Forgotten chapters of stories and lost books of volumes are often germinal to the legacy of the work to which they belong. The same can be said of the first installments of rivalries. There is something intuitive about recognizing that the first clashes between two eventually heated foes influence the trajectory of the dynamic of a rivalry. If it will become a rivalry of respect or animosity, or one of undifferentiated rage or ceremony are all questions that begin to find their answers in the first meetings of two programs.

Most members of the Lynah Faithful know that Cornell met Harvard in 1910 for the first time. Clashes between the Red and Crimson began to have elements of the spectacle that they are today in 1962. That rivalry struck a fever pitch in the 1972-73 season as fowl and fish found their way to the ice surface. Cornell's rivalry with Wisconsin began in 1970 when the Big Red eliminated the Badgers after they had received their first berth to the NCAA Tournament. The 1973 and 2006 installments of that series solidified the tone of the Cornell-Wisconsin series. As Red Hot Hockey IV looms on the horizon, this writer realized that few know the stories behind the first encounters of the two historic rivals of Eastern college hockey. These are those stories.

East Hill, nestled in Central New York, and not far from Ontario, proved fertile soil for the emergence of a great college hockey program. The Cornell Daily Sun reported that students as early as the 1890s had palpable interest in starting a hockey program for the University. It took several years and several near misses before Cornell finally began sponsorship of a collegiate hockey program for the 1900-01 season. Coach Smith led his icers to a perfect season over three contests. Cornell outscored its opponents three to one.

The banks of the Charles River waited nearly two decades more before Boston University began sponsoring a collegiate hockey program. Boston University began its first college hockey season with Coach Burkhardt leading the skaters of the University. The team that had not gained a mascot yet fell in its single contest of the season. The contest was played at the Boston Arena of the early 19th Century. The paths of the eventual rivals were set to collide.

Between the first contest that Cornell hockey played to its first meeting with Boston University, 25 years passed. Boston University waited a mere eight years to confront its historic New York-hosted foe. The series opener occurred in Boston University's fifth season. Boston University appeared on Cornell's schedule for the first time in the Big Red's 19th season.

Boston University and Cornell, two programs that would become synonymous with greatness in college hockey, experienced only mere punctuated success before the 1924-25 season. Cornell owned an all-time record of 40-42-3 before that season. Boston University fared worse with an all-time record of 3-17-0. Six and three coaches had led the programs of Cornell and Boston University respectively. Despite these obvious setbacks, Cornell compiled four perfect seasons including an undefeated and untied season for a national title in 1911.

Boston University and Cornell arranged to square off on the ice on January 10, 1925. It would be the first time that the two programs met in a semi-continuous series that is now nearly 90-years old. Legendary coach Nicky Bawlf led the Central New Yorkers against the Bostonians. It was Bawlf's fifth season for Cornell. His opponent on the other side of the ice would be George Gaw who was leading Boston University's icers in his first season.

Boston University's hockey program took only its second trip outside of New England when it swung through Clinton, NY and Ithaca, NY. Boston University possessed a 1-1-1 record before its road trip. The lone win was against Boston College. The meeting with Boston University was Cornell's first contest of the 1924-25 season.

Boston University had practiced for over a month on the artificial ice service at Boston Arena. Cornell relied upon the natural ice of Beebe Lake to practice. The weather on East Hill was not conducive to the Bawlfmen's practices. Cornell had been unable to get on the ice until the Monday before its game against Boston University. The roster of its team was not expected to be finalized until the afternoon after the game against Boston University.

The 1924-25 team for Cornell University returned only three players. Stainton led the team as captain while the other two veterans were Tilton and White. The other members of the team included former members of the freshman squads at Cornell. Benton, Boesche, Bubier, and Cook counted themselves among those ranks. Newcomers who were expected to become star forwards for Cornell were Aronson, Breckenridge, and Wright. Coach Bawlf was greeted with 50 potential players who wanted to represent the young university in Ithaca. He would retain most of them.

Boston University had made its potential known early in the 1924-25 season. Coach Bawlf was keenly aware of the quality of his first opponent in his fifth season. Bawlf highlighted two players in particular that had propelled Boston University to a 0.500 winning percentage before the weekend's contest. M. Kontoff and Martin were those players. The former served as a defenseman and captain. The latter was Boston University's goaltender, or as he was dubbed then "goal guard." Boston University had not recorded a winning season before the 1924-25 season, but most in the small community that was college hockey began to believe that was about to change.

Cornell's line-up for the first installment of what would become Red Hot Hockey included three veteran players and three sophomores. The Red skaters that would take the ice against the Terriers, a nickname that Boston University adopted a few years prior in 1922, were Bubier, Cook, and Tilton as forwards, Edminster and White as defensemen, and Stainton as the goaltender. Gaw of Boston University would put up Lawless, Scott, and J. Kontoff as forwards, M. Kontoff and Ling as defensemen, and Martin as the goaltender to respond to Bawlf's unknown talents. Nicky Bawlf, in a manner that predicted the eventual arc of Cornell hockey strategy, stated that Cornell's playing of a sound defensive game would allow his team a chance to defeat the Terriers.

Face-off was announced in The Cornell Daily Sun with much fanfare and emphasis. Cornell hosted Boston University at Beebe Lake at 3:00 pm on Saturday, January 10, 1925. Gaw's team was reeling from the previous night's 2-0 loss to Hamilton College. Boston University was motivated. Cornell was untested.

