Hooray and finally!  IMHO, Mike Schafer is exactly what Cornell hockey
needs to be succesful again.  I had the pleasure of wathcing him play
and to take the Intro to Hockey Phys. Ed. class from him in '87 the year
after the graduated and was an assistant coach for Cornell.  I believe
he'll be good for the program for several reasons:
 
First, he has proven to be a capable assistant coach (certainly at
Cornell, perhaps someone in Kalamazoo could enter an opinion for
Western Michigan).  He has proven abilities to land some big recruits
(see some of the talent that Cornell had in the late 80's and early '90s.)
 
But, secondly, I think his biggest contribution will come in the form
improved attitude and competetive spirit.  Mike Schafer was a fan
favorite at Lynah for his hustle and determination and his awesome
hip check.  There's nothing quite like seeing an opposing forward
dumped on his rear or mashed against the side boards :-)!  This
always brought out the "Kill, Schafer, Kill!" cheer and a smile
to his face.  When I took the intro to hockey class, he told us
that one of his favorite moments in a hockey game was turning to
retreive a puck from the corner in his end just knowing he was
going to get hit.  Can you imagine, this guy liked to get hit!
 
Finally, Mike taught us and possessed all the fundamentals.  Skating,
passing, shooting, position.  It will be nice if the current
players pick up on these things.
 
For the last few years it seemed as if Cornell played without
confidence and was just going through the motions out there.
With Mike Schafer, I know that if he can pass on his playing
style to the current players we'll see a new fired up team.
Maybe we'll even get back our rivalry with Harvard. After all,
the last time we won a regular season game against Harvard, Mike
Schafer was on the team :-(!
 
Congratulations to Mike Schafer on his new job and to the
Cornell Athletic department for picking the right man!
 
Finally, I can say that I am looking forward to the season!
 
Eric Hoffman
Cornell '88
SUNY-Albany '95 and ??
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
 
LET'S GO RED!!! KILL, SCHAFER, KILL!