Game Gab - Nightly Post-Game Analysis
Come here after the games for analysis and insights from CHN Staff members.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Quinnipiac 10, Cornell 0 - Saturday, March 16, 2013
What do you say about this whack-a-doodle of a game? You think Quinnipiac had something to prove? It scored 24 seconds into the game, outshot Cornell 17-3 in the first period -- and that was only the beginning. Quinnipiac scored three goals in the first six and a half minutes of the second period to make it 5-0, and Cornell coach Mike Schafer decided to pull goalie Andy Iles at that point. Now, you have to realize, Iles has played just about every minute of action the last two years, no matter what. Cornell basically has no true backup. Senior Omar Kanji, no offense, is there just to fill a seat on the bench, and "played" a few seconds on senior night just for the heck of it. But he was sent in there by Schafer with the game already completely out of hand. And then it only got worse. Kanji allowed four more goals on 10 shots the rest of the period, before things got predictably out of hand.
Actually, if there's any surprise it's that it took as long as it did for frustrations to boil over -- at the end of the second period with the score already 9-0. Already coming in, Quinnipiac's Bryce Van Brabant was suspended for a hit Friday that didn't get a penalty at the time; it was a hit that knocked Cornell center Eric Axell out of that game and Saturday's game. Then as the second period wound down, Cornell's Madison Dias was called for a hit from behind major penalty, and that basically led to a line brawl -- 63 minutes in penalties for Cornell and 48 for Quinnipiac just in that incident.
Iles returned for the third, which was probably a good idea by Schafer. Although, on the other end, Quinnipiac understandably got Eric Hartzell out of the there, and Michael Garteig mopped up the shutout. There was some more shenanigans, a couple majors and game misconducts, in the third, and 184 total penalty minutes when the game was said and done.
So ... what does it all mean for Game 3. I bet it means very little. Expect a battle, of the non-penalty-minute kind.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Cornell 3, Quinnipiac 2 - Friday, March 15, 2013
QU coach Rand Pecknold said he felt good coming out of the bye, and the Bobcats looked great early on, getting nine of the game's first 12 shots and taking a 1-0 lead. But Cornell was able to weather the storm, and after getting swept by QU in two games during the regular season, was able to find a rhythm. This is a Cornell team that is now 7-1-1 in the last nine, and one that no one wanted to face in the playoffs, let alone top-seeded Quinnipiac. ... Brian Ferlin, as responsible as anyone for Cornell's turnaround with his much-improved play, scored twice, both on the power play. Cornell went up 3-2 after two, and kept it that way despite QU pumping 15 shots at the net in the third.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Cornell 4, Princeton 2 - Saturday, March 9, 2013
Cornell rolled through Princeton to sweep the series. Despite being on the road, most people were picking Cornell because these teams headed into the postseason going in opposite directions. That proved to be true. It didn't come easy, necessarily, but Cornell was seemingly in control throughout the weekend. Cornell did it without center Dustin Mowry, who has a concussion, though is expected back for next week's quarterfinals. Cornell has already been playing without center Cole Bardreau to a neck injury, leaving it very thin up the middle. But the Big Red has stuck it out and is now 6-1-1 in the last eight.
"We're really starting to come (along) as a team," Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. "It was a good weekend with not having Dustin Mowry up the middle. He's such a good offensive player for us. Everybody's dinged up this time of year, but losing skill up the middle with Bardreau and Mowry ... guys stepped up and played great. ... There's obviously areas where I wasn't getting through, and you go through that, and you have to figure it out. But they (the players) are the ones that deserve the credit. They stuck together. They didn't turn on each other, we didn't turn on them, and they didn't turn on us."
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Yale 2, Cornell 1 - Saturday, March 2, 2013
Yale gets scorned often for its goaltending, but the Bulldogs won the final three regular-season games after Jeff Malcolm returned from injury, and earned a hard-fought first-round bye for the ECACs. Also, Yale is in pretty good shape as far as the NCAAs are concerned. It should be good for a fourth trip in five years if its just wins its quarterfinal series.
Malcolm was helped by the Yale defense for two periods, as it shut down Cornell, which came in having won four in a row and finally turning its season back around. But after Yale took a 2-1 lead, Cornell poured it on, and Malcolm came up huge to preserve the win. “That’s playoff hockey what you saw tonight,” Yale coach Keith Allain said. “Guys were blocking shots and diving to get pucks out of their own end. It’s a great precursor to what it’s going to be like for the next few weeks.”