The action that throngs of Cornell students witnessed on Beebe Lake unfolded in the shadow of the yet unbuilt Balch Hall. Fans stood on the ice against the make-shift boards that rose a few inches reinforced with mounds of snow to hold them in place. The skaters of both universities dazzled the fans with their speed. Boston University penetrated Cornell's zone immediately after the opening face-off. As Bawlf predicted, sound netminding and defensive play allowed Cornell to return the rush.

Cook, for the Big Red, collected the puck in his end and maneuvered it between Boston University's captain and Ling. The Cornell forward split the defenders and had an open shot on Boston University's exposed netminder, Martin. Cook unleashed a shot and it found the back of the net at one end of the Beebe Lake rink. Cornell students who knew or had heard of previous eras of hockey greatness at Cornell applauded. It was a sophomore forward from Cornell who scored the first goal of the now-historic Boston University-Cornell series.

In an era when line changes had not become a part of the game, Nicky Bawlf found himself needing to make many substitutions to keep his less conditioned skaters fresh against the better conditioned Boston University squad. Bawlf would make 14 substitutions during the course of the game. Gaw would make only four such changes.

Cornell controlled the first third of the game. Boston University had difficulty generating considerable offense and the Big Red kept pace with the Terriers at the early stages. The game remained essentially even with Cornell's enjoyment of any slight advantage. The game changed abruptly.

Boston University took over. The Terriers would total seven goals after Cornell opened scoring in the contest and series. Boston University's Lawless and Scott bested Stainton in Cornell's net twice each. Both M. Kontoff and J. Kontoff added a goal. Ling would score a lone goal as well. The Big Red was unable to equal such an offensive outburst, but it was not entirely answerless.

One of the substitutions that Nicky Bawlf made paid dividends. Aronson was the first player to be substituted into the contest for Cornell. He was also the last. It was on Cornell's last substitution of the game that the sophomore skater impressed. Spectators witnessed the speed and agility of the smaller Aronson as he produced multiple chances in Boston University's end of Beebe Lake. The second goal for Cornell came from Aronson's swiftness. The sophomore provided a meek response, despite the spectacle of its form, to Boston University's seven-goal run.

Cornell fell 7-2 to Boston University on Beebe Lake in the first meeting between the programs. Cornell went on to lose three more contests that season while recording only one win. The opposite was true for Boston University. A successful program finally represented Boston University. The Terriers went on to earn a 7-4-1 record. It was the first winning season in the history of Boston University hockey.

The second meeting between Cornell and Boston University occurred just over a year later on January 23, 1926. After its first successful season, many in college hockey believed that Boston University would compete for a national title in the 1925-26 season. Dartmouth was expected to be Boston University's main competitor for a national title. Cornell, 14 years removed from its own national title run, had far more modest expectations before the 1925-26 season.

The Boston University-Cornell game in 1926 was not Cornell's first of the season. Cornell hosted and defeated Clarkson in a 2-1 affair. The Big Red traveled to play the Big Green of Dartmouth at Davis Rink earlier in January. The hopeful national champions in Hanover embarrassed Nicky Bawlf's skaters with a 12-1 victory for the home crowd. It was one week before Cornell would confront the Terriers, the other anticipated competitor for the national title, at Beebe Lake. The outlook seemed bleak.

The importance of the Boston University-Cornell contest became evident. Boston University could not risk a loss that could prove fatal to their national title hopes. Cornell wanted to make a statement on its lake after the Terriers inflicted the biggest loss that Cornell hockey had suffered in Ithaca in its quarter-century history.

Bawlf's preparation for the game indicated the weight that he gave the contest. A collection of graduated college hockey players who were regarded as all stars scrimmaged against Cornell just days before the tilt between Boston University and Cornell. That team included star players from programs such as Princeton.

The beginning of the second meeting between the Big Red and Terriers could not have been more unlike the end of the first contest. Cornell's captain, Tilton, a senior forward, collaborated with junior forward, Aronson, to keep consistent pressure in Boston University's zone for much of the first half of the contest. For much of the contest, it appeared as though it was Aronson and Tilton against Martin, Boston University's goaltender. The two Cornell forwards bested Boston University's defensemen with surprising ease, however the Terriers's netminder was more than equal to each challenge through almost the entirety of the game.

Cornell's defenseman Taylor and its netminder Nash had answers for the few challenges that the Terriers could muster. The game was Cornell's for the taking. The wool-clad spectators who watched on the Lake as Cornell battled Boston University must have imagined there was a 50-50 chance as to which Cornell skater would best Boston University's Martin for a victory. They were partially right.

The minutes of the game lingered. They passed nonetheless. Boston University could not solve Nash. Cornell could not solve Martin. Gaw managed to change the flow of the game in the second period. The head coach of the Beantown natives substituted Gregoire for Scott. The Terriers were energized immediately. The pace of the game hastened. Cornell continued to generate chances, but Boston University had clawed its way back into the game.

The third period arrived with neither team scoring. The game was back-and-forth. Cornell generated sustained pressure down low. A scramble of bodies and sticks in front of Boston University's cage and Martin resulted. The speedy Aronson was predictably part of the offensive effort. It was Aronson who blasted the puck into the back of the Terriers's net. Cornell had broken the deadlock. It had battled even with a bona fide national title contender and it had taken the lead.

