More Thoughts on Cornell Hockey
Paulette wrote:
>Part of the problem is that the Faithful have been spoiled.  We're used to
>seeing good hockey, we have faith in the talent of our team, and that leads
>to high expectations.
 
Ah, Lynah Faithfuls indeed have been spoiled, to the point that we demand
quality hockey from our team all the time.  What's wrong with that?  I say,
nothing.  Because the key is "quality."  Going back to Brian McCutcheon's first
two, three years to argue that he is a good coach is misleading.  Those players
he inherited were not recruited by him.  In fact, they happened to be the kind
of players he'd like to work with--big, strong kids who had "blue-collar" work
ethics.  They could play dump-and-chase, forecheck like hell, and score goals
when we were behind.  Now Coach McCutcheon is working entirely with his OWN
recruits, and we hear "rumors" that his recruited players don't like him.
Those rumors are like most of the rumors:  if they are not true completely,
there is a grain of truth in them.  And yes, even parents are unhappy with him.
 To most of us casual observers (and avid Big Red fans), it was painfully
obvious since last season that our players were not big enough to play the kind
of hockey Cornell was used to in the old days.  You can't dump and chase when
you're not as fast and strong.  I don't think the team has learned to adjust,
and I point to the coaching staff for failing to make the necessary changes.
Unfortunately, the passing leaves a bit to be desired.  Therefore, we had a
hard time breaking out of our zone.  Most of all, our players seem reluctant to
shoot.  I contend that (Greg, maybe you can look into this) we probably have
won the majority of games when we have over 30 shots-on-goal.  When the team
put in something like twenty-something or less SOG, I don't know how we could
win.  Then there is the powr play (what power play, you say?), or simply the
lack of PPG.  I can go on and on...
 
For those of you not associated with Cornell community, you don't know what
it's like to work with coaches in the admission process.  When a school
recruits as many Canadian players as Cornell does, and when there are 7 college
admission offices a coach must deal with, one would think that this coach (who
has been here for more than six years now) would have learned of the different
entrance requirements and how to deal with all the people involved.  Well, to
many of our disappointments, that has not been the case.  We can only admit
from the pool which he has recruited, and not all recruits in this pool are
appropriate for Cornell.  But when the portion of the inappropriate applicants,
or worse yet, incomplete applications increases, it becomes difficult to help
the team bring in freshmen.  We are now seeing Maine's Walsh in hot water over
admission issues.  You folks out there have not heard most of the stories that
occcurred here at Cornell.  You have no ideas....
 
Can this 93-94 version of Cornell hockey amount to something?  Sure.  In ECAC
and particularly the Ivy League, any team can beat another on any given day.
That is no secret.  And the Red has played it close to a couple of nationally
ranked teams.  However, as I said before in previous postings, close does not
count in the end.  In the consumer-oriented 90's, we've come to expect quality
out of values.  So, if Cornell Athletics continues to charge $128 ($114 for
students) for hockey, we as fans have a legitimate expectation that our money
is well worth it.  Otherwise, like David Smith said, we'll begin (or, have
begun) to lose that mystic Lynah rink magic.  I remembered hearing Mike
Sancimino and Andy Bandurski few years ago talking about the atmosphere in
Lynah when they visited as recruits.  I'll tell you, I'm not sure the recruits
will be impressed these days.
 
By the way, good luck and good-bye to our former assistant coach Casey Jones.
He's taking a necessary step, both professionally and personally.  As I
discovered lately myself, it's hard to support a family on one Cornell salary
alone.  Knowing how his pay is also capped by ECAC, I can't blame Casey for
taking the full-time, full-pay job at Clarkson.  As some of you know, Casey got
engaged last spring.  I'm sure his priority has changed somewhat.   Who knows,
one day, he may be back coaching at Lynah again.
 
Tom Smith Tseng