Because Princeton won in overtime, by pulling its goalie, Cornell finishes ninth and will travel to Princeton for the first round of the ECACs. It's a far cry from where Cornell expected to finish, but with things finally moving in the right direction again, it's not hard to foresee Cornell winning the next two series and making it to Atlantic City. Still, there's a long way between seeing it, and having it happen.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Cornell 4, Union 2 - Saturday, February 23, 2013
Cornell has picked one heckuva time to come to life. This is the third win in a row now, and it swept this weekend against two quality opponents -- particularly RPI on Friday, which came into Lynah Rink having won eight straight ECAC games. The problem is, Cornell dug itself too big of a hole in losing seven in a row, so unless this hot streak runs right through Atlantic City, it isn't going to the NCAAs, which will be an enormous disappointment for this team. Cornell dominated early, and rode a three-goal first period, holding off a late Union rally. Cornell is tied for ninth, one point behind Brown for the final home-ice spot for the ECAC playoffs. But the Big Red control their own destiny, since they play Brown next weekend.
Union, meanwhile, keeps meandering its way through this season, losing both games this weekend, falling to sixth in the league and 22nd in the Pairwise. I hate to give another "I told you so," but I called this one in the preseason -- have seen these kinds of pitfall seasons before with second-year coaches coming off big first seasons that followed up a popular coach who left. And lately Bennett seems to be pulling out all the stops, frustrated with his team -- Saturday, he benched Wayne Simpson. There have been other moves too. You wonder sometimes if it's an over-reaction and it winds up hurting the team more than helping.
An interesting thing about Cornell vis-a-vis the Pairwise, is that the Big Red are teetering on the "TUC Cliff." As a brief explanation, the Pairwise is calculated by comparing all Teams Under Consideration (TUC) against each other. A TUC is a team with an RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) of .500 or better. At various points in the night, Cornell was over a .500 RPI. But it ended the night at .4997. Because "Record vs. TUC" is a key factor in the Pairwise, any team that Cornell has played will be affected if it becomes a TUC. So, any team that has done well against Cornell, wants Cornell to be a TUC. And any team that hasn't done well against Cornell, doesn't want them. Denver and Yale in particular right now are rooting for Cornell to be a TUC. Though Yale has the irony next week of wanting to beat Cornell, which would prevent Cornell from being a TUC, and thus hurt Yale. This is the main flaw of the Pairwise, though no one has been able to solve it without scrapping the whole system.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Cornell 2, Harvard 2 - Saturday, February 16, 2013
Cornell snapped a seven-game losing streak with a big win at Dartmouth on Friday, although at this point, the season may be long lost to call any win big. But at least the streak is over -- a streak that turned a once promising season into disaster. A streak that people have been hard-pressed to explain -- something that Mike Schafer has never experienced as a coach, at least not with a team expected to do so well. Unfortunately, the win was followed with a tie, another game where Cornell had so many more chances than its opponent. But at least it was a tie and not a loss.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Princeton 1, Cornell 0 - Saturday, February 9, 2013
Princeton is coming together in the second half, now 6-3 in the last nine. It did a good job brushing off last week's two road losses, by getting two wins in two tough places to play -- Cornell and Colgate.
But, frankly, the story here continues to be the freefall of Cornell. The losing streak is now at seven in a row, and everyone is at a loss to figure it out, clearly including Cornell itself. What more can be said? I've never seen a Cornell team like this in Mike Schafer's 17-year tenure. Especially not one with seemingly every reason to have high expectations coming into it.
Some games have including some tough-luck bounces, and in this game, Princeton goalie Mike Condon stood on his head and made 39 saves for the shutout. But seven losses in a row can't all be ringed up to bad luck.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Clarkson 6, Cornell 3 - Saturday, February 2, 2013
Cornell has lost five in a row for the first time since 1999. This freefall is inexplicable because it's a talented team, on paper, which went to the NCAA Regional final last year, and returned most of its key parts. In addition, it got off to a strong start. On top of that, it's tough to recall a Mike Schafer-coached team that has truly underachieved. In his 17 years on the job, that has basically never happened. It's a head scratcher. I mean, there are clearly guys not playing well, including goalie Andy Iles lately, and the team does miss Cole Bardreau, who was lost for the season during a strong weekend in which he returned from the World Juniors. But this doesn't begin to answer WHY this is happening. Cornell now sits in 11th place in the ECAC.