A series scarcely can be a rivalry without its contentions and controversies.

The moment that Aronson deposited the puck into Boston University's net, the Terrier skaters and Coach Gaw protested and gesticulated wildly. Bawlf and his Cornell skaters believed it to be a good goal. The Boston University partisans demanded that the goal be disallowed. They claimed that Cornell's rush on Boston University's net was a result of an off-side pass. Cornell disagreed. Vehemently. The officials sided with Boston University in the most controversial call in Cornell hockey history at that point.

The game returned to a 0-0 mark. Aronson had scored with less than four minutes remaining in the contest. His efforts were for naught. Less than one minute after the contentious debate about Cornell's would-have-been goal, Boston University found an answer to Cornell's Nash.

Boston University's Gregoire collected the puck from behind the Terriers's net after Cornell apparently had found the back of it. He raced from his end of Beebe Lake toward the Cornell zone. As he reached the blue line along the boards, he unleashed a shot at Cornell's net. The puck off of his stick took an odd path, arced, and fell into Cornell's net. Approximately three minutes remained in the contest. Boston University took a one-goal lead. The goal, unlike that of Cornell, stood.

Time expired. Boston University won the contest. Boston University earned the first two victories in the series. Cornell felt that it had earned a split and was denied a marker that would have guaranteed the Big Red at least a tie against Boston University. Cornell would not soon forget the anger at a possibly deciding disallowed goal. This controversy made the animosity of the rivalry even more pitched. It was evident as the assemblage on Beebe Lake departed that the programs of Boston University and Cornell were destined to become heated and historic foes.

More than four decades would pass between the first two meetings of Boston University and Cornell, and the beginning of the modern series. Cornell may have fallen in the first two encounters on Beebe Lake, but it would go undefeated in the next 11 meetings with ten victories over that span. It is hard to believe that deep in the recesses of the institutional memories of Boston University and Cornell hockey that the controversy of that January 1926 game was not the germ of a heightened rivalry that biennially fills Madison Square Garden in college hockey's greatest single-game event.

The rivalry is a historic one, not just because nearly one-tenth of the installments of the series have decided championships, but because of its sustained passion. The first time that Boston University and Cornell faced off, three of the Original Six of the NHL had not been established. One of the three that had, the Boston Bruins, was not even two months old when the Big Red and the Terriers first battled on Beebe Lake. The series is an essential element of hockey culture in the United States.

When the Lynah Faithful and Terrier fans assemble at the newly renovated Madison Square Garden this November, it is easy for them to forget the humble origins of the series they are about to witness. They are the descendants of spectators huddled along mounds of snow on a frozen lake in Central New York to witness the rivalry's first installments. It began like the sport itself, on a natural frozen pond. It is appropriate to know the history of the rivalry in the 1960s and 1970s. It is important to reflect that a rivalry immortalized during its eras with Harkness and Kelley at Lynah Rink, Walter Brown Arena, and Boston Garden began with Bawlf and Gaw on Beebe Lake. The rivalry may grow and change, but it was a rivalry from the first.

Last Meeting:
The last time that the Purple Eagles of Niagara University braved Lynah Rink, they performed admirably. The visitors gave the home-standing Red nearly more than it could handle as Cornell used the game as an appropriate and trying tune-up before Red Hot Hockey III. Niagara dominated considerable amounts of the play during the game. In short, the Atlantic Hockey program made Cornell play its game. The Eagles proved to Cornell, a season before it was known to the college hockey world, that Niagara was a program with which to be reckoned. Niagara outshot Cornell at Lynah Rink in November 2011. The difference between victory and defeat that evening was Andy Iles who delivered a flawless game that made Cornell's lone third-period goal make the difference. The Purple Eagles would end the season with a 17-11-9 record. This total included a tie against Frozen Four-bound Union. Niagara ended the season in the Atlantic Hockey Championship Semifinal to RIT.

This Season:
Niagara had high hopes entering the season. The Purple Eagles were the deserving recipient of the first at-large bid for Atlantic Hockey. When they arrived in the national tournament, they did not disappoint. Niagara held perennially potent national contender North Dakota to two goals in the 2013 NCAA West Regional Semifinal. If there was a single star of that game, or that season, for the Purple Eagles, it was Carsen Chubak. Chubak nonetheless forewent his senior season and left the Niagara program. This early departure has left a tumultuous wake for Dave Burkholder's program.

Can the Purple Eagles replace Chubak? Had Chubak returned, he would have undoubtedly been in the conversation as a Hobey Baker candidate. But, his decision to leave renders these conversations counterfactual and makes what many assumed would be a second season of Niagara's dominance a period of readjustment for the Purple Eagles. Goaltending has been the downfall of Niagara this season.

Departed is a netminder with a 0.939 save percentage and a 1.91 goals-against average. What has risen in its place is a goaltending tandem that has combined for a 0.882 save percentage and a 3.81 goals-against average. The tandem of
Adrian Ignagni and Jackson Teichroeb has not been able to keep the Purple Eagles in the win column often this season. Niagara has defeated only Canisius, in a series split, and Army, in a series sweep.

