Blog Archives

Requiem of Schafer: Seasons of Victories and Turning Points

11/6/2013

Mike Schafer has a proven ability to prepare his teams for the best programs of college hockey.

Keeping success in perspective is a tenet of Mike Schafer.

Cornell hockey history is long, but like all great histories, it is a history of epochs. The current era of Cornell hockey is dominated by the success and personality of its head coach, Mike Schafer. Schafer was a feared and revered player at Cornell when he played on East Hill from 1982 until 1986. He was a two-time captain of Cornell during his playing days. He returned in 1995-96 to helm the Big Red. He promised to return Cornell to its rightful place among the elite in college hockey.

Schafer was regarded quickly as one of the greatest defensive minds in college hockey. His teams were noted for producing the best goals-against averages and save percentages of any teams in the nation as well as producing special teams that would deconstruct and control opponents from all tiers of hockey. He achieves all of these feats with the high academic standards of Cornell University and the shortened schedule of an Ivy-League program.

Friday's victory over the Tigers of Princeton was Coach Schafer's 350th win. The 350-win plateau has become a de facto plane that distinguishes elite coaches from their peers. Little fanfare accompanied the game, but it was a major achievement. Mike Schafer is the winningest coach in Cornell hockey history. He has brought more Whitelaw Cups to East Hill than had any of his predecessors. He has earned more berths to national tournaments than any other coach in the history of Cornell hockey. Nearly half, 47%, of all bids that Cornell has earned to the NCAA Tournament have been earned by Schafer-coached squads.

Mike Schafer reached the 350-win plateau faster than most of his peers who have done the same. He did so with the abbreviated schedule of the Ivy League. It has taken Mike Schafer 18 seasons and three games to reach the 350-win mark. Predictably, this correlates to Schafer's owning of a winning percentage of 0.623 over his career at Cornell. Schafer's winning percentage is the seventh-best of all active coaches. Red Berenson of Michigan and Dick Umile of New Hampshire are the only active coaches with better winning percentages who have earned more than 350 wins at the same institution.

The 2013-14 season marks Mike Schafer's 19th season behind the Cornell bench. It took Schafer just 615 games to gain a status that only 51 other coaches have in the history of college hockey at the Division I level. Little commemoration surrounded Schafer's attainment of a milestone. His historic 350th win deserves recognition, so WAFT decided to highlight 19 games that capture the essence of Schafer's time on East Hill to date.

The 19 games chosen are by no means exhaustive. Not all are wins and not all claimed championships. The greatest part of college hockey is that it is captured in shared, subjective experiences, so if you think that we missed one or would like to tell the story of another, please comment. Here is WAFT's list of 19 games that shade the contours of what it is like to have been a Cornell player or member of the Lynah Faithful during the first 19 seasons of the Schafer Era.

19. December 3, 2011

Clarkson at Cornell, 0-0 T, Lynah Rink
The legacy of great coaches often extends behind the games that they coached or won. Their influence includes the way that their proteges or assistants shaped the game. Casey Jones was such an assistant. Jones graduated from Cornell in 1990. He became known as one of the best recruiters in college hockey when one of his recruiting classes propelled Ohio State to the Frozen Four. Mike Schafer lured Jones back to East Hill with the promise that Schafer would help and encourage him to find a head coaching job in ECAC Hockey. Jones now helms the Golden Knights of Clarkson and gives added emotion to clashes between Clarkson and Cornell. The first meeting of the two was historic as many wondered if the apprentice would become the master. Jones appears to have turned Clarkson around, but has yet to record a victory at Lynah Rink.

18. October 26, 2006

Robert Morris at Cornell, 4-1 W, Lynah Rink
ECAC Hockey programs lament that some major programs in Hockey East and the former WCHA refuse to be good college-hockey Samaritans. Cornell proved that helping programs find games was not just an impotent talking point under Mike Schafer. The newest program in college hockey was Robert Morris in 2004. It took just two seasons before Cornell invited the Colonials to East Hill to play the neophyte program. The founding and current head coach of the newest program in college hockey at the Division I level is former Cornell assistant Derek Schooley. Schooley followed Schafer from Western Michigan to East Hill. Schafer coached Schooley as a defenseman for the Broncos from his freshman season until Schooley graduated. In 1997, Schooley would follow his onetime defensive coach to Ithaca, NY. Schooley still reflects fondly upon his brief time at Cornell. Schooley has built his program from the ground up. The Colonials have registered key upsets already in their program history including defeating Miami last season in the Three Rivers Classic. Additionally, Schooley helped spearhead Pittsburgh's hosting of the Frozen Four last season. All things considered, it indicates how Schafer's influence affects an emerging program in Robert Morris and reached the highest level of the sport last April. Schafer may have been victorious in the first meeting, but it would be great to see Cornell return the trip to 84 Lumber Arena in Pittsburgh, PA.

17. November 24, 2012

Michigan at Cornell, 5-1 W, Madison Square Garden
In the early 2000s, it seemed that the scale of the NHL proved alluring for Mike Schafer. However, that was all before the rise of Red Hot Hockey. Over a six year period, Boston University and Cornell sold out Madison Square Garden three times in odd years. The installments of Red Hot Hockey were absolute sell-outs. The notion of Cornell hosting a game alone began to become popular. Some doubted if it was financially feasible. Then, before the 2012-13 season, it was announced that Cornell would host the inaugural Frozen Apple on even years when Red Hot Hockey is hosted on odd years. Cornell dominated Michigan in a rematch of the 2012 NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal with a 5-1 victory, but what was equally poignant was that Cornell could do what few other programs in college hockey can. The Big Red sold out Madison Square Garden for the fourth time in seven years in an environment nearly as electric as that of Red Hot Hockey. Cornell proved that it was unique and its clout among the greatest in the game. What at one time seemed like an incentive for Schafer to consider the NHL, now seems like a forgotten afterthought when the most technologically advanced arena in the NHL roars to life with the passions of the sport's greatest fans.

16. March 13, 2009

2009 ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Game 1, 0-1 L, Lynah Rink
Just ask anyone, particularly RPI fans, if Mike Schafer has a problem speaking his mind. The answer will be a resounding "no." The moment that captures these sentiments best is the 2009 ECAC Hockey Tournament Quarterfinal Series at Lynah Rink. RPI was the opponent. The Engineers managed to rest a 1-0 victory from Cornell at home. Schafer was displeased with the fact that only seven penalties were called during an apparently chippy contest. Schafer remarked to the media after the loss:

“Our league has got to wake the hell up. Period. Let’s give RPI full credit. In that game, they beat us tonight. They did what they had to do to win. It’s no disrespect to Seth and his program. Hell of a job by them coming in here. They did what they had to do to win. But when is our league going to wake up with our officiating? There’s obviously a directive. Anybody that watches our hockey throughout the whole course of the year that sees the way that the game was called throughout the whole course of the year, sees a game that’s totally different in playoffs. The holding, the tripping, the mugging, the tackling. This isn’t hockey. What are we doing as an ECAC league? Where’s the direction to call the game the way it’s supposed to be called? And obviously I’m putting myself at risk here tonight, but I’m a veteran coach in this league. I’ve been around enough to see that this can’t continue. Call the play. Call the penalty."

Schafer was in fact putting himself at risk. He was suspended for the second game of the series. His team forced a game three and its head coach was behind the bench as Cornell won the rubber game. The Lynah Faithful were sure that Schafer's words reinvigorated his team and woke up lax officiating, while RPI fans were certain that Cornell controlled the officials of ECAC Hockey.

