The delay of game penalty was exactly as described.  Coach Shafer, unhappy
with Cole's refusal to allow a line change after a very short period of
time kept Steve Wilson inside the bench with the door open.  Cole, on the
opposite side of the rink, refused to take the hint and skate over to speak
with the coach.  Instead, he eventually skated over to the scorers box
(right next to Shafer) and called the delay of game penalty.  The call was
needless, in my unbiased :) opinion.  It was a poor call for that time in
the game.
 
As for the game itself, the Red were outskated, outhustled and physically
overmatched.  The line of Moynihan, Knopp, and Rutter spent a lot of time
out there chasing down Perrin and St. Louis, presumably in part because of
Cole's quick limiting of Cornell's line changes.  For the first 30 minutes
of the game, Cornell had no pressure, and more or less, no possession of
the puck.  Cole's style of refereeing made it nearly impossible to discern
what had occurred.  More than a few stoppages occurred where I had no clue
what the cause was.  Part of this may have had something to do with the
noisy Gutterson crowd (performing as advertised: very, very loud.)   This
was in direct contrast to Galagher the previous night, who's performance I
had little problem with, (surprise, surprise) and during which it was very
clear what had happenned to cause any call or stoppage.
 
The Red eventually righted themselves and mounted a charge.  The excitement
built to a 6-5 score with 1:30 to go.  The Red had several chances to tie
the game, but Vermont sealed it with an empty netter :02 before game end.
Cornell showed a lot of heart in keeping tough, and not allowing the
lopsided score to cause chippy play.  The UVM coaching staff was clearly
very angry at the Cornell staff for the stick penalties, but that's the way
it goes.  I would think the breaking of a to be measured stick would incur
a more serious penalty than just the regular illegal stick infraction,
seeing as that is a direct affront to the rules, but I guess not.
According to the radio broadcast (so I'm told) after the second call,
Perrin and St. Louis' sticks appeared drastically different than they had
before.  Whether that was a precaution or a knowing measure, I do not wish
to speculate.  Of course, there I did ...
 
On a different note - I wish to add to comments made earlier in the year on
the French Connection's defensive habits.  This time, they were flawless.
They didn't need to play much defense, as they carried the play when on the
ice, but on this night, I can say I had no reservations about their skills
as two way hockey players.
 
Finally, the crowd.  Gutterson was very, very loud, and fairly
intimidating.  The UVM fans lack the spontineity and creativity of the
Lynah crowd, but they make up for it in their ability to be really LOUD.
While Go, Cats, GO was annoying at Placid last year, it was downright
frightening at thre Gut, I can see why they do it, it rings pretty well in
their beautiful rink.  I was very impressed, though I still think Lynah can
be far more brutal in the long run.  But, I wouldn't want to play too many
games in the Gut.  I can tell you that.
 
3 more to go to complete the 12 team ECAC tour.  I'll get 1 more this year,
RPI.
 
Now the battle begins in earnest.
 
And on the Cornell-Clarkson front - the Boston fan base for Cornell would
be several thousand.  Quite enormous, without a doubt.  Not that this
should keep them East, but here's hoping ...
 
 
Larry Weintraub,
Cornell University
Let's Go BIG RED!!!!!
 
Quote of the Semester:
   "Our program was coming but when we played Cornell our building just
changed.  The Cornell fans brought a lot of their chants and their
tradition to this building.  From then on, our crowd has taken off"
 
                --Michigan Hockey Coach Red Berenson
 
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