The goaltending woes of Niagara are exacerbated by modest offensive production. Niagara averages nearly 0.5 fewer goals per game than it did last season when it went to the national tournament. This lower offensive explosiveness coupled with a 6.1% decrease in netminding efficiency has proven fatal. Five of Niagara's games have been decided by a two-goal margin. The remainder have been decided by much more. Only two of those contests have been in the Purple Eagles's favor.

The strength of the swarming Purple Eagles is that they provide a consistent attack. There is no line or set of players that produces the vast majority of goal-scoring opportunities for the Eagles. No one player has scored more than one game-winning tally. No skater that has played all 12 games for Niagara has scored fewer than four points. Additionally, no player has scored more than eight.

Niagara represents a sound Atlantic Hockey program. A program that will not dominate and dazzle you with one line of awe-inspiring talent, but one that is equally likely to strike on any shift and that opponents must respect throughout the entire course of a contest. Even Niagara's netminder Teichroeb has joined in on the balanced scoring with an assist on the season.

Isaac Kohls stood out in Niagara's contest against Michigan last weekend. He generated several scoring opportunities. Patrick Divjak also showed an ability to grapple with the talents of the Wolverines at fearsome Yost Ice Arena. Mirroring the breadth of scoring talent on Niagara in these fact is that neither player ranks as the Purple Eagles's most prolific scoring contributors. Those honors belong to Mike Conderman, Ryan Rashid, and Hugo Turcotte. Each has contributed eight points while the latter two have contributed four goals each.

What to Expect:
A team that is far better than its record. Niagara may look like a pushover on paper, but any spectator who thinks that Cornell will win easily has forgotten the lesson of November 2011. Niagara is a team enduring growing pains after the most successful season in its program's history. It will right the course. It most likely will do so with a great win. What Cornell must do is ensure that it does not give the Purple Eagles the win that they need.

Niagara is motivated after a 6-0 loss at Michigan. Anyone who watched the game realizes that Dave Burkholder's comment that the game was much more even than the score was exactly correct. Niagara generated sporadic pressure deep in Michigan's zone. The Purple Eagles set up several key plays that just missed the mark of conversion. After the first period, Niagara was outshooting the Wolverines on their home ice surface.

Niagara is a team that will come to fight and has the skill to make the Big Red pay. Cornell has been relying on the power play to fuel its offense. Half of Cornell's offense has been driven by its power-play unit. If the contest with Niagara remains close late, Cornell may need to rely on even-strength grit to down the Purple Eagles. Less than one-fifth of the goals that Niagara has allowed have been on its penalty kill.

It is worth noting that Niagara is the least high-scoring opponent that Cornell has faced to date. However, consider this: Niagara is tied currently with its 2013 NCAA West Regional Semifinal opponent, North Dakota. This should give Cornell pause. Niagara is a team that cannot be overlooked, as Coach Schafer and his team have stated.

Niagara is a solid team that is waiting to find balance. A staggering loss to Michigan may provide the impulse to find that equilibrium. Cornell should be ready for that possibility. The game will be waged in all phases. Cornell's power play should be more than sufficient to overcome Niagara's struggling penalty kill that ranks in the bottom five in the nation. However, Cornell should battle to find the back of the net whenever it can because if the Big Red fails to respect any line of the Purple Eagles, the visitors in purple could quickly make this contest a game and in quick fashion could take the advantage.

This game will be a hard-fought contest for both sides. Niagara is looking for a win desperately and winning at Lynah Rink could provide the type of emotional euphoria that Dave Burkholder knows can lift his team into a more successful season in Atlantic Hockey. Cornell needs to show that it is dedicated to the task at hand and the opponent atop the white board, and not looking ahead, because if they look beyond the purple and white, the Big Red will risk departing Lynah Rink in defeat.

Historical Note:
Cornell and Niagara are two of ten college hockey programs in New York State. The Purple Eagles of Niagara University are the youngest member of the fraternity that is the close-knit hockey community of the state of college hockey. Niagara began sponsoring college hockey at the NCAA Division I level in the second year of Coach Schafer's tenure, the 1996-97 season. The Purple Eagles made the leap to Division I after sponsoring a club hockey team previously. Despite the youth of Niagara's program, the Big Red of Cornell has met them 13 times on the ice. Cornell appeared on Niagara's schedule in the newcomer's second season at the Division I level. It took only two meetings before Niagara defeated Cornell in the third all-time contest between the programs. The disparity of history between the young Niagara program and the historic Cornell program is absent in the series. True, Cornell owns an overwhelming winning record of 11-2-0, but the games themselves have been astonishingly even. Eight of the 13 meetings have been decided by one goal.

Historical Note:
Last season, Cornell mounted a dominant effort against Yale on Friday evening in a nationally televised game. Cornell nearly won the contest against the eventual national champion. The next evening, when the Big Red squared off against Brown, Cornell fell flat. The game would become the third loss in a streak that would extend to a now-infamous length. It was the manner in which Anthony Borelli and Brown left no question that they would shut out Cornell through much of the contest that left an impression on most attendants at Lynah Rink that evening. It was a historic event. Brown had shut out Cornell only four other times in a series that was in its 54th year. Ned Harkness suffered a shutout in his first season. He would suffer no others to Brown. Mike Schafer earned his first shut-out loss to Brown last season. One might view it as a rite of passage.  It was only the second time that the Bears of Brown shut out the Big Red of Cornell at Lynah Rink. The first came in the second-ever meeting of the Ivy-League foes in March 1959. Never has Cornell suffered two consecutive shut-out losses to Brown at Lynah Rink in the history of the series. This Cornell squad will look to defend that streak when it plays Brown in the 119th meeting of the programs.

