented newcomers learn Schaferian systems, but comments from Mike Schafer indicate that at least two of the new defensemen will help ease the load on the senior netminder. Schafer remarked recently that Clint Lewis and Patrick McCarron show the potential to be starters already. Look for them to begin logging major minutes in this exhibition outing and watch as Schafer cycles in some of the new defensive talent to see where they complementarily fit.

2. A Long Way from Home
Another principal reason to get invested in this exhibition contest is the fact that Cornell begins on the road. The offseason was too long. The regular season begins on the road. After the game ends this evening, it will be two weeks until Cornell returns home to face off against Princeton and Quinnipiac. Enjoy the ambiance and aura of Lynah tonight to tide you over 'til when Cornell returns. The regular season beginning 1,100 miles away from East Hill makes it all the more important to enjoy the first glimpses of Cornell's 98th team and enjoy the return of Cornell hockey.

1. Experimental Chemistry
Typically, I am one more for theory than experimentation in the physical sciences. However, there are some things that one can learn only by doing them. This Cornell team has not faced an opponent yet. The Cornell coaching staff has not had to make adjustments to outcompete opponents yet. There will be many variables on the ice this evening. The team and the coaching staff will be tested to make adjustments. This York Lions team is a good team. Make no mistake. They are competitive and their roster has players who played in major juniors, the ECHL, and the AHL. The game may be significantly more laid back in terms of approach than a contest against Boston University, Harvard, or Yale, but the goal is still to win. It will provide some thought-provoking if not entertaining moments watching the dynamics of a new team develop in a contest whose result will not affect the post-season hopes of Cornell. Look for subtle interactions that show that freshmen are learning the new systems or that upperclassmen have developed new levels of chemistry. Who will join Ferlin and Lowry on a line after Miller graduated? Will Bardreau and McCarron be reunited? Where do new forwards factor into the mix? With whom will the freshman defensemen be paired? All of these questions will be addressed and as spectators we may begin to see them answered this evening as Schafer and his staff may realize that a mixture that works in practice does precipitate real success on the ice.