{"id":49060,"date":"2013-02-13T05:00:10","date_gmt":"2013-02-13T11:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=49060"},"modified":"2013-02-13T13:36:21","modified_gmt":"2013-02-13T19:36:21","slug":"slumping-cornells-schafer-we-find-ourselves-in-uncharted-territory