Outlook Hockey Does A Stellar Analysis of the Incoming Lady Rouge
The Cornell women's ice hockey roster had a high attrition rate after last season with losing a very talented class of eight players. They will leave behind undeniably a large void to fill. That class led Cornell to its first Frozen Four and national title game in the history of the women's program. Some worry that such a class would be nearly impossible to replace. Their roles will be forgotten never, but Outlook Hockey shows how developed and deep the freshman talent is that Coach Derraugh brought to East Hill for the 2012-13 in the form of Anna Zorn, Jess Brown, Victoria Pittens, Taylor Woods, Kelly Murray, Morgan Richardson, Cassandra Poudrier, and Stefanie Moak.
The Hockey Guys Serve Up A Big Red Snub?
While the women's ice hockey team was getting special attention from Outlook Hockey, the incoming men's ice hockey class was getting no particular attention from The Hockey Guys. The Guys made a list of what they believed to be the top ten incoming recruiting classes in college hockey. They considered not simple quantitative criteria like NHL draft picks or direct comparison of junior league statistics, but attempted to take a holistic account of the impact that each new class will have upon the program that it is joining. They recognized honorable mentions for Minnesota-Duluth, Harvard, and Denver and ranked the top ten as follows: 10. Ohio State, 9. Minnesota, 8. North Dakota, 7. Boston College, 6. Providence, 5. Miami, 4. Boston University, 3. Michigan, 2. Nebraska-Omaha, 1. Notre Dame. Cornell is noticeably missing.
A few among the fanbase were upset or distraught by that fact. However, considering that Cornell brought in what College Hockey News recognized as a top-ten recruiting class just last season, this season is more of a reloading rather than a rebuilding year. Cornell lost key defensemen in Ross and Whitney, and clutch forwards in Collins and Jillson. However, with players like Miller and Esposito remaining and those like Ferlin, Lowry, and Bardreau maturing, Cornell really needed more reliability than flashy, point-scoring talent in the incoming class. Willcox and Stoick will attempt to provide that reliability and I am sure that with some time Knisley, Hilbrich, and Tiitinen will become reliable point producers in their own right.
Comparison of the season's classes indicates that there is no cause for alarm either. Notre Dame was ranked in the top ten for both last season and this coming season. Last season, Notre Dame failed to earn a bid to the national tournament. Another interesting note is that Providence cracked the top ten classes. I think this is an indication of the recruiting talents of Nate Leaman and that he will have Providence bursting onto the national season much like he did while building the talent reservoir and system that still exists at Union two seasons after his departure.
Redcast: (Possibly) Slightly Less Horrifying This Season
The Cornell women's ice hockey roster had a high attrition rate after last season with losing a very talented class of eight players. They will leave behind undeniably a large void to fill. That class led Cornell to its first Frozen Four and national title game in the history of the women's program. Some worry that such a class would be nearly impossible to replace. Their roles will be forgotten never, but Outlook Hockey shows how developed and deep the freshman talent is that Coach Derraugh brought to East Hill for the 2012-13 in the form of Anna Zorn, Jess Brown, Victoria Pittens, Taylor Woods, Kelly Murray, Morgan Richardson, Cassandra Poudrier, and Stefanie Moak.
The Hockey Guys Serve Up A Big Red Snub?
While the women's ice hockey team was getting special attention from Outlook Hockey, the incoming men's ice hockey class was getting no particular attention from The Hockey Guys. The Guys made a list of what they believed to be the top ten incoming recruiting classes in college hockey. They considered not simple quantitative criteria like NHL draft picks or direct comparison of junior league statistics, but attempted to take a holistic account of the impact that each new class will have upon the program that it is joining. They recognized honorable mentions for Minnesota-Duluth, Harvard, and Denver and ranked the top ten as follows: 10. Ohio State, 9. Minnesota, 8. North Dakota, 7. Boston College, 6. Providence, 5. Miami, 4. Boston University, 3. Michigan, 2. Nebraska-Omaha, 1. Notre Dame. Cornell is noticeably missing.
A few among the fanbase were upset or distraught by that fact. However, considering that Cornell brought in what College Hockey News recognized as a top-ten recruiting class just last season, this season is more of a reloading rather than a rebuilding year. Cornell lost key defensemen in Ross and Whitney, and clutch forwards in Collins and Jillson. However, with players like Miller and Esposito remaining and those like Ferlin, Lowry, and Bardreau maturing, Cornell really needed more reliability than flashy, point-scoring talent in the incoming class. Willcox and Stoick will attempt to provide that reliability and I am sure that with some time Knisley, Hilbrich, and Tiitinen will become reliable point producers in their own right.
Comparison of the season's classes indicates that there is no cause for alarm either. Notre Dame was ranked in the top ten for both last season and this coming season. Last season, Notre Dame failed to earn a bid to the national tournament. Another interesting note is that Providence cracked the top ten classes. I think this is an indication of the recruiting talents of Nate Leaman and that he will have Providence bursting onto the national season much like he did while building the talent reservoir and system that still exists at Union two seasons after his departure.
Redcast: (Possibly) Slightly Less Horrifying This Season
Fans who are unable to attend Cornell hockey games at Lynah may never be forced to face such disappointment again.
In news that is sure to delight Cornell hockey fans who cannot attend games regularly, Cornell Athletics announced that it would now be offering sporting events in HD. Redcast has long been considered to be of questionable quality, with games being broadcast blurry and occasional stoppages of streaming video entirely. It seems that the new HD feed will be an asset both for men's and women's hockey though in differing capacities. The exact wording from the press release is below.
