For the most part I agree with Bob Gross's observations of this game.  There
are a couple of areas I would evaluate differently, however.
 
True, Cornell wasn't on top of things early in the game, but I wouldn't call
it sleepskating.  Believe me, I've seen this team sleep through a lot of
periods.  I attributed the lack of sharpness more towards nervousness.  It
wasn't that they weren't trying, it was just that they were rather disorgan-
ized, and it took them a while to settle down.  Considering this is the first
regular season game for the Red, I expected to see some first game jitters.
Once they settled down, though, they never fell into the "second period slump"
that has charcterized Cornell hockey of late.
 
I thought Bob was being a bit generous when he referred to the excellent
goaltending by Eddie Skazyk.  I have to admit, when Eddie led the team out
on the ice, my heart sank.  It said to me that Coach McCutcheon wanted to
both rotate goaltenders and get a win out of the weekend, and he felt the
best way to do that was by starting Bandurski in the Vermont game (Andy is
2-0-1 against the Catamounts).  Dartmouth wasn't going to be an easy win
for Cornell, and I felt having Eddie in net was going to make it that much
harder.  True to form, Skazyk's first period performance was lackluster.
In the first intermission, however, he must have put on his thinking helmet,
because in the second period he was concentrating and looked MUCH better.
When he made a save, he no longer looked behind him to watch the puck go
into the net, which says to me that he's starting to believe in himself.
He did have moments when his reaction time was rather slow (Dartmouth's
second goal), but he also made some great saves.  I have seen him play
brilliantly (remember the game a Yale last year?), so I know he has talent.
He just needs to show it more consistently if he wants McCutcheon to stay
with the rotation.
 
Overall, I saw more of what I liked in the exhibition game.  Passing is
much improved from last year.  Mental attitude has changed dramatically.
Instead of getting back on their heels, they kept working, even when down
2-0 late in the game.  They still got disorganized, but they didn't stay
that way for long.  The mistakes they were making were because they were
being aggressive, not because they were sitting back waiting for the other
team to make a move.  On top of that, they are shooting!  Yes, Cornell fans,
when I mentioned the word offense in my last post, I wasn't kidding.  The
shots on goal were 17-12-16-1, and many of these were quality shots stopped
by good goaltending on Bracco's part.  Compare that to the 20 shots per
game Cornell was averaging towards the end of the season last year, and
you'll see what a difference an off-season can make.
 
The defense let up more shots than I feel comfortable with (9-18-13), but
considering our defense is half freshmen, I expect they will wittle down
this number as the season progresses.
 
There wasn't much of a lineup change, though I don't remember Cooney or
Zubkus(sp?) playing.  (I still haven't learned everyone's name and number
with all these new players.)  Freshman Kendall (who I don't think played
against Ontario) was paired with defenseman Steve Wilson.  Karam, Sancimino,
and Scollan impressed McCutcheon enough last time out to get starting honors.
In the third period however,  Bumstead was moved up to replace Scollan.  I'm
not sure why unless he wanted someone with more size and agression on the
first line since things got chippy late in the game.
 
The player who impressed me most was freshman Vincent Auger.  He played like
the draft pick he is, making excellent plays on both ends of the ice, and
covering defense when defensemen occasionally got out of position.  He also
got a lot of time on special units playing on both the penalty kill and
being the fourth forward on the power play.  I liked him a lot better on
the PK, but with work I think he could make a good point man on the PP.
He is the kind of freshman Cornell needs to give the team depth.
 
Finally a trivia question:  when was the last time Cornell swept opening
weekend?  (Yes, read heavy optomism going into tonight's game.)  Since I
have been watching Cornell hockey, the team has been making a habit of
dropping a game, usually to Princeton or Army, and I can't remember off the
top of my head when we won both games.  Judging from the shots on goal in
the Dartmouth game, and the score of the Vermont-Colgate game, tonight's
contest could become a shoot-out.  For the first time in many years, I
actually have faith that we can win that kind of a game.
 
Paulette Dwen
Cornell '89
Let's Go Red!
Enjoy that undefeated record while it lasts!