15. March 24, 2012

2012 NCAA Regional Final, 1-2 L, Resch Center
The choice of this game could be as readily interchanged with the 2009 NCAA Regional Final. The results of both contests left an impression on Cornell hockey fandom, the institution of Cornell hockey, and the coach who leads both. Mike Schafer has one of the best records of all coaches in college hockey of winning regional semifinals. It is in the deciding game that sends a team to the Frozen Four that Schafer-coached Cornell teams have suffered in two of their last three appearances in the national tournament. In 2009, Cornell rallied to defeat Northeastern late in the semifinal contest to advance to fight for a chance to go to the Frozen Four to implode against Bemidji State. In 2012, Cornell defeated national-title hopeful and favorite Michigan in commanding fashion for an inopportune broken stick to snap Cornell's chance to compete for a national championship in Tampa Bay, FL. The monkey is thoroughly on Mike Schafer's back. He knows it. After a hard-fought, but close, loss to eventual national runner-up Ferris State, Schafer remarked in the press conference:

"It's a disappointment when you have so much invested. Congratulations to Ferris moving on to the Frozen Four. I've been in this situation a lot as a head coach and we've faced a lot of disappointment in this regional to get to the Frozen Four. Then, back in 2003, we thought we'd get back there quicker and we haven't...To not achieve that goal of getting to the Frozen Four is a huge disappointment."

14. March 23, 2002

2002 NCAA Regional Semifinal, 6-2 W, Centrum Centre
Some games are less about the outcome than how they occurred. The 2002 NCAA Regional Semifinal against Quinnipiac is such a game. The opponent did not matter. The dominating result did not matter much. What the 2002 regional semifinal symbolized was the first time in over a decade that Cornell had earned a berth to the Frozen Four with an at-large bid rather than the Whitelaw Cup. It was the first such at-large bid under Mike Schafer and it was the fourth at-large bid that Cornell had earned to the NCAA Tournament in program history. Mike Schafer has earned three such bids since then.

13. March 27, 2005

2005 NCAA Regional Final, 1-2 L, Mariucci Arena
Cornell is a program that recognizes few moral victories. A championship or banner, or nothing seems to be the mentality. Mike Schafer has cultivated that culture to great effect and has brought five tournament championships back to Ithaca with that mindset. However, in 2005, Cornell showed how elite it was when it faced the Golden Gophers of Minnesota in the regional final of the NCAA Tournament. The game between the historic powers would be played on Minnesota's home ice at Mariucci Arena. Cornell would be forced to play with much less rest as their regional semifinal was played later in the evening than that of Minnesota. Schafer's lone reservation about playing a high-stakes game against the Gophers in their own building? The amount of rest Cornell would have. This singular reservation proved uncannily accurate and prophetic. The two best teams in the nation in the 2002-03 season were Cornell and Minnesota. They practiced nearly diametrically opposite systems with Cornell's defensive regime and Minnesota's more open European-influenced system. In 2003, they were destined to meet in the national title game, until a series of events took place that led to Cornell falling to New Hampshire in the national semifinal. The 2005 NCAA Regional Final would serve as a fill-in for a game that seem preordained that never happened. Cornell struck first as Mitch Carefoot gave the Big Red the lead. The Gophers responded less than two minutes later. However, it was Cornell that would dictate the pace of the game in regulation. It seemed that Minnesota's greatest nightmare of being controlled by a defense-first team from the East had come to fruition. The game went to overtime stalled at 1-1. It took nearly five minutes for Minnesota to score on the less rested Cornell. But, Mike Schafer and his 2004-05 team proved that even with the most disadvantageous situations Cornell was again able to compete with the best teams in the nation.

12. December 28, 1998

1998 Badger Showdown, 3-2 W, Bradley Center
Some momentous events pass unnoticed. Others experience fanfare upon their arrival. Cornell's victory over Wisconsin in the 1998 Badger Showdown is of the former kind. Or, at least, upon reflection it seems a historic marker largely forgotten. ECAC Hockey had not regained the current level of pride that it enjoys today. Western programs, those of the CCHA and WCHA, were viewed as superior to those from either conference of the East. It fell to the major programs of the East, including Cornell, to uncover the falsity of these beliefs. It took Mike Schafer just three seasons before he showed the skaters on East Hill that their style of hockey could defeat even the most fearsome opponents from the West. Behind two goals from Ryan Moynihan, the Big Red toppled the Badgers of Wisconsin for Mike Schafer's first victory against a historic Western team. It was Cornell's first win against a team from the historic West since 1991 when Cornell took one game out of Michigan in the 1991 NCAA Tournament. It was Cornell's first win against a WCHA team since the 1986 NCAA Tournament when Schafer, as a senior captain, led Cornell to a victory over the Denver Pioneers.

11. March 22, 1997

1997 NCAA Regional Semifinal, 4-2 W, Van Andel Arena
Cornell's first season under Mike Schafer was spectacular. The Big Red won a tournament championship for the first time in a decade and returned to the national tournament for the first time in five years. That is where Schafer's first season would end. Cornell lost to Lake Superior State in the first game of the 1996 NCAA Tournament. After doing the unthinkable and repeating as ECAC Hockey Champions in 1997, it was apparent what Cornell needed to do; it needed to make a run in the national tournament. The emerging RedHawks of Miami were Schafer's first victim in the national tournament. Two third-period goals for Cornell lifted Cornell to a 4-2 victory and Cornell's first victory in the NCAA Tournament in six years. Cornell advanced. It was the first time that Cornell advanced in the national tournament in 25 years. Since Mike Schafer has been behind the bench at Cornell, the Big Red has advanced in all but two of the nine national tournaments to which it has been invited.

10. March 10, 2007

2007 ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Game 3, 2-3 L, Lynah Rink
Losses if used properly provide wake-up calls. A somewhat lethargic and entitled Cornell squad hosted Quinnipiac in the 2007 ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals at Lynah Rink. The Bobcats swept Cornell, outscoring them two to one over the series at home. It ended Cornell's season. Mike Schafer has used the embarrassment of getting swept at Lynah Rink and not advancing to the ECAC Hockey Championship Weekend to motivate all subsequent teams. Cornell has not lost a playoff series at Lynah Rink since it dropped that post-season series to the youngest member of ECAC Hockey.

9. March 16, 1996

1996 ECAC Hockey Final, 2-1 W, Herb Brooks Arena
This list could have become easily a list of championship games, but the games that clinch titles are not always the most important in institutional memory. However, the importance of Mike Schafer's bringing a championship and pride back to Lynah Rink in March 1996 cannot be overstated. It was indubitably an inflection point in the history of Cornell hockey. Cornell had not won a championship since Schafer was a captain at Cornell a decade before. To reignite passion and zeal, Schafer, a former standout who even the youngest members of the Faithful can tell you broke a stick over his head before The Game against Harvard on December 10, 1983, emphasized the Cornell-Harvard rivalry. The Lynah Faithful were reinvigorated as Cornell swept the regular season against their archrival. Wins of 5-3 and 5-4 were just the beginning that season. The crescendo came when Harvard was the last team standing between Cornell and an ECAC Hockey Championship. Schafer impelled his team to one more victory over its most hated opponent. The resulting 2-1 win restored confidence in Cornell hockey in a way that only winning can. It came with the cathartic cascade of dominating the reviled Crimson.

8. March 12, 2005

2005 ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal, 3-2 W, Lynah Rink
Mike Schafer has lost playoff series at Lynah Rink only twice in his nearly two decades as bench boss. The most recent was in 2007. The first was in 2004. In 2004, Cornell defeated the Golden Knights 5-1 in the series-opening contest. Then, Clarkson outscored Cornell two to one over the next two games in the series. Serendipitously, seeding and results fell in such a manner for the 2005 ECAC Tournament that Cornell would host Clarkson for the second consecutive year with a chance at redemption. Cornell outscored Clarkson four to one over the playoff series. The Big Red swept the Golden Knights. The series was not without its need for heroics. The deciding game two would require overtime, but Topher Scott found the magic to send Cornell to the Times Union Center where Cornell would win its second Whitelaw Cup in three years. The ability for Cornell to come off of a hangover year in the 2003-04 season, after making the Frozen Four in 2003, to win a Whitelaw Cup showed that rebuilding years were not a sufficient excuse under Schafer's tenure.