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.

The journey to the North Country is always a revelatory one. Great seasons are distinguished there. The most recent seasons of carnelian-and-white dominance in 2003, 2005, and 2010 set themselves apart during their trips to Cheel and Appleton Arenas. The North Country trip in the 2002-03 and 2004-05 seasons witnessed Cornell's most recent sweeps at Cheel and Appleton. The 2009-10 season was when Cornell managed a win at Cheel and a tie at Appleton for three points out of the North Country despite the team's suffering from Pizza Hut-induced illness. It was one of Cornell's two three-point weekends from the Clarkson-and-St. Lawrence roadtrip since the Big Red's last sweep in the 2004-05 season. The other occurred in the 2011-12 season. What is apparent is that the way teams fare in the North Country is a crude barometer of the heights they reach later in the season.

This writer predicted that it would be apparent early during Friday's game if Coach Schafer managed to get through to his players after often hapless efforts in the Capital District. I stand by that prediction. Ben Sexton from Clarkson put the puck in the net for the Golden Knights a mere 45 seconds into the opening frame. The message was not sent; or at the very least, it was not received.

Andy Iles was called on many times in the first period to make spectacular saves to keep Clarkson's lead to one goal after letting one slip by early. Cornell escaped the first period, but it was Clarkson that was still buzzing. Shots on goal are not always a barometer of the flow of play, but the seven-to-two differential in favor of Clarkson captured the apparent angle of the ice.

Cornell came out and looked slightly better in the second period. However, it was the Big Red that would allow again the first goal of that frame. Just over five minutes into the frame, Allan McPherson (remember that name), gave Clarkson a two-goal lead. It was at that moment that Cornell appeared to wake up and realize that it was in a position to lose this game. It was in a position to suffer a zero-point weekend. It was at that moment that Cornell began to play well. The switch flipped after 25:09 had expired.

Clarkson was caught in its own end for long segments of time and the Golden Knights began to have difficulty penetrating the neutral zone. Cornell's chances were not great, but line changes began to become a challenge for Clarkson as it was often caught in its own end. Clarkson needed to resort to icing the puck to gain a respite several times in the second and third periods. It took only five and a half minutes before Cornell struck.

Clarkson was whistled for a penalty at 9:54 of the second period. Casey Jones's Golden Knights shut down Cornell on its first power-play chance. The best power-play unit in the nation looked impotent against the penalty killing of Clarkson on Cornell's first chance. It changed when Dustin Mowrey unleashed a shot from near the point that John McCarron muscled past Clarkson's Greg Lewis down low to begin Cornell's rally.

Casey Jones must be a strict adherent to the principles of Schafer because when the third period began, it was apparent that Clarkson was content to defend its 2-1 advantage. Cornell did not take its foot off the accelerator. Clarkson needed to rely upon delaying tactics to catch its collective breath. The first five minutes of the third period saw Cornell squander another power-play opportunity to even the score. It would not be its last of the period.

The opening for Cornell came at the 12:09 mark of the third period. Cornell wasted no time. Cornell rushed back into the zone. Lowry, for a point on his birthday, and Ryan connected with Ferlin to knot the game. It seemed that Cornell was headed for a guaranteed point. A victory seemed likely. The pressure that Cornell maintained made it seem that a regulation victory was within ready reach.

Clarkson of course began to fight back, but it was Cornell that still controlled the game. In the final 7:23 after Cornell tallied the tying goal, Clarkson mounted only two threatening rushes. The second proved fatal.

The Golden Knights got deep pressure against Iles and forced Cornell on its heels. A scrum in front of the net led to at least three shots from the Golden Knights. Cornell assembled in front of the net, screening Iles, but never finding the clearing shot to arrest the onslaught. Unchallenged, Allan McPherson (remember him?) shot, collected his own rebound, and found an empty third of the net with Iles committed to the right post. Cornell challenged admirably in the last 37 seconds. However, sluggish play and a momentary lapse had done all the damage that was necessary to give Clarkson the victory.

Cornell delivered a high-end and disciplined effort for 34:14 minutes of a 60-minute contest against Clarkson. This included rallying against a stalwart defense and top-end goaltender. The promise is apparent, but the lack of consistency and the drop-off in efficacy when Cornell is not clicking on all cylinders proves ominous. Schafer stated that a lack of fire and implied apathy was why Cornell could not close out Clarkson and why the Big Red has delivered less than complete efforts against Quinnipiac, RPI, and Union before it. In a post-game interview, Schafer stated it was on him to get the team ready to compete the next evening.

Where Coach Schafer appeared to have failed the week before, he seemed to have struck the right chord the evening between the Clarkson and St. Lawrence contests. Both Cornell and St. Lawrence needed a win desperately. Cornell was winless in four outings. St. Lawrence had fallen in its first contest in weeks at proud Appleton.

