Anyone in New York: is it really SNOWING there right now?
 
Mike wrote:
 
> I am not even sure RPI is the best team returning from the
ECAC.
 
If you believe Harvard was better last year, then they ought to be
better this year, given that they lose very little of value. The Evil
Ones have also struck it rich with the last two recruiting classes,
and there's no reason to assume they go cold this time. Those of us
who fervently hoped that switching from Cleary to Tomassoni
would destroy Harvard's recruiting profile have been, to say the
least, disappointed.
 
Mike also wrote:
 
> With exceptions, defense does not usually win for you in college
hockey.
 
This would be very easy to test. Correlations of GFA and GAA to
winning percentage. I'll write a simple little program and report
back. My intuition is that defense is insignificantly more
important. Great scorers are simply more memorable than great
defensemen.
 
OK, enough responses. In the latest issue of the Cornell Hockey
Boosters Newsletter (thank you, Bill Fenwick), Brian
McCutcheon says something to the effect of "we're waiting to
hear from several recruits. We're looking for a number of
freshmen to step in right away and help the team improve
significantly in the standings." (Paraphrase from memory.)  One
would think that if the incoming class was going to be as weak
and/or sparse as many people (myself included) have feared,
he wouldn't dwell on the subject at all. So perhaps a few phenoms
will find their way to Ithaca by next Fall.
 
Ever hopeful,
 
Greg
Boston
Let's Go Red!