7. December 1, 2002

Boston University at Cornell, 5-1 W, Lynah Rink
Consider the series between Boston University and Cornell during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons the foil to Cornell's win over Wisconsin in December 1998. Where the latter is rarely acknowledged, the two-year home-and-home between the Terriers and Big Red is very much alive in the institutional memory of Cornell hockey, especially in the mind of Mike Schafer. Schafer points to that two-year series as the turning point for Cornell hockey in the modern era. The series saw legendary coach Jack Parker famously refer to the 2002-03 match-up as "men against boys." Cornell earned a split at Walter Brown Arena in the 2001-02 season and swept Boston University at Lynah Rink in the following season. Cornell won three of the four contests with a 16-to-nine goal differential in its favor. More importantly, it proved to Cornell that again it had the dominance and skill to compete with the best teams in college hockey at any time and in any place. Mike Schafer described this feeling in his own words:

"We walked in and we got a split on Boston University on the road. They were number two in the country. We were number eight. We walked into their home ice surface and we split with them. We came back the following year. We beat them here badly; two games in a row. Our team knew at that point in time, it’s been there ever since, that we could beat anybody at any time or any place."

The series re-established Cornell as a nationally elite program.

6. January 12, 1996

Cornell at Army, 1-4 L, Tate Rink
In defeat, the true character of teams, programs, and coaches emerge. The turning point of Mike Schafer's first season was not a victory. It was a defeat at the hands of an unlikely opponent. Tate Rink hosted Cornell in January 1996. Cornell had managed a respectable 7-5-3 record before it faced off against the Black Knights of West Point. Cornell dropped a 1-4 decision to Army. It was Cornell's first loss to Army in nearly seven years. Mike Schafer believed that the importance of winning as an essential element of the legacy of Cornell hockey was not getting through to his team. Schafer, in a characteristic stern fashion, did not allow his freshman team to remove its equipment. He made them run the stands at Tate Rink. The team was still running the stands when West Point's cadets departed the building for the evening. Then, after his first team began to understand how important winning and a winning effort was to Schafer-led teams, they departed from the Hudson Valley for Ithaca, NY still in its equipment. The team earned 14-3-1 record over its last 18 games. The post-game practice sent a message that has been with all Schafer-coached teams since then; winning is expected and anything less is a punishable offense to Cornell's hard-working coach and hockey history.

5. March 22, 2003

2003 ECAC Hockey Final, 3-2 W, Times Union Center
The next two points on this list easily could be interchanged. Both are important for different reasons. The 2002-03 season was easily one of the best in the history of Cornell hockey. Some would argue that it was the best. It is the nearest competitor to dethrone the 1969-70 season as the most successful in Cornell hockey history. Cornell lost only four regular-season games that season. However, what motivated the team was a playoff loss to Harvard in March 2002. The Crimson bested Cornell in the 2002 ECAC Hockey Championship Final in overtime. The loss was second consecutive title game in which Cornell was denied its tenth Whitelaw Cup. The Class of 2003 was determined to exact revenge against Harvard. Fate smiled on that 2002-03 team as Harvard was the last team standing for the second time in two years. Cornell's revenge would be exacted on the same stage. Sam Paolini scored the game-opening and game-winning goal of the contest. Schafer and his team were ecstatic. A year's worth of work had come nearly full circle. The catharsis was profound. Another goal of Schafer's eighth team was to win a national championship. Cornell stormed to a berth in the Frozen Four with an overtime win over Boston College. Cornell would fall short of winning a national title, but it would end the season as the highest ranked team in the nation. That Cornell team won 30 games to surpass the 29-win total of the 1969-70 team. It remains the winningest team in the history of Cornell hockey. The emotional high point of the season and the most memorable was the moment a season's worth of investment found release as Sam Paolini downed Cornell's archrival to give Mike Schafer his third Whitelaw Cup en route to becoming the coach with the winningest season in Cornell hockey history.

4. March 20, 2010

2010 ECAC Hockey Final, 3-0 W, Times Union Center
Records cannot be viewed in a vacuum. The 2003 and 2010 Whitelaw Cups of Cornell hockey are those vested with the most emotion in Cornell's recent championship seasons. How can a team or a season with a 21-9-4 record possibly rival one with an all but untouchable 30-5-1 mark? The simple answer is the quality of opponents that each defeated, the means by which playoff glory was claimed, and debates surrounding each season. A five-year hiatus separated Cornell's 11th and 12th Whitelaw Cups. People had begun to doubt Cornell's, and by extension Schafer's, ability to remain dominant in the changing landscape of college hockey. The game had evolved and changed since the late 1990s and early 2000s. Schafer knew that he had something special in store for the 2009-10 season. Where the 2002-03 team notched out-of-conference wins against Ohio State, Boston University, and Western Michigan, the 2009-10 team wrested victory from Niagara, New Hampshire, and North Dakota with a tie against Boston University. The elite of college hockey tested the 2009-10 team more during the regular season than it had in any other season. Sheer dominance was what Schafer had on tap for the 2010 ECAC Tournament. Cornell silenced all detractors with allowing one goal against and never trailing as it dominated the ECAC Hockey postseason like no team had in the nearly 50 years of the Conference. Symbolic of the new era, Schafer's fifth championship team needed to defeat a stout Union team that made its first appearance in the ECAC Hockey Championship Weekend. Cornell downed the Dutchmen with its third consecutive 3-0 outing. Schafer proved naysayers wrong with a team that outscored opponents 14 goals to one goal allowed, protected a 0.25 goals-against average, and registered a 0.990 save percentage. Schafer tied Joe Marsh as all-time leader in terms of ECAC Championships won and did so in one fewer season. Schafer secured his place in Cornell hockey history by becoming the first Cornell coach to win five Whitelaw Cups.

3. March 23, 2012

2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal, 3-2 W, Resch Center
It is a cliche that one must beat the best to be the best. In the recent memory of Cornell hockey, the real question is there solace in beating the favorite if you do not go on to finish the task at hand. Cornell was placed in the proverbial bracket of death in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The three other teams that filled the Midwest Regional bracket were Denver, Ferris State, and Michigan. Schafer managed to rally his team after a 6-1 loss at the hands of Harvard in the 2012 ECAC Hockey Championship Semifinals to play into the national tournament with a 3-0 win over Colgate in the consolation game. Cornell entered as a fourth seed. Michigan was the first seed in the regional. Boston College and Michigan were viewed as the two teams that were destined to win a national championship in 2012. The Wolverines were less than 12 months removed from falling in overtime to Minnesota-Duluth in the 2011 national title game. It was national title or bust for the Wolverines. Schafer and his current staff of assistants were more than up to the task of preparing their team to battle with and defeat one of the nation's best teams. After a rough start that gave Michigan a 1-0 lead, Schafer used his timeout. He calmed the team and helped right the ship. Despite what Michigan media and assistants may have said before the game, the winged decals on Michigan's helmets did not strike fear in the hearts of Cornell players who were led by a coach who reinvested pride in his alma mater. Cornell responded. The Big Red took the lead. Then, opportunistically, Cornell scored in overtime to eliminate Michigan. Cornell proved again that it remained the best in college hockey. The Big Red dominated the assumed national champion behind the preparation and in-game leadership of Mike Schafer.