Cornell made sure early to control the pace of the game. The Big Red would not spot St. Lawrence a lead like it had Clarkson. It was Cornell's power play, a unit that would become the top-ranked power-play unit in the country before weekend's end, that gave Cornell a lead that it would not relinquish. St. Lawrence took to killing a penalty at 4:21 of the first period.

The Saints got a few clears and challenged Cornell foolishly deep in the Red's end. Cornell did not have much zone time, but once it set up in the Saints's end. It was mere moments later that Ryan and Ferlin connected with Lowry to give the lattermost his birthday goal a day late.

St. Lawrence's power play evened the goal as one of the Brothers Carey bested Andy Iles on the power play. Greg Carey, a Hobey Baker Award hopeful, according to some, taunted The Captain from Cornell as the elder McCarron left the penalty box. Unwise choice. The Captain appeared driven by fire. John McCarron assisted on Joel Lowry's second goal of the contest. Lowry's blast was from the right face-off circle and beat Weninger glove side.

Cornell's strike was again on the power play. The game was even for a brief 44 seconds. The Saints got the message. Dustin Mowrey contributed a second assist on Brian Ferlin's first goal of the contest. Ferlin corralled passes from his teammates on a bad turnover from the Saints. Ferlin put it in the back of the net. Greg Carvel switched his netminder.

John McCarron gave Tyler Parks, the back-up netminder, a warm welcome to the contest less than four minutes later. The three-goal, 4-1 lead at the close of the first period proved insurmountable for the Saints. What happened next was disappointing. Cornell took its foot off the gas.

Predictably, the defense saw Cornell's attempt to retreat into a defensive shell and dare St. Lawrence to make it a game again. Cornell at its best does this with uncanny ease. However, at one moment, Cornell was far from at its best.

Sloppy stick-handling from Cornell defensemen in front of Iles led to a horrible turnover down low that put Sean McGovern of St. Lawrence on Iles's doorstep. With little space or time in which to navigate, McGovern bested Iles for his first collegiate goal. The goal was a quick reminder for this Cornell team how quickly even a minor mistake can ruin a solid effort.

Ferlin would tally a second goal of the evening that put the game in the win column even though 1:53 remained in the contest. The final margin of victory was 5-2. The take-away messages from both contests are the same despite the differing results.

When this team plays with fire and intensity, its efforts are enough to take down the most talented teams in the nation and in ECAC Hockey. When this team even allows a slip of discipline or encroachment of apathy into its game, the level of the team plummets to a level uncharacteristic of even poor Cornell teams allowing opponents to convert in record time. No effort will be perfect, but the trend this season is that when Cornell errs, it errs with conviction. These errors have been almost team-wide and systemic collapses, rather than individual collapses, that allow for easy goals like the last goals allowed against Clarkson and St. Lawrence over the weekend.

Coach Schafer was concerned with lack of "fire" after the game against Clarkson. It came back against St. Lawrence. However, the question remains how long will the fire remain stoked? Moments of malaise plague the team and seem capable of downing even its best efforts. The margin of error with this Cornell team is smaller than it has been with most.

Recognition is in order for some of Cornell's most talented players who showed up in a huge way on Saturday. Brian Ferlin, Joel Lowry, and Dustin Mowrey had three-point efforts against St. Lawrence. The Captain did his part with two points. Eight Cornellians recorded points also including Kubiak, MacDonald, Ryan, and Willcox. A balanced attack downed the Saints.

While the return efforts of some that have been sorely missed over the four-game winless drought, players like Dustin Mowrey and Joakim Ryan have contributed mightily, even in ties and losses. Armand de Swardt had a great game against Clarkson on Friday night. De Swardt generated zone time and even challenged on a few key scoring opportunities.

Clarkson and St. Lawrence had few high-quality scoring chances. Most opportunities were from the outside and up the ice. The exceptions in the first contest were the first and last Clarkson goal while in the second contest it was St. Lawrence's second tally. However, this all is generally reassuring.

The four-goal total in one period for Cornell was the most a Cornell team has scored in one period since Cornell scored four goals against Clarkson at Lynah Rink in January 2010. The most memorable recent game in which Cornell scored four goals in one period occurred in November 2009 when the Big Red rallied to dominate the Crimson at Lynah Rink. The feat should be neither over- nor under-stated. If Cornell continues to play with passion, then it is a great benchmark of what can be. If Cornell dapples in indifference, then it will become a painful remainder each time it falters of what could have been.

Cornell returns to Lynah Rink bringing with it the most lethal power-play unit in the nation. The Big Red have left unanswered if it is among the best in the nation. It is a wide-open question. Cornell has shown glimmers of greatness, but until it can produce sustained success this season it is not sufficient to take solace in popular perceptions informed by the long historical coattails of Cornell hockey.

As Cornell's trip through the North Country comes to a close, this season's Cornell hockey program should heed the advice of legendary St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh. Marsh stated that "tradition is not something you really can rely on. It is something that you have to build on." This Cornell teams needs to build off of this weekend. It is then that it can begin to worry if it can add to the proud tradition of Cornell hockey.

This Cornell team has had moments of greatness already, but only sustained success can prove it is a truly great team.

