Cornell-UVM

[Un_Poco_Lento]

Cornell managed to pull out a last second win at home against UVM, sending the Big Red to the playoffs despite failing to beat any of the top 7 teams *and* losing a game to last place Union.

Brief recap:

Cornell had a slight territorial advantage in the first period, but UVM had more scoring chances. Most of Vermont's scoring opportunities came on the power play, and Cornell controlled play pretty well at even strength. UVM took a 1-0 lead into the intermission courtesy of a PPG scored on a flurry that followed a pretty good shorthanded chance for Cornell.

Cornell didn't look as good at the start of the second period, as UVM started out with a few good shifts. The period gradually evened out, with Cornell once again getting the better of even strength play and UVM generating some chances on the power play. UVM had an overall edge in the second due to several Cornell penalties, but Cornell converted on a nice two on one chance, and did a good job killing penalties.

The third period was all Cornell. Apart from a few good shifts at the start of the third and a 90 second span in the middle of the period, UVM really didn't generate any offense and was just scrambling around the defensive zone. I think UVM's goaltender actually stood on her head at one point in the third.

OT was more of the same. UVM started with a strong shift, but Cornell got possession and just mounted a lot of pressure. The first 4 minutes of the OT featured a spectacular post-to-post blocker save by the UVM goalie and a missed shot at an open net, and despite constant pressure Cornell couldn't get the game winner. With just under a minute left, UVM iced the puck and Cornell pulled Vineberg for the extra skater. UVM won the draw and chipped it out of the zone, but it got deflected into the bench. Cornell left the net empty for the neutral zone draw. UVM won the draw and shot the puck down, missing the empty net by inches. Icing again, and after winning the draw and getting some good chances Cornell finally broke through, and Hodgkinson tapped a rebound into the open side of the net with 18 seconds to play.

So we didn't get to see UVM pull the goalie when up by 2, but we did get to see an EAG in overtime, which is also pretty rare.

Overall, it was a great game. Both goaltenders did a tremendous job, and both teams were leaving it all out there. I doubt Cornell can even hope to hang with Harvard next weekend. Did Harvard really outshoot UVM 71-2 a couple of weeks ago? Cornell's got decent goaltending and arguably a better defense than UVM, but the Cornell forwards lack the size and skill necessary to generate much offense against a team like Harvard.

Still, Cornell plays good hockey, and with most of the talent in the first and second year classes I think this team is headed in the right direction. UVM looked pretty good, too - certainly a lot better than in past years - which is hopefully a sign of more competition in the women's hockey world. I think the ECAC will tighten up a lot within the next 4-5 years, and rather than a league with several really good teams and several really bad teams there will be much more competitive balance.

[skate1024]

Nice summary Un_Poco_Lento. I heard that shot by the UVM player in overtime that "missed the empty net by inches" actually hit the goal post and bounced over the endline causing an icing situation. The faceoff back in the UVM end proved costly. It certainly is a game of inches sometimes! Sounds like it was a good game. Good luck to Cornell. A well dserved win.

[Un_Poco_Lento]

I couldn't tell if it hit the post. From where I was it looked like it just missed, but I was near center ice and it was so close that it may well have skimmed the iron without me seeing it. Either way, that icing call pretty much decided the game. I doubt Cornell would have mounted that kind of pressure off of a rush, and obviously if the puck had skipped a few inches left UVM would've just won outright.

UVM played a good, tough game. The goaltending was fantastic for both sides, and I thought the UVM blueliners did a nice job of tying up the Cornell sticks in front on the rebounds.

Next year should be really interesting, especially if UVM, Colgate, and Cornell can all get decent recruiting classes. We might see some real battles from top to bottom in the league, which would be a nice change from recent results.

[mattj711]

I am very confident that Ms. Davidson will do whatever it takes to bring in a very solid class next year.

Vermont is drastically better than they were last year, and Cornell has also made significant improvements. The OT goal was a thing of beauty. Cote was phenomenal in net.

[Un_Poco_Lento]

Last year's recruits have been pretty good for Cornell. They combined for a nice goal in the second period, and were on a very effective line yesterday. I think the size of the recruiting class has more to do with the late hire of Coach Davidson than anything else, so hopefully we'll see 6 or 7 solid players coming in next year. That'll give Cornell enough skaters to roll four full lines, too. Seems like there were only 16 skaters yesterday, which leaves one forward out of the regular rotation.

I've been really impressed with the player development at Cornell over the past two years, and it looks like Vermont's coach is having a similar effect in Burlington.

[faceoff]

You mentioned last year's Cornell recruits as forming an effective line and scoring in the second period against Vermont. You may find it interesting to know that the Vermont player that also scored in that game, Jessie Benoit, was also a Cornell recruit last year - one that got away however! Looks like Coach Davidson has an eye for talent and must have smiled inside knowing this. Having gone through the recruiting process with both Coach Davidson and Coach Dillon I can tell you that they are both class acts and made the whole recruiting process enjoyable.