2. March 26, 2006

2006 NCAA Regional Final, 0-1 L, Resch Center
Brackets can be deceiving. The furthest that Cornell went in the NCAA Tournament under Mike Schafer has been the national semifinals. It reached that height in 2003. However, a regional final captures likely the high-water mark of teams under Schafer. The New Hampshire team that downed Cornell in the 2003 Frozen Four went on to be decimated 5-1 by Minnesota in the national title game. There are few better examples when fans and teams at a preliminary round contest knew that its result would decide the eventual national champion than the 2006 NCAA West Regional Final. Wisconsin defeated Cornell. The Badgers went on to dominate the Frozen Four field by outscoring their opponents more than two to one. The triple overtime game that decided whether Cornell or Wisconsin would advance from the 2006 West Regional left an indelible mark on two historic rivals of the national tournament. Cornell and Wisconsin met in the 1970 and 1973 NCAA Tournaments. All three contests have left impressions on both programs. However, it was the most recent that stings Cornell the most as the Big Red was denied its third national championship as the Badgers advanced to claim their sixth. It would have been Mike Schafer's first national championship and Cornell's first in 36 years. Wisconsin advanced to its first Frozen Four in 14 years and Mike Eaves won his first national championship. The contest between Cornell and Wisconsin is the second-longest in NCAA Tournament history. It lasted 111 minutes and 13 seconds. Dave McKee's 59 saves are fourth-most in one contest in NCAA Tournament history. The winner of the contest seemed preordained to win the national title a few weeks later. Members of the Lynah Faithful who found themselves onlooking found it all too easy to imagine another team clad in red and white celebrating their coach's first national title at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI.

1. Date Unknown

Year Unknown National Title Game, Location Unknown
How can you top an all but guaranteed national title run in 2006? The answer is obvious: the real thing. Considering this list commemorates the contributions of Mike Schafer to Cornell hockey on his way to earning 350 victories for the Big Red in the midsts of his 19th season, it seems appropriate to take a page out of his own cache of responses. Schafer is adept in his verbal gymnastics to avoid giving answers that he does not want to give. He nonetheless is consistent in one response throughout all of his career, from his first win to his most recent. When asked what is the biggest win of his career, consistently he responds:

"Still looking for it."

Bringing a national championship back to East Hill has been Schafer's self-appointed task since the early 2000s. He has been very sincere about that. His reliable answer to the above query indicates that he views his career, much like his teams mid-season, as a work in progress. One cannot determine the greatest moment of his career if he does not see it himself. If Schafer and Cornell can get beyond any psychological impasses that may have prevented their ultimate success in previous season's runs, it is hard to imagine that Schafer and his teams can be denied indefinitely winning Cornell's third NCAA national title. The question after that moment will be if he has found his greatest moment or biggest win, or if he will go for another.

0 Comments

Lady Rouge Roundup: First Away Weekend

11/6/2013

0 Comments

Cornell took a point from a game of attrition on Saturday, one day after a high-scoring affair.

Last weekend saw the first road test for the Lady Rouge as they traveled to Princeton and Quinnipiac to take on the feline travel partners in ECAC play. Let's look at how those games played out.

A Look Back
Princeton
Cornell began its road weekend with a strong first period. After a burst of five even-strength goals, with Jillian Saulnier starting the onslaught, Taylor Woods adding two, Emily Fulton grabbing one, and freshman Kaitlin Doering notching her first goal of the season, the first frame ended with Cornell up 5-0. The second frame was a complete turnaround. Princeton showed that they were a team to be reckoned with as they notched four goals of their own, including one on a 5-on-3 Tiger advantage, another power-play goal, and two even-strength tallies.

As the final frame began, Princeton was down by only a single goal. They put up a huge fight, taking more shots on goal than they had in the previous periods, but Lauren Slebodnick did not let a single goal pass her again as the Lady Rouge skated to a tough 5-4 win to stay perfect on the season and pick up two more ECAC points.

Quinnipiac
The next day saw a completely different game. Instead of a game in which nine goals were scored, only two would find the back of the net this time. The first frame was even, though Quinnipiac outshot the Lady Rouge by a 13-8 margin. The second frame saw something that has yet to happen this season: a shorthanded goal. The Bobcats took the lead on a shorthanded breakaway to put them up 1-0, and that's where the frame would end. Halfway through the final frame, Emily Fulton was on a breakaway when she was taken down just before her shot was about to ring. For the first time this season, Cornell got a penalty shot. Emily Fulton skated from the red line and poked the puck through the netminder's legs to even the score.

The remainder of the regulation, in spite of the chances by both teams, ended with the score knotted. Overtime commenced and it ended the same way it began, even. Cornell ended the game with a tie and in spite of that, ended the weekend still atop the standings.

Next week brings a tough test at home with the Capital Region teams visiting Lynah for the first time this season. Let's look at how they've been doing thus far and what the Big Red needs to do to keep their spot at the top of the ECAC standings.

A Look Forward
RPI
RPI might be 2-6-1 on the season, but that is no reason to discount the Engineers. Of their six losses, three of them were by a single goal, two of those in overtime. None of their games have been a blowout, either. And their two wins have been against two strong teams, the CHA's Robert Morris, and conference rival, Harvard. RPI's win against Harvard last weekend was a huge one in the standings. In addition to that, it proved that the Engineer Women can hang with the best teams.

If Cornell takes RPI too lightly, the Engineers have a huge chance to take another win out of a top team. RPI has scored an average of just under two goals per game, and aside from their season-opening win, they have not scored more than two in a game. RPI relies on solid goaltending, keeping shot totals down, and capitalizing on their opportunities when given. Their stats are misleadingly mediocre for a team that is such a difficult one to face. They beat Harvard last weekend and that is something that will likely propel them to feel confidence against the Lady Rouge this week.

Union
Union as a team has typically been the bottom dweller of the ECAC. Already, they are on track to beat the program record for wins. They're at 4-6-0 on the season, including a season-opening win against UConn, wins against Providence and Penn State, and a league-win against power Dartmouth. Union's win against Dartmouth should send a message to Big Red players and coaches alike. The team has noted how even the league was this year, and it is proving to be even more so than previously thought.

Any team can win on any given night. No nights can be taken off this year. Ten of the twelve teams have already scored an ECAC point this season and each night will be huge in terms of points. To defeat Union, Cornell will need to beat Union's netminder. Lundgren was solid last year and has only continued to grow. They also will need to take advantage of power-play opportunities and limit Union's man-advantage situations.

Points
14 - Fulton
10 - Campbell
8 - Cudmore & Saulnier
7 - Woods
6 - Gagliardi
4 - Leck & Poudrier
3 - Bunton & Doering
2 - DeBruin & Murray
1 - Richardson, & Slebodnick

0 Comments

Mixed Messages

11/4/2013

1 Comment

Andy Iles stonewalls Andrew Calof's penalty shot in the first game at Lynah Rink since February.

The build-up before last weekend's games was palpable. It was the first time that Lynah Rink would host a contest of consequence since February. The historic and fearsome building laid dormant for 251 days. It waited for the moment that the Lynah Faithful would return and Cornell would dominate its opponents once more. However, unlike the RPI and Union weekend that was last hosted at Cornell, the weekend's series against Princeton and Quinnipiac provided mixed messages about the potential for this Cornell squad to be absolutely dominating.

The Princeton game was nearly everything that a fan or member of the Faithful could hope for. The building roared. At times it lulled, but when captain John McCarron and his squad needed to be lifted, it was the assemblage of devoted hockey parishioners in Central New York who provided the needed boost.