Historical Note:
A revelation for this writer last evening was that Clarkson regards Cornell as the second-biggest rival of the Golden Knights. The primary rival of green and goldenrod of the North Country is St. Lawrence. So, naturally, I assumed that the Golden Knights would dislike its fellow engineering institution in ECAC Hockey, RPI, the second most. Anyone who follows twitter or listens closely at Houston Field House can see or hear that the fans of Engineer hockey still say that "Clarkson still sucks" after the one-minute-remaining notification is given. But, apparently, as Casey Jones said in a recent interview, Clarkson views the Big Red of Cornell as a rival. This writer has viewed Clarkson always as a respected foe with a proud history, but not a hated one. And, for many, there needs to be animosity for the rivalry to exist. Most of the Lynah Faithful and this writer in particular feel no pent up animosity toward Clarkson.

The fans of the Golden Knights may have a point. Clearly, Clarkson and Cornell are among the most successful programs in ECAC Hockey. Cornell has the most wins in the national tournament with 18 victories. Clarkson has the third-most with 13 wins. The Golden Knights handed Cornell its first loss in the ECAC Hockey Championship game in 1966. Clarkson and Cornell have met three times since that first meeting in the title game. Cornell has won all three. Remember April when the media was emphasizing the fact that Quinnipiac and Yale were from the same state? New York State was the first state in the history of the NCAA Tournament to produce two programs that battled for the national title. Those two schools were Clarkson and Cornell. Currently, Clarkson is on a list with New Hampshire and Providence as historic programs without a national title. It is in large part to that first-ever intrastate feud that Clarkson remains on that list.

Cornell had won its first title in 1967. Clarkson had been runner-up twice before the 1970 NCAA Championship Final. Cornell stood between Clarkson and its first NCAA national title. It was both programs's third trip to the NCAA Championship Final. Cornell emerged victorious in a hard-fought, but spectacular game, to end its perfect season with a national championship. Clarkson has not returned to the national-title game since then. There may be more to a possible rivalry between Clarkson and Cornell than this writer initially thought. Perhaps, with a Cornell alumnus at the helm, Clarkson can overcome its veritable curse to become the fifth national-championship program of the current ECAC Hockey.

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.

After this weekend's outings, I have decided to take a different approach to this weekend's recap. It is slightly less formal, but perhaps captures the messages and learning lessons from Cornell's trip through the Capital District better than any lengthy recap could. First, Coach Schafer said it best in his press conference after Union's dominating defeat of Cornell.

The above video is borrowed from Union Hockey Blog. I was unable to attend Cornell's game at Messa Rink in person, so as I awaited the posting of the video, I decided that Schafer's reaction to the loss would provide a bifocal lens into the internal expectations and workings of Cornell hockey. It would clarify one of two things, if not both: whether Schafer believed that his team this season can compete at the championship level expected of Cornell hockey teams and if he still had the fiery zeal to win. I am far from a member of a particular enclave of Cornell fandom, but a coach with as high of a social IQ as Schafer can parlay mediocre results into reassuring analysis with his skills of verbal manipulation. Schafer, like a few others coaches in ECAC Hockey, can make his audience hear what they want to hear in his speech. Flatly, I did not want a Rorschach test of a post-game press conference. I wanted outrage at the team's performance; or at the very least, disappointment.

The Lynah Faithful got both along with a few other illuminating comments. Schafer was unhappy with how his team performed in the game at Union. Cornell played a good game on Friday night. It was not a great effort. However, in a venue where the fans hate Cornell perhaps more than they do at any other venue in ECAC Hockey, Cornell battled valiantly. The second period was sloppy. But, with its back against the wall, Cornell battled back from a 1-3 deficit to tie the game with two goals in 65 seconds against a team that was making few mistakes. A glimpse of what could be. Cornell generated sustained pressure in the overtime frame, but it was Andy Iles who was three times forced to make highlight-reel saves to keep the game even.

Cornell equaled RPI, a team expected to be elite in ECAC Hockey, in what was an emotional win with the way Big Red rallied to tie the contest. The emotional hangover was too much. The Dutchmen of Union College dominated Cornell in their own effort to right their ship after undisciplined play led them to a loss to Colgate. It was Rick Bennett's first victory over Cornell. Bennett coached teams that went to the Frozen Four and embarrassed Boston College in the NCAA Tournament. Cornell did not lose to either. But, on Saturday, Cornell fell to a Bennett-coached Union squad.

There is no disgrace in losing a hard-fought, closely played contest. But, that is not what Saturday was. Going through the gory details of what went wrong serves few people from the student-athletes to the fans who have wounds of their own from the loss. The simple conclusion is that Cornell did not do enough and was not ready enough. This is where Coach Schafer's comments are most illuminating.

Schafer gave Union credit for the win. It deserved it, but I omitted those parts and included those sections which indicate his opinions of how Cornell performed in the contest at Messa Rink. There are few better recaps or more cutting critiques than those words.

Many have invoked the pain of last year, particularly the losing streak, as a specter of failure, but most in media have used it in a contradistinctive manner. They distinguish why this season has gotten things right while last season did not. At this point last season, Cornell had a record of 3-2-1 and earned three points in ECAC Hockey. What is Cornell's current record? 3-2-1. It sits with three points in ECAC Hockey. Nearly nothing distinguishes the two. I highlight this only in an effort to draw attention in any way that I can so that the errors of last season, that condemned Cornell to a low seed and a nearly insurmountable task for a successful playoff run, can be addressed early.

