"Suffocating"What do you make of this year's Cornell team?
"Suffocating"
They never seem out of position. They do look a lot like traditional Cornell teams which for me is very frightening. Years past they routinely pounded us into sand. We needed to bring stretcher bearers to Elynah.Here is a replay of the RPI game http://www.rpitv.org/productions/1030-mens-hockey-vs-cornell
They outshoot RPI 44 to 16. RPI has a very good goalie, Kasdorf. So does Cornell in Gillan.
We could not get near their goal in the first two periods as they blocked 20 shots. Cornell scores all came on power plays and our goalie never saw two of them. Size helped Cornell in the screening department.
Two of our scores actually went off Cornell defenders to get past Gillan !!!! The last score, both Cornell defenders went after the wrong forward and flattened him and our forward Foo slipped in for a shot. We were able to skate the puck out of the zone sometimes but did a lot of dumping and chasing. I don't think we saw them at their best.
When all the dust settles, I see them with you in the top 10 pairwise.
Great Article
Very revealing how much $ is involved in TV.
http://www.citypages.com/news/what-happened-to-the-university-of-minnesota-hockey-program-7960026
"Character is huge," he says. "A team with no talent and character still goes farther than a team with all talent and no character."
That thesis was on display in 2014, when Union College pulled off hockey's greatest upset since the Miracle on Ice.
The Gophers were making their 12th appearance in an NCAA title game. On that evening in Philadelphia, Minnesota was stocked with 14 NHL draft picks. Union consisted of afterthoughts.
But they would humble the Gophers, firing 50 shots and winning 7-4. It was a testament to the old-school clichés: that grit, hustle, and discipline are the coin of the realm in this game.
The loss gnaws to this day, but its lesson resonates more than ever.
LOL.. this mostly shows the hysterically high passions for Gopher hockey, where anything less than a national championship is unacceptable. Over the last 4 seasons, Minnesota has finished 1st in their league and made NCAAs each season, won a league title, and made it to two F4's. I can pretty confidently say that there about 55 other programs in D-1 that would love to have those problems. Only in Gopherland is this considered an epic disaster with alumni shouting for the coaches head. And I love the anonymous "NHL scouts" that claim Lucia doesn't develop players and are "guiding" prospects to go to other schools. The article does do a good job of explaining the changing recruiting environment in D-1 and that it has created more parity. Though of course nobody is forcing the big schools to recruit 14-15 year olds or to not recruit "older" players. I won't even get into the implication that it was somehow better (and fairer) when the big programs would beat everyone outside the top 10 by 7-8 goals. But this is all a reminder that D-1 hockey does have bigtime programs with very high expectations and big money around them, not unlike Alabama football or Kentucky basketball. Makes what Union did 2 seasons ago even more remarkable..WHAT HAPPENED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA HOCKEY PROGRAM?
BY CORY ZUROWSKIWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 | 8 DAYS AGO
http://www.citypages.com/news/what-happened-to-the-university-of-minnesota-hockey-program-7960026
"There's been a commercialization that's taken it out of strictly being a college program," says Sarner. "It's no longer about the students or the student athletes. Money has become the driving force."
As a result, alumni see cash-first administrators with no reverence toward the rich hockey tradition — or any comprehension of its systematic decay.
The state's flagship school dines at the Big Ten trough through football and men's hoops. This year, Minnesota is projected to pocket about $35 million in TV cash. But this meant that Minnesota was also required to join a new Big Ten hockey league, bidding farewell to longstanding rivalries. Seven o'clock puck drops in Grand Forks and Duluth were swapped for yawners with Penn State and Ohio State.
This article brings us back to reality. IMO, for Minnesota its never been about 18 year olds playing against 25 year olds. IMO, its always been about the money.