Cornell challenged early, but in predictable fashion, the Big Red struck first on the power play. The golden boy of Nassau Hall was called for hooking to give Cornell the man advantage. The combination of Joel Lowry, Brian Ferlin, Dustin Mowrey, and John McCarron proved dangerous. As if there can be any doubt with those combinations. Ferlin maneuvered with his unique skating style. He connected across ice to Joel Lowry. The relay of passes was not over as Lowry flicked the puck to John McCarron just feet from the crease who backhanded the puck past Bonar into the back of the net.

The Captain made the environment electric and ecstatic. Many must have thought that this is what it is like to win at Lynah Rink wearing the carnelian and white. John McCarron would continue to do the little things phenomenally well. He forced turnovers, found open men for goals later in the game, and played a responsibly physical game along the corners. Schafer and the ghost of Harkness were pleased.

The second Red tally of the evening came off of a John-McCarron assist. In a scrum in front of the net, sophomore Christian Hilbrich controlled a loose puck and deposited in into Princeton's net. A few moments later, some in attendance may have thought the sweepstakes that WAFT mentioned in its preview was answered. It appeared that Jake Weidner had re-directed a puck into the Princeton net. But, upon further review, it was Brian Ferlin's on-target shot from behind the net that caught Bonar's equipment and landed in the back of the net.

Having his former linemate notch a tally enlivened Lowry who would tally Cornell's final goal. Christian Hilbrich broke out on a quasi-breakaway with Joel Lowry in pursuit. Hilbrich would lose the handle, but Bonar was unable to stop the puck, and few can stop the skills of an onrushing Joel Lowry with a puck laying free in the crease. Lowry did what he does best and put a loose puck down low into the back of the net.

Princeton would record two goals by the end of the contest. It was disappointing not to preserve Iles' shutout. The Ithacan netminder deserved one for his heroic efforts. Cornell allowed two goals to get by its netminder. However, the team and its iron goaltender did more than enough to win the contest. The score may seem close on reflection, but the game itself was not. Cornell dominated all facets of the game from an early stage.

Cornell's efforts included killing off two five-on-three opportunities for Princeton during the second period. Then, after a pile-up in front of Cornell's net, the officiating crew awarded a penalty shot. It was the second that Andy Iles had faced in three games. And, true to any script that could have been written, it was Andrew Calof who took the puck at center ice to challenge Iles. The crowd, filled with fans, family, alumni, and students, cheered of their support for Iles as he loosened up for the challenge. When Calof began skating, the Faithful let him know that he was overrated. True to form, Iles stifled Calof's attempt. And the parting praise of the Lynah Faithful informed Calof that, as he proved, he "just sucks."

The steely, gritty determination to score goals and kill penalties that was there Friday evening evaporated for entire portions of Cornell's contest on Saturday. Quinnipiac came onto the ice Saturday slightly dazed. Cornell obliterated them. Cornell outraced them. Cornell outhit them. The game was Cornell's for the taking. It was perfect execution in almost all regards. Cornell's defense gave Quinnipiac neither time nor space.

Then, the Bobcats handed Cornell the dagger to plunge into their hearts: three consecutive power plays. A reasonable observer would assume that this was when Cornell would bury Quinnipiac. Taking penalties against Cornell at Lynah Rink with the Big Red's power-play unit clicking on all cylinders with a middling goaltender at Quinnipiac's end of the ice seemed like a death wish. That is, until it wasn't.

Cornell squandered three power-play opportunities in the first period alone. This is not counting the two or three ideal opportunities that Red skaters did not convert on even strength. The game could have and should have been put away in the first period. The captains and Schafer invoke the Cornell teams of the 2000s as models of their efforts. Those teams would have buried Quinnipiac under three or four goals in the first period.

I am not sure which coach of the Bobcats speaks to them in the locker room, but whatever he said, Quinnipiac came to play sound hockey in the second and third periods. The Bobcats endured two Cornell power-play opportunities. Cornell would not convert. A mess of roughing activity led to Cornell having two of its skaters sent from the ice to Quinnipiac's one. The Bobcats converted on the resulting power play.

Cornell did not unravel, it deserves credit for that, it still fought back, but the lack of an ability to convert became more exaggerated as time continue. On power plays, some leaders of the team would miss the puck when cycling. The Bobcats were on their heels and then a Red skater would allow the puck to leave the zone.

Quinnipiac would score a second goal off of an obvious penalty on John Knisley that produced an odd-man rush. The penalty would go uncalled and the Bobcats would convert. Matthew Peca would tally his first goal of the season to add insult to injury.

That was the final margin. 3-0. It was Cornell's first loss of the season. When did Cornell lose the game?

The answer to that question will be an unpopular one. The skaters for the carnelian and white lost the contest to Quinnipiac before they even laced up their skates. It is apparent in the mental lapses that were visible even early in the contest. Cornell seemed reluctant to pull the trigger to tame the Bobcats in the first period. Several players missed open nets on rushes. These are not mistakes of mechanics and they were not caused from Quinnipiac's defense that was far from stifling in the first period. They were mistakes of psychology.

Every player who was interviewed before the contest mentioned that he had circled the game and was excited for it. They wanted revenge for Quinnipiac's ending Cornell's season last year. They remembered that the Bobcats made them suffer a 1-4-0 record last season. It is obvious, whether players admit it or not, that Quinnipiac has gotten in their head.

Compare how players and coaches say they prepare for every game of the season with those comments. Each player and coach recites from rote that they prepare for every game the same way with no regard for which opponent they play. Obviously, this is not entirely true. Fans know that contests against Boston University and Harvard draw particular attention, but this was Quinnipiac, a far cry from either opponent in all regards.

The leaders of the team need to get through to the players that Quinnipiac matters no more and no less than any other team. Until they do, Quinnipiac will have inordinate control over the players on this Cornell squad who remember the 2013 ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals series loss. Control that extends beyond sheer talent. Cornell displayed the talent to have decimated the Bobcats in the early portions of the game.

Why should Cornell be intimidated? Players from the Big Red should use the banner test. How many banners would Quinnipiac have hung if it followed the rules of Cornell? Quinnipiac did not win a Whitelaw Cup. It did not win a national championship. It won a participation trophy for the regular season. Cornell recognizes only playoff titles. Quinnipiac would have gotten one banner for earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Compare that to the three that Quinnipiac hung including two banners commemorating a Frozen-Four berth by different terms. What does that tell an observer? Quinnipiac is a program where success is the exception, not the rule. Cornell does not need to forge history, it has it. The rafters are cluttered enough commemorating real success. It does not need to hang a banner for making playoffs that all teams make. Quinnipiac would have three banners in total if it was governed by the same rules as Cornell. The only real championship that Quinnipiac won was in 2002 when it played in the MAAC. Its season ended in a resounding 6-1 loss. To whom? Cornell.

Players and coaches at every rung of the Cornell hierarchy this season have invoked the history of Cornell winning championships as their inspiration and motivation. History is only talk unless it is lived. And, on Saturday, Cornell was living and playing with the historical consciousness of seven months rather than 113 years.

That series loss to Quinnipiac will be a forgotten moment in the history of Cornell hockey. The Class of 2013 won its championship as freshmen. If the Class of 2014 wants to ensure that they become champions, it needs to make sure that its members and the team's leaders psychologically put last season to rest. No game matters more or less, and no outcome can be exaggerated. Both occurred before and after Saturday's game. Both ill serve Cornell's ambitions.

My final thoughts for the weekend are highlighting the exceptional play of several players on Cornell's team. John McCarron has been taking well to the role of captain on the team. He plays with increased physicality, but he has gained an impressive knack to generate offense when Cornell needs a lift. It is noteworthy also that The Captain was not on the ice when Quinnipiac scored any goals on Saturday.