Alarmism? Perhaps. But, it is better safe than sorry. It appears that Coach Schafer feels similarly. He stated that he, not the team's strength and conditioning coach, would lead the team's practice at 6:30 am on Monday morning. It appears that Schafer has not lost the fire to motivate his teams to compete. The question of his efficacy will be addressed in the coming weeks. Much will be learned in the next several days.

It was not accidental that last Thursday WAFT highlighted the 1996 Whitelaw Cup season. That season is remembered less for the ultimate championship that was won than how Coach Schafer righted the course for his first Cornell team, and arguably the program, after a 1-4 loss to Army at Tate Rink. The post-game laps that he made his first team run taught his team of the importance of discipline and execution, and that there was no excuse for losing in Cornell hockey. After Saturday's outing, it became obvious that this team, Coach Schafer's 19th team, needed another such moment.

Cornell had been winning games, yes, but its efforts were incomplete. One can continue to recite that the team has been giving a "60-minute effort," but that does not make it so. It has been winning, but it has not been reaching its potential. The first game against Nebraska-Omaha, Cornell took the second period off. Its play went from stifling and creative to less than stellar and at times lethargic. Then, Cornell obliterated the Mavericks in the third frame. The second game of that series was the closest Cornell has come to a 60-minute effort, but again, the second period saw a lull with one individual player's mistake in the third leading to a goal for the Mavericks. Princeton did not stand a chance against Cornell in the first two periods of that contest. Then, Cornell squandered a chance at a shutout in the third with sloppy play including surrendering a goal with barely more than 30 seconds remaining. The first goal may have been excusable, but the second was undisciplined. The Quinnipiac game saw Cornell deliver a great first period, but then wither when it did not down the Bobcats on the power play. RPI knotted and took the lead over Cornell on two poor plays from the Big Red. Cornell's only great time of effort was in the closing minutes of the contest when the Big Red mounted a stellar rally to tie the game. Then, the Union game where Schafer could find barely nothing laudatory to say. The Union game was not an aberration, but was an inevitable result of coasting and getting results that were good-enough, not great.

Think this analysis is off-base? Listen again to Schafer's interview.

Notice the Freudian slip? Coach Schafer states that he has been this upset with his team's effort "this year." He rewords his phrase quickly, but it is a telling comment. Cornell may be getting some positive results, but it is playing nowhere near its potential and it has begun already to dig itself a hole that will become too difficult to dig itself out of if change does not occur soon. Last season, the second weekend of ECAC Hockey play was where some of the flaws in Cornell's foundation were apparent. Flaws that led to that now-infamous and much-invoked losing streak. Those flaws went unaddressed. The result? Cornell lost in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals for the first time in six years.

Cornell has fallen to eighth in the standings of ECAC Hockey when they are weighted for points earned per contest. Cornell is averaging only 0.75 points per in-conference match-up. That pace is tied with that of Brown and is just higher than that of Harvard. Compare Cornell's rate with the 1.75 points per in-conference contest that Quinnipiac is earning currently.

Coach Schafer is not happy with the efforts of some of his players. WAFT will not venture any guesses of which players because we remain loyal to our pledge to never hang blame or target any individual student-athletes. Cornell wins and loses as a team. The head coach has made it apparent that he plans to hold the team, individually and collectively, accountable. Also, the 6:30 am practice on Monday morning proves that he has not lost the passion to do what is needed to show that Cornell hockey demands success from its teams. One is left to wonder what the bus ride back from the Capital District was like on Saturday evening.

It needs to be said that despite these honest criticisms and a lack of goal production, Cornell's freshmen have been phenomenal.

Why bring any of this up? It is still early. The course can be righted. Last season, those associated with Cornell hockey from WAFT to those more closely connected with the team did a disservice to the Lynah Faithful and the Cornell team by glossing over early-season blemishes. It seems that a different tack has been adopted. Accountability is this season's currency of the realm.

Cornell could be dominant, not just competitive, in the best league in college hockey if it stopped coasting and focused on defeating each conference opponent, whether ranked or unranked. This will require focus and mental strength. Only time will tell. WAFT will be here along the way.

Let's hope that the team got its wake-up call on Monday morning.

Historical Note:
Union is aiming for the truly historic with the goal of winning a third Whitelaw Cup. Much has been made that Union would be the first team since Boston University in 1976 to win three consecutive ECAC Hockey Championships. However, what of what it would mean for Rick Bennett? Ned Harkness won four consecutive ECAC Hockey Championships for Cornell, but he did not do it in his first four seasons on East Hill. Rick Bennett, like Mike Schafer, won a Whitelaw Cup in each of his first two seasons. However, if Rick Bennett manages to win a third consecutive ECAC Hockey Championship, he will tie the record of Boston University's Jack Parker who won the four consecutive titles of the Terriers. Bennett would be unique in that he achieved the feat as the first ECAC Hockey Championships for his program, like Harkness, and in his first three or more seasons, like Parker. The 1975-76 team that won Boston University's third consecutive ECAC Hockey Championship went on to the Frozen Four where they fell to Herb Brooks and the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the national semifinals. That team from Boston University counted Mike Eruzione and Jack O'Callahan as members. It is fitting that if Rick Bennett has the opportunity to seek a third consecutive Whitelaw Cup, that he will do it in Lake Placid.

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.