>Ryan Smart is a great player, but Cornell only got three players in this year
>on a team that was decimated in recent years by graduation.
 
In McCutcheon's defense, I think he did a good recruiting job this year.
We only lost two players to graduation last year and I am confident that
Ryan Smart and Jason Elliott have a great future with the team (Jason
Dailey has yet to prove himself).
 
Where McCutcheon went wrong this year was in assigning goaltenders.
Everyone in the league knows that Elliott is weak up top because he drops
to the butterfly too soon.  Early in the season, Eddie Skazyk and Andy
Bandurski should have split time in net as they did last year.  I thought
it was wise to have Elliott play against Wilfrid Laurier in the exhibition
game, but after that you have to give playing time to both of your veterans
who carried the team through some clutch games last year (I can't remember
who started against Princeton in the overtime playoff game last year at
Lynah).
 
Elliott is a great goaltender, but he does need to get broken into college
play before he becomes a starter, especially when you have two veterans on
the team.  No, you can't dress three goalies during the entire season.  But
McCutcheon showed too much faith in Elliott while ignoring Bandurski.
Bandurski had every right to quit the team.
 
-Mike