Another player whose play was awe-inspiring the entire weekend was Joel Lowry. Lowry hit responsibly all weekend. His fore- and back-checks were punishing while effective. At one point, it seemed that he was not going to miss a clean hit all weekend. Lowry's scoring touch is still there as he scored an insurance goal for Cornell in Friday's contest and assisted on Cornell's first goal at Lynah Rink of the season. But, Joel Lowry is a more intimidating defensive presence than he has been in seasons past. He has blocked several deadly blasts and often in one swift motion gets the clear on the same shot. So far this season, Joel Lowry has been the most dynamic players at both ends of the ice. Arguably, he is Cornell's best player now.

Dustin Mowrey and John Knisley delivered phenomenal outings against Quinnipiac. When little else was going right in Cornell's game plan, Mowrey and Knisley would gain the zone and threaten Quinnipiac's control of the game. Mowrey created offense despite punishing and clearly directed efforts from Quinnipiac to bottle him up in Cornell's zone. The fast-paced and skilled play of Mowrey and Knisley will pay dividends later in the season even if they could not topple Quinnipiac.

The freshmen who impressed most this weekend are Patrick McCarron and Jake Weidner. Patrick McCarron followed a perfect seam between defenders to challenge Princeton's Bonar. He did not convert, but the ease with which he gained the zone, skated like a forward, and threatened a goal indicates that Cornell's arsenal of weapons behind the blue line is far greater than many would expect. Remember, Patrick McCarron had played only two collegiate games before that challenge. Offensive play from defensemen has propelled Cornell's success historically and it appears that by the time the playoffs arrive, Patrick McCarron will join Joakim Ryan as a break-out offensive threat.

Jake Weidner is the highest point-producing freshman on Cornell's team. He has averaged one point per game. He has not found the back of the net, but on several occasions over the weekend, it appeared as though he was bound to do so. His skill is as good as advertised and he will only get better. It will be exciting to see if once he bests a netminder if he can continue to pour on tallies.

The historic power of ECAC Hockey takes its talents on the road to Houston Field House and Messa Rink next weekend. The freshman class will experience what it is like to play at some of the livelier buildings of ECAC Hockey. The roadtrip may prove beneficial for the team's cohesion. Let's hope the team as a whole heeds alternate captain Andy Iles's message that "it's a long season" and that teams that grow win championships. The Lynah Faithful should look for growth this coming weekend. This Cornell team has the talent to dominate ECAC Hockey, but it needs to take steps toward that goal this weekend.

1 Comment

Previews: Princeton & Quinnipiac

11/1/2013

0 Comments

Last Meeting:
The last time that the Tigers of Princeton University squared off against the Big Red of Cornell University, it was the latter who emerged victorious. In a stirring display of Cornell's perennial playoff dominance, Cornell sank Coach Prier's and his Tigers's hopes of advancing in the 2013 ECAC Tournament. The Big Red outscored the Tigers eight goals to two goals in a two-game sweep at Hobey Baker Rink. The series was a resounding rebuke of Cornell's lackluster performances against Princeton in the regular season when the Tigers outscored the Big Red by a margin of six goals to three goals over two games.

This Season:
Princeton began its season last weekend. Cornell and Princeton will be on equal footing when they square off in the Ivy League- and ECAC Hockey-opening series. However, unlike Cornell, the Tigers did not record two victories. Princeton pounced on the opportunity to win its first game at the Liberty Hockey Invitational at the Prudential Center. The Tigers defeated the Big Green 3-2 in overtime. Tucker Brockett found the game-winning goal. The subsequent evening, Yale would inflict the same margin of loss on Princeton.

Princeton is off to a rocky start in terms of controlling the number of shots that opponents lob toward netminder Sean Bonar. The Tigers have allowed opponents to challenge their netminder with 30 and 40 shots already this season. It was Bonar's effort in the contest against Dartmouth with 37 saves and a 0.950 save percentage that allows his average save percentage of 0.929 to conceal a much more modest outing against Yale.

Special teams have paced the Tigers as three of their five goals scored this season have come with a man advantage. The power play's percentage of contribution currently correlates to a conversion rate of 33%. It appears that early on, Princeton's power-play unit has been the teeth of the Tigers.

The power play alone is not the only weapon of Princeton. Andrew Ammon, Jack Berger, and Andrew Calof are all threats this season, as they were last season. Interestingly, Calof, whose skill set has created considerable buzz about postseason honors, has yet to find the back of the net. Additionally, new threats have emerged quickly. Ben Foster has stayed even with the point production of senior Princeton veterans such as Andrew Calof and Aaron Ave.

The sample size of Princeton's game has been too small to give a holistic view of the game that the Tigers will play. What has become apparent is that Princeton has many weapons, goaltending that will not lose it games, but has fissures in its foundations that can be exploited.

What to Expect:
A lot has been made about Cornell's viewing the contest on Saturday as a chance at vengeance or redemption. Most ignore the fact that Bob Prier and his Tigers may view Friday's game in a similar light.

Bob Prier is a proud alumnus of St. Lawrence. The Saints own the third-most number of Whitelaw Cups and have a long history of playoff success. One can assume he hoped to take strides toward bringing his personal traditions and experiences from St. Lawrence to Hobey Baker Rink last season, but it was Mike Schafer and Cornell who came into his building and delayed construction of that dream for at least one more season. It would be foolish to think that Prier and his squad do not harbor some desire for redemption against Cornell.

Prier's teams have established themselves already as fundamentally sound squads that make few mistakes. Any perceived lack of talent on his teams is more than compensated for in the way that his players approach the game in a nearly flawless manner.

Predicting the manner in which Friday's game will unfold is difficult with so many variables yet unknown for both squads after two games. Cornell and Princeton own the top-two power-play units in the country. The Big Red produce at a rate of 46.7% while the Tigers do the same at 33.3%.

The Tigers own the special-teams advantage with an unblemished 100% kill rate for their special teams. So, yes, for the second season in a row, Cornell will look to face a team that has not allowed a power-play goal when it confronts ECAC Hockey's feline travel partners.

I would assume that Mike Schafer has improved Cornell's penalty killing over the week. Also, Cornell has had nearly three times as much practice killing penalties during in-game experiences because Princeton's perfect record includes only five penalty kills. The Big Red have averaged killing six penalties per game and have killed 12 of 14 on the season.

Bonar has impressive numbers this season, but has only a 0.500 record at Lynah Rink. His save percentage in front of the Lynah Faithful is 0.894, a far cry from the 0.929 that his current stat sheet boasts.

Andrew Calof scored two goals against Cornell in one regular-season contest last season. In their next three meetings last season, Calof was held to one goal on a fluky bounce in the second quarterfinals contest and one assist. Cornell needs to neutralize Calof like it did in last postseason if they want to have the resounding victory that will make Lynah roar in its season opener.

The upperclassmen will need to steady the ship when the nerves of playing at one of college hockey's greatest venues may get to the freshmen early in the contest. The freshmen, as was seen last weekend, can be expected to play their roles effortlessly. Last weekend, it was very difficult for an unlearned observer to identify which players were freshmen and which were upperclassmen.

Expect some of the freshmen to join the scoring on Friday. No freshman has scored a goal yet this season. That will end. Expect it from Patrick McCarron or Jake Weidner. But don't be surprised if Matt Buckles, Eric Freschi, or Clint Lewis beats them both to the punch.

The narrative of the game is truly something has to give. Will Cornell's power-play unit that carried them to success in Nebraska dominate Princeton? Will Princeton continue killing penalties at a gaudy rate? Can the Lynah Faithful intimidate Bonar to allow his form to stumble? Will Cornell dominate Calof?

