I am not as close to the Cornell program as I was when up there, but I keep close enough contact. It hurts me, as well, to see how the program has fallen. I never thought McCutcheon was a great coach. I was there from '88-'92 when he had good talent. He also isn't considered a "player's coach." This was just a perception on my part for a while, until I heard horror stories later on. It seems to me that he was able to get away with being a tyrant with good teams, but with players who need some motivation and prodding, it isn't working. Beyond that, however, I've never heard great things about the X's and O's, though I don't profess to know hockey well enough technically to differentiate. Still, he was able to get talent in at first. Is this because he was living off past reputation? I don't know the answer to that, but it's obvious the talent has not come in lately, or at least not enough of it. I have heard, however, that it's possibly not all his fault. Take a look at the lacrosse program, look where that has fallen. I am now at Princeton, and the lacrosse and hockey programs of the two schools are virtual mirror images over the last 10 years. I have heard great things about the Princeton admissions dept. and the feeling is mutual with admissions toward the coaches. I have heard the opposite lately with Cornell admissions. Ryan Smart is a great player, but Cornell only got three players in this year on a team that was decimated in recent years by graduation. How can a player like Matt Brush, whose father played on the 29-0 team, not get into Cornell, but into Princeton? The most damaging this on McCutcheon's record when I was there was in 1990 and 1991. Those were good teams. Especially the 1991, there was no excuse for not winning the ECAC that year. Cornell needed 2 pts in their final 4 games and blew the ECAC regular season, and Ivy league title. They clobbered Colgate in two games, then lost in OT to St. Lawrence in the semifinal at the Garden. They snuck into the NCAA's, pulled out a win in game 1 vs. Michigan, then lost the next two. That team should have done more. But late season collapses have been the rule in recent years. In 1993, when they didn't make the playoffs, Cornell lost almost every game down the stretch. I was at a game in Princeton when they lost a 2-goal lead with 5 minutes left, then lost in OT. I don't think you can expect Cornell to be as dominant as they were in the '60's-'80's. It's just never going to be the same for Ivy League again, in my opinion. But you can expect a challenge for the ECAC title. There's certainly the resources, it seems, to do that. And, agreed, Bob Gaudet is the best coach in the league. AW