"Cornell has upgraded connectivity at Schoellkopf Field, Lynah Rink, Newman Arena and Friedman Wrestling Center to allow for higher quality feeds. In addition, new HD radios will upgrade the audio feeds for football, men's ice hockey and basketball, as well as men's lacrosse. In addition, professional audio broadcasts will be available as part of the video feeds for home events involving sprint football, women's basketball, women's ice hockey and women's
lacrosse."
While it would be nice for those fans away from Lynah to be able to see these games in a reliable fashion, we will wait and see how Cornell athletics improves the quality of Redcast. After all, if RPITV can produce excellent quality broadcasts (see: 2012 ECAC Semifinals and Finals in Atlantic City), Cornell certainly can do it! We look forward to seeing improvements in quality this year and into the future.
Crest Is Better (Just A Friendly Reminder)
"Cornell has upgraded connectivity at Schoellkopf Field, Lynah Rink, Newman Arena and Friedman Wrestling Center to allow for higher quality feeds. In addition, new HD radios will upgrade the audio feeds for football, men's ice hockey and basketball, as well as men's lacrosse. In addition, professional audio broadcasts will be available as part of the video feeds for home events involving sprint football, women's basketball, women's ice hockey and women's
lacrosse."
While it would be nice for those fans away from Lynah to be able to see these games in a reliable fashion, we will wait and see how Cornell athletics improves the quality of Redcast. After all, if RPITV can produce excellent quality broadcasts (see: 2012 ECAC Semifinals and Finals in Atlantic City), Cornell certainly can do it! We look forward to seeing improvements in quality this year and into the future.
Crest Is Better (Just A Friendly Reminder)
Colgate will need to rely on more than toothpaste to fill the cavities left in their team after the loss of several key players.
The tickets for the marquee match-up of Colgate's season went on sale at midnight. Colgate's rival, Cornell, will play at historic Starr Rink on Friday, November 2, 2012. WAFT encourages Colgate to renovate rather than replace Starr, but the replace movement has gained some traction regrettably. I encourage all who are able to attend because this may be one of the last clashes between the (Red) Raiders and the Big Red to be played at Starr. As much as I think that Cornell's meetings with 'Gate do not rise to the level of heated rivalry that 'Gate claims, Colgate remains a program that I respect immensely and it represents some of the best aspects of ECAC Hockey. 'Gate humbled Cornell last season and through Austin Smith showed great character. Furthermore, it will be the first ECAC weekend of the season during which Cornell will embark upon its quest for its thirteenth Whitelaw Cup. WAFT will be there to watch from the beginning.
Rosen Chooses a Design That Celebrates Golden Knights History
Rosen Chooses a Design That Celebrates Golden Knights History
The design on Rosen's helmet that celebrates Clarkson hockey history was created by a Clarkson alumnus.
Some might not be aware that Clarkson sponsored a contest to redesign goaltender Cody Rosen's helmet for the 2012-13 season. Submitted designs required a submission fee of $5.00 to be considered by the Golden Knights's netminder. The proceeds from the submissions were donated to the Relay for Life. It is such a great cause and a great contest idea. Taylor Salisbury, a Clarkson alumnus, submitted the design during his senior year. The design celebrates Clarkson greats on the side shown above. Those greats include Willie Mitchell and Erik Cole, among others. Clarkson with Casey Jones at the helm is poised for a big year.
I think it is part and parcel to being Lynah Faithful that one gains quickly an appreciation for all things goaltending. So, I like the helmet design a lot. The one side that celebrates the Golden Knights pep band and fans reminds me of one other goaltender's mask from Cornell.
I think it is part and parcel to being Lynah Faithful that one gains quickly an appreciation for all things goaltending. So, I like the helmet design a lot. The one side that celebrates the Golden Knights pep band and fans reminds me of one other goaltender's mask from Cornell.
 View of the side of Rosen's 2012-13 mask that celebrates the loyal Clarkson pep band and fans. |  View of Scrivens's mask that celebrated the Lynah Faithful on both sides. |
2012-13 Opponents Begin Practices
And so it begins.... twitter.com/UnionHockey/st…
— Union College Hockey (@UnionHockey) September 6, 2012
The bookends of the 2012-13 regular season for Cornell announced that practices had begun or will begin in the near future last week. Union tweeted the above that indicates practices are well underway at Messa Rink. Colorado College will begin captain-led practices today, September 10. The two mentioned teams are disparate in several ways. Colorado College is a program with rich history that failed to earn a bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament and hopes that it will avoid a repeat of such a feat. Union is a program with a history of success that is recent. Union is looking to return to the highest level of the sport again this coming season. Of particular interest to Cornell is that Colorado College represents the first regular-season game that the Big Red will play this season (at Lynah on October 26, 2012) and Union is the last regular-season home game for the Big Red (February 23, 2013).
A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words
A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words
St. Lawrence's new locker room.
Not much can be added that the above image does not capture already. Images of SLU's locker room were released at the end of last week. The locker room is gorgeous and by far one of the nicest that I have seen. I think that such an addition for one of the historic programs in the North Country is good for the ECAC especially on the heels of a momentous end to last season (Union in the Frozen Four and Cornell toppling Michigan) and a successful off-season (Quinnipiac holding on to Pecknold despite Hockey East interest and various ECAC programs gaining recruits that Hockey East programs recruited heavily). The pre- and post-realignment era will prove to be a chance for the ECAC to reassert not only its relevance, but its prominence in college hockey.
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