Last Meeting:
Cornell's season ended. In so many ways, that phrase in itself captures the narrative of the last meeting between the two programs. Quinnipiac ended the season no playoff championships richer than it had begun it, but Cornell still remembers the sting of losing a deciding game three at the Bobcats's corporately sponsored arena. Cornell was 64 seconds away from eliminating the top-seeded and top-ranked Bobcats in their own building. Yes, questionable calls were made and Cornell had a rousing series including three goals from Brian Ferlin and a 60-save effort from Andy Iles that unraveled the best of the Bobcats, but the lingering pain of the loss in itself captures how the last meeting of the ECAC's other Connecticut-hosted school and the Ivy of Upstate New York ended.

This Season:
Quinnipiac lost a majority of its influential players at the end of last season. However, to their credit, the Bobcats have found a way to still keep their win totals in the black. The team is not overly talented and it has found ways to win despite being without the contributions of seniors from last season. The means by which Quinnipiac has maintained its ends of winning are distinct from last season.

Last season, Eric Hartzell kept Quinnipiac in many regular-season contests that the Bobcats could not have won without his solid goalkeeping. Hartzell may not have been a great netminder, but during the regular season, when Quinnipiac was on its winning streak, he made the difference several times en route to the top seed in the 2013 ECAC and NCAA Tournaments. Michael Garteig now tends the pipes. Garteig's performances have been solid, but not good. At best, one can describe Garteig as a goaltender who has done enough, but never more, than his team needs him to do.

Quinnipiac has played in seven contests. Garteig has gotten the start in all of them. In three of those contests, the sophomore netminder saved 85% or fewer of the shots that he faced. Garteig's overall save percentage is a respectable 0.910, but it distorts his very inconsistent nature between the pipes. He has not faced 25 or more shots in a game this season.

Quinnipiac has continued to limit scoring chances through battling rather than elaborate systemics, but this has kept them in the winning column. There will be no decisive or thought-provoking regimes from Rand Pecknold, but his players have battled and blocked shots to keep the scoring chances of their opponents low. This in conjunction with Garteig's less-than-stellar save percentage indicates that Quinnipiac is relying upon an arguably untested and likely unsure netminder when it braves Lynah Rink.

The most vaunted team that Quinnipiac has encountered is that of UMass-Lowell. The Bobcats managed an impressive home-and-home sweep. Nonetheless, despite Rand Pecknold's boosting of the River Hawks and a preseason top ranking in the national polls, it has taken them three weeks to even climb to a 0.500 record. This includes suspicious losses to UMass and Sacred Heart.

The Bobcats have won through wearing down opponents and limiting offensive opportunities. They seem to lack most of the break-out talent or opportunity-creating skills of last season. This is an odd reality because the roster of the Bobcats still includes Connor Jones, Kellen Jones, Matthew Peca, Jordan Samuels-Thomas, and Travis St. Denis.

The stifling penalty kill of last season that was the last in the nation to surrender a power-play goal is a far cry from the special teams of this Quinnipiac squad. The Bobcats have surrendered three power-play goals to date. They still maintain a penalty-kill rate of above 90%, but with questionable levels of competition, the value that can be attributed to that number remains unknown.

What to Expect:
A lot of Quinnipiac fans expected last season to be the season of defense and this season to be the season of offense. Quinnipiac is averaging a respectable, but not intimidating, 3.29 goals per game. Cornell has piled on their opponents 1.21 more goals per game than the Bobcats. The past is largely irrelevant in this contest because psychology is a major factor.

Quinnipiac ended Cornell's season in March 2013. It was at least two weeks before most Cornell fans have grown to expect the Big Red's season to have ended. It is clear that Cornell has an ax to grind against the Bobcats. However, Quinnipiac feels much the same.

Much like the mindset of Union, a program that has climbed from relative obscurity in ECAC Hockey to the elite ranks of the Conference, a few seasons ago, Quinnipiac feels that it needs to continue to validate itself. The only tournament championship that belongs to the Bobcats was won when they were not a member of ECAC Hockey. Furthermore, the Bobcats did not win more contests in a longer schedule than did Cornell's championship team of 2003. All of these factors grate on Rand Pecknold and members of his team. A Frozen-Four appearance is great, but Quinnipiac has been invited to two big dinners, but left with no silverware. The Bobcats feel they need to prove their worth and there is nary a team more suited to prove it against than ECAC Hockey's perennial in-conference and national power.

Peter Quenneville, a former teammate of Eric Freschi, is expected to be a star player for the Bobcats even in his freshman season. Reports indicate that he will be unavailable for Saturday's contest. Additionally, one of the most talented and threatening of Quinnipiac's weapons, Matthew Peca, has not found the back of the net yet this season. This limits the arsenal that the Bobcats can even attempt to unleash on Cornell.

Contrastingly, Sam Anas (I'm sure the Faithful can have fun with that) has emerged as an unexpected scoring threat that cannot be overlooked. He has scored six goals on the season already. He leads even Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Matthew Peca (obviously). Half of Anas's goals have been of the game-winning variety.

The primary defense that the Bobcats have against Cornell's early-season style of winning is their penalty kill. The Bobcats have killed off 90.6% of opponents's power-play opportunities. Cornell may be able to take advantage of its decidedly more talented power-play unit, but it will likely not be able to slay the Bobcats with reliance on special teams alone.

As stated above, the Bobcats keep scoring chances and shot totals low. This is how they protect themselves from falling prey to the lapses of an unseasoned goaltender. Cornell's best will be able better Michael Garteig if every player on Cornell's bench dedicates themselves to the grit and opportunism that almost allowed Cornell to claim a sweep in the Bobcats's den last season.

Watching tape of Quinnipiac indicates that they are very unlike last season. They play the same style. Do not expect Pecknold to try to revolutionize the game, but Quinnipiac's offense lacks the dynamism it had last season at times. Holy Cross held them at bay for half of game two in their series last weekend. The Crusaders fortified their end and limited chances with surprising ease. Mental and perhaps conditioning lapses were why Holy Cross could not hold off Quinnipiac. An absence of challenges from the Crusaders allowed Quinnipiac to wear down their opponents. Cornell must not become complacent to sit in its own end, whether on even strength or the penalty kill. This tactic failed the Big Red last season and will fail them Saturday if they attempt it against the Bobcats.

Flatly, Cornell's defensive play will need to be better than it was last weekend. The team played well. It did not play well enough for ECAC Hockey.

Quinnipiac can be contained and controlled, but victory will rest upon Cornell's talented corp of upperclassmen to best the Bobcats's defenses. The contest will not be easy, but the talent of Cornell's forwards and offensive defensemen will provide a more than sufficient test against Quinnipiac with an inexperienced goaltender who has not played at Lynah Rink.

This game is a psychological game of culture as well. Cornell's freshman class was watching as Quinnipiac scrambled through the 2013 NCAA Tournament. They may see Quinnipiac as an intimidating national runner-up, but what Cornell's upperclassmen need to establish early in the contest is that Cornell is the dominant force in ECAC Hockey, tried and tested by generations of success, not the Bobcats who merely happen to be one season removed from a third-place and second-place finish in two postseason tournaments. This contest in many ways may establish how the freshman players on East Hill view Cornell's niche in ECAC Hockey.

Historical Note:
Mike Schafer has coached only four teams that have fallen in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals. Few doubt the passion of Schafer as a player or coach. It seems with such zeal, vengeance must create quite a psychological and biochemical cocktail for some tremendous results. Since Schafer took the reins of Cornell hockey in the 1995-96, Cornell has produced a 5-1-0 record in the regular season against teams that eliminated in the preceding playoff's quarterfinal round. Cornell outscored its opponents over those six regular-season contests 22 goals to 15 goals allowed. A 0.833 winning percentage in the regular season against teams that eliminate Cornell in the preseason is respectable, but what about Schafer's favorite time of year, the playoffs? Cornell has a 1.00 winning percentage against teams that defeated it in the preceding quarterfinals if they again meet in the quarterfinals. He has not lost. In those contests, Cornell outscores its opponents four to one. Without the necessary statistical analysis to conclude so, I think it is safe to assume that for Mike Schafer vengeance, or redemption, is a statistically significant motivating factor.