Similar to Dartmouth -- though worse -- the team's fortunes seemed to change on a dime after losing a championship game of a holiday tournament. Not just did they lose that game, they blew a 3-0 lead to a Maine team that was struggling. From there, Cornell is 1-8.
Clarkson, meanwhile, is 2-1-2 in the last five and showing signs of progress. It scored 10 goals on the weekend, and is getting them from all different sources.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Brown 3, Cornell 0 - Saturday, January 26, 2013
Senior goalie Anthony Borelli made 23 saves to earn his first career shutout, and gets it at famed Lynah Rink. “The guys were absolutely tremendous tonight,” Brown coach Brendan Whittet said. “It was a great team effort with contributions from everyone who wore the uniform. To come to Ithaca, and play the determined, relentless style that we did is impressive. I am extremely proud of the team.” The two teams were scoreless through nearly 40 minutes, but Jeff Ryan snapped the deadlock with 46 seconds left in the second period.
Brown is actually tied for eighth place now with Clarkson and ... Cornell. I don't know what to say about the Big Red right now. Losing Cole Bardreau for the season is a big deal, because he's such a good all-around player, and a great faceoff guy. But his loss should not have been that significant where it looked completely lost on Saturday -- following up a tough OT loss to Yale on Friday. Cornell is now one game under .500, and this once promising season is slipping away quickly. The Big Red were thought to be Frozen Four contenders when the season started, but are a long way from the NCAAs right now, despite lots of big early-season wins. At the Florida tournament, Cornell was 4-0 non-league, with wins over CC, Michigan and Ferris State. But a loss to Maine in the Florida final game seemed to set Cornell off on a bad course. It's strange to see a Mike Schafer-coach Cornell team underachieve. You'd be hard-pressed to find another example in his 17-year tenure.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Denver 2, Cornell 1 - Saturday, January 5, 2013
Sophomore Larkin Jacobson broke a 1-1 deadlock by scoring his first career goal with 12:15 remaining in regulation to lift Denver to a two-game sweep of the weekend series against Cornell. The win marked the third straight for the Pioneers. “To be able to win a two-game series against a quality opponent like Cornell is huge confidence builder for us,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “Mike Schafer and his staff do a great job every year. They are one of the top teams in the East and the ECAC. I thought at times we played better tonight than we did last night. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have a better score. To be in the position that it was anybody’s game in the third period and to find a way to score and to defend it from that point on is a good experience for our guys.”
Cornell coach Mike Schafer wasn't too pleased with the WCHA officiating, between penalties and goals disallowed, and his frustration spilled over to the players at the end of the game. Cornell got 45 minutes in penalties after the final buzzer. “I’m looking at the sheet now, and we’re the ones that were assessed all the penalties,” Schafer said. “You’re supposed to hold your guys at the end of the game. That obviously didn’t happen. It’s just really disappointing on the calls. ... It’s disgusting. That’s all you can say. I won’t come back to the WCHA.” ... Of course, Schafer doesn't have to go back to the WCHA. The premiere WCHA teams he's played in recent years, won't be in the WCHA next year. Also interesting to note that Colorado College's Scott Owens was saying a lot of the same thing after his team lost two games at Cornell's Lynah Rink earlier this season.
Cornell'a travails, meanwhile, have mirrored that of its ECAC brethren. A week ago, Cornell had a 4-0 non-league record, with wins over CC (2), Michigan and Ferris State. The league as a whole had the best intra-conference record, a great first half, and unprecedented for the ECAC. But then Cornell inexplicably blew a 3-0 lead to Maine in the championship of the Florida tournament, and then lost two games in Denver. Meanwhile, the rest of the league -- outside of Quinnipiac -- started struggling suddenly. Teams like Dartmouth, Union, Harvard, RPI and St. Lawrence suffered one tough non-league loss after another just over the last week.
