A couple thoughts about the interconference comparisons.  I would be
interested in the locations of the games between conferences.  I believe
only RPI and Dartmouth host tourneys, so the ECAC teams play more games
away at the holidays than at home.  And for non-tourney games, I would
bet that ECAC teams travel more than they host.   I do not think Cornell
has hosted a WCHA team at Lynah since before I started as a student, 12
years ago.  In the interim, Cornell has gone to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and
(I think) Denver.  This may not seem to mean a lot, but playing more road
games has to hurt your winning %.
 
On another thread, the talk about the Cornells program's decline can be
best measured by the lack of NHL draft choices.  A few years ago, the Red
had (+/-) 12 players that NHL teams thought were of a good enough caliber
to have a future in hockey.  Now, I do not think they have more than 3,
maybe less.  This would seem to say that Brian is NOT a good recruiter,
or that he is getting a bad reputation (more likely).  Either way, it
seems as though it is time for a new coach.  If Cornell does look for a
new coach, Mike Schafer should be near the top of the list.  For
Cornellians is motivation is unquestioned, as he and the other captains
took the 1986 team with poor coaching to the ECAC title, despite not
having the best talent.  He then helped recruit t6he talent that was the
heart of the 1990 and 1991 teams that could have won more with good
leadership.  Finally, he has an outright hostility toward the Crimson,
which he translated onto the ice for the "Death or Glory" games.  (Re the
stick introduction of 1984, the last time Cornell beat Harvard at Lynah).
 
Just a couple of thoughts,
 
William Sangrey
Cornell '87&'94
Let's go RED!!!