Interesting that someone should mention Ned Harkness. I have always
wondered what the Real Story behind his last few seasons at Cornell
was. I have heard many conflicting reports involving everything from
personal acrimony, allegations of misconduct, recruiting violations,
and delusions of grandeur unbecoming a representative of a university,
reports which expand to cover his tenure at RPI and Elmira as well. I
have never heard anything with the ring of legitimacy to it. I have
absolutely no desire to poke my nose into somebody else's personal
affairs - I just wonder why one of the best coaches in college hockey
wound up leaving the best (at the time) program in the country after
the best season in the history of college hockey.
 
On a related note, the coach who immediately followed Harkness at
Cornell, Dick Bertrand, was at least towards the end of his coaching
career universally despised by all of the people I knew connected with
the team. I never understood this either, in light of Cornell's
terrific record during his tenure, and charges of "underachievment"
seem laughable in light of the amazing upset pulled off by his team to
win the 1980 ECAC title (an 8th seeded team beating #s 1, 2, and 3 in
succession to win the crown). Anybody who'd like to comment on the fate
of either of these highly successful coaches knows where they can e-mail me...
 
Greg
Let's Go Red!
Wake the Echoes! (Hey, it worked for Holtz...)