If Cornell -- and the ECAC -- had looked, when the season began, at its record at this point in non-league games, it would've been fairly OK with it. But given the start, it's kinda painful to look at it now. This is, of course, the danger of looking at the Pairwise too early, but just a couple of weeks ago, five ECAC teams were threatening to get NCAA bids. Now, individual team's losses, combined with the league's losses as a whole, have dragged things down in a hurry. Cornell has plummeted all the way to No. 21. Union is also out of the picture, while Yale (which just tied Boston College) and Dartmouth are teetering. It doesn't help Cornell, too, that the teams it has beaten, Colorado College and Michigan, in particular, have done poorly, and aren't currently even Teams Under Consideration, making the wins over those teams look less impressive to the computer and everyone else.
Of course, as we always say, there's plenty of time, and Cornell has been known to get hot in second halves. But so far, suddenly, things look disappointing.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Dartmouth 1, Cornell 1 - Saturday, November 17, 2012
Dartmouth saw its unbeaten record take its first hit Friday after a shocking loss at Colgate, blowing a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3. Cornell, meanwhile, came in not having won in its last four games, and losing Friday to heated rival Harvard. So both teams needed a win -- but neither got it. This hurts Cornell more, as it's now 0-3-2 in the last five, following a 3-0 start. Even more painful was that it allowed a goal with 52 seconds left in regulation, as Dartmouth's Mike Keenan scored with the extra attacker.
Cornell's feel-good start is far in the rear-view mirror now, and it needs to right the ship quickly with Michigan coming in to Madison Square Garden next weekend.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Quinnipiac 4, Cornell 1 - Saturday, November 10, 2012
Quinnipiac started slowly, but kept it a scoreless game after one. Then the Bobcats completely dominated the Big Red the rest of the way, and stormed to a win and a weekend sweep. It was a great response to a tough loss to American International during the week that left everyone scratching their head.
As for Cornell, it came into the weekend unbeaten and everyone thinking big, but leaves with two straight losses and everyone wondering what the heck is going on. It wasn't just the losses, Cornell simply didn't look very good in both games, including Friday's loss to Princeton. And that follows two games with Colgate where the Big Red also looked sloppy, despite getting three points. For some reason, the team doesn't have everything tightened up, it was losing battles all weekend, and has its work to do. It's still early, of course, and you can tell how individually talented the team is -- it just needs to put it back together. Goaltender Andy Iles was a bright spot all weekend, but got little help.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Colgate 2, Cornell 2 - Saturday, November 3, 2012
One night after being outplayed in a win, Cornell played better but had to rally with two third-period goals to tie Colgate, and remain unbeaten at 3-0-1. The "highlight" of the game, if you will, was a post-game fracas, after Colgate freshman Tyson Spink took a shot well after the final buzzer in overtime. The teams again traded shoves, perhaps punches, after the handshake line, with Colgate coach Don Vaughan even getting in a shouting match with Cornell assistant Ben Syer. It was an unfortunate conclusion to a hard-fought weekend between the two. ... Cornell was without forward John Esposito, who was hurt part of last season, too. The team has been expecting big things out of his return, but he had a setback in practice this past week.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Cornell 3, Colorado College 2 - Saturday, October 27, 2012
Cornell put together an ambitious non-league schedule this year, that was high-risk, high-reward. Ivy League teams only get seven non-league games out of 29 to play with. And with games against CC, Denver, Michigan and Ferris State, Cornell could either score big in the Pairwise, or shoot itself in the foot in terms of the NCAA Tournament picture. But so far, so good after a home weekend sweep of CC to open its season. After a classic 2-0 Cornell win Friday, the Big Red took a 3-1 lead before holding on for good. And while last season's special teams were an atypical sore spot for Cornell, on this weekend, it was 8-for-8 killing penalties, and scored all five of its goals with the man advantage (5-for-14). Joel Lowry scored twice Saturday, with Brian Ferlin getting one.
Quinnipiac 3, Cornell 2 - Sunday, March 17, 2013
Kevin Bui scored on a breakaway in the second overtime, finally breaking through after Quinnipiac had been bombarding Cornell with shots in the OT. Quinnipiac tied the game with an extra attacker goal late in regulation, and then pulls out the enormous win for the program. Cornell's season comes to a maddening end, and it gave Quinnipiac everything it could handle. A program with a disappointing regular season, but one with lots of history -- against a program (QU) with the huge regular season, one of the best in the ECAC modern era, but with very little postseason history. Some will look at this series and say it should've been easier for QU -- but that would be the wrong way to look at it. It had to overcome a lot of history to win this series, and hats off for doing so.
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