0 Comments

Lady Rouge Roundup - First Week of Conference Play

11/1/2013

0 Comments

The weekend began for the Lady Rouge on a strong note, finishing with a four-point weekend. Here's how it went down and what to expect heading into the first road trip of the season.

Clarkson
The team chosen to finish first in the ECAC left a lot to be desired with how they began play on Friday. They started out scoring a goal on their own team (which was awarded to Cornell's Caroline DeBruin for her set-up on the play), and did not appear to be the team that the media all assumed would wipe the floor with the Big Red. Just over a minute later, Jillian Saulnier would find the back of the net again to put the women up by a seemingly commanding 2-0. Clarkson then began to find its game. After about five minutes, Clarkson was buzzing and gaining appreciably presence in the zone. It wasn't long until they cut the lead in half. Cornell answered in the form of another Jill Saulnier goal to give the Big Red the two-goal lead once again.

The second period saw a tally from each team, with Hayleigh Cudmore notching Cornell's tally very early on in the period. Then, Cornell would be whistled for a major penalty...for body checking. The body checking penalty itself was questionable from the game-play that I saw, but as no one was hurt, if the checking did indeed occur, it did not deserve a five. Additionally, if the penalty were so egregious that it needed to be awarded a major, why was the offending player not thrown out? Don't misinterpret me, I do not think Saulnier should have been thrown out. But it appeared to me a way for the referees to try to get Clarkson back into the game after Cornell so thoroughly dominated the second. Clarkson capitalized early on the penalty, but after that, the Big Red shut down the Golden Knights, killing off the remaining time and allowing only a single goal on the major, the only power-play goal that the Red had given up in the season thus far. The Red took a while to get back into their game, but the period ended with the scoreboard reading 4-2.

Clarkson opened up the period buzzing, hoping to erase the two-goal deficit early in the frame and knock off the higher-ranked Cornell team. They scored less than three and a half minutes into the frame, to pull the game within one. Cornell would not allow that to be the final score of this game. At 13:34, Jillian Saulnier set up a pass to co-captain Jess Campbell and she netted a beautiful goal for her first of the season to give the Red a 5-3 lead. Saulnier picked up her 100th career point on the play. And they were not done yet. Alyssa Gagliardi netted a pretty goal of her own on the power play to make the final score Cornell 6, Clarkson 3. There were several milestones in the game as Saulnier notched her 100th point, and netminder Lauren Slebodnick got her 54th win to put her in sole possession of the program record wins for a goaltender.

St. Lawrence
The next game would be a very different one. St. Lawrence had beaten Colgate the day before and were looking for a weekend sweep of the Central NY teams. Immediately from the start, the Saints appeared to be the better team from the North Country. If this writer hadn't known better, she would have thought that the Saints were ranked five in the country, not the Knights. But I digress. The game started with St. Lawrence challenging early, but Cornell held off for eight full minutes before the Saints put themselves on the board first. For the first time in the season, Cornell found itself down with the other team scoring the first goal. This was a defining moment for the team. How would they react? Would they respond or just be beaten down?

None of the Lynah Faithful in attendance would be surprised that the Lady Rouge responded strongly. Less than three minutes later, St. Lawrence found themselves taking undisciplined stick penalties. Cornell was on the two-man advantage. After failing to capitalize on a 5 on 3 earlier in the season, Cornell would not waste the opportunity again. Jill Saulnier evened up the score while Cornell was up two men. That wasn't all. Before the second penalty expired, Emily Fulton would score again to give Cornell the lead. Cornell was inflated, and St. Lawrence seemed down. The period ended with Cornell challenging and taking their hard-fought 2-1 lead into the locker room at intermission.

The second frame was even, with St. Lawrence seeming to get more of their confidence back. Cornell would not let that stand. On a play worthy of a Sports Center Top Ten, Alyssa Gagliardi put a shot on net from her knees and sent one past MacDonald to give Cornell a two-goal lead. St. Lawrence did not let the two-goal lead deflate them as much as they had the first period. They kept pushing and after a scrum, scored a second goal to pull themselves back within one. Co-captain Jessica Campbell answered back before the period was over to keep the game a two-goal one.

The third began with a buzzing Saints team who was so hyped up they took more penalties. In her first goal of her career, sophomore defenseman Kelly Murray scored a beautiful power-play goal to give the Red some more insurance as well as what would end up being the game winner. Not long after that, Murray took a bad hit into the boards. Lynah was silent. After being tended to by the trainers, she eventually was able to skate off with some help to rousing applause. For a player who had to miss a great deal of a season with an injury last year, the Lynah Faithful were excited to see the progress Murray had made. It was already apparent that she was going to be solid on the blue line, given her incredible play this season. Here at WAFT, as well as from the rest of the Lynah Faithful, we would like to wish Kelly Murray a speedy recovery. We can't wait to see her back on the ice.

Not long after the penalty, the team came together and Jessica Campbell scored her second of the afternoon and put the Lady Rouge up 6-2. But St. Lawrence kept on coming. They played a full 60 minutes of game time and scored one goal. Then on the power play, they scored another. Slebodnick and the shorthanded team stood tall through a Saints onslaught in the end of the game as the seconds would tick off the clock. Cornell won by a score of 6-4, with Kelly Murray's goal standing as the eventual game winner.

Next Week
Princeton
Many people will likely consider Quinnipiac the harder team of the weekend, but Cornell cannot sleep on Princeton. Princeton beat Dartmouth before dropping the second game of the weekend to Harvard. There is no doubt that the Tigers will prepare for Cornell. They currently stand at 1-1-0 on the season. The Tigers currently hold the worst penalty kill in the nation, a 50%, with four power-play goals allowed in eight opportunities. The only netminder who has seen time for Princeton, Newell, holds a 0.900 save percentage. They are a bit of a mystery given how few games they have played, but they should not be underestimated.

Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac suffered their first loss this season last weekend to Harvard, putting them at 6-1-1 on the season. That record is impressive on the surface, but the Bobcats only played one team in the top ten of the country and that was their sole loss. Their home opener was a scoreless tie against St. Cloud State. Since then, the Bobcats have scored no fewer than two goals per game. Scoring is not a problem for them. Quinnipiac averages over 36 shots per game. Their power play and penalty kills are middling, but solid. Why they are ranked so high seems to be a mystery at first glance, but the Bobcats have found a way to win each game. They also fought hard in their loss against Harvard. Their netminder holds a 0.942 save percentage.

Let's look at what Harvard did to defeat Quinnipiac: They kept their shot total only to 21. Harvard, however, was slightly outshot. The absolute number of shots is not what matters when playing this team, but the quality of shots does. Harvard scored twice on its power play, out of the four opportunities they were given. Quinnipiac also had a Harvard second-period onslaught. All four Harvard goals were scored in the second period.

Cornell will need to be incredibly solid and not take either team for granted if they want to pickup ECAC points this coming weekend.

Scoring:
12 - Fulton
10 - Campbell
6 - Cudmore & Saulnier
5 - Gagliardi & Woods
4 - Poudrier
3 - Leck
2 - Bunton, Doering, & Murray
1 - DeBruin, Richardson, & Slebodnick

0 Comments

Forward>>

Requiem of Schafer: Seasons of Victories and Turning Points

Lady Rouge Roundup: First Away Weekend

Mixed Messages

Previews: Princeton & Quinnipiac

Lady Rouge Roundup - First Week of Conference Play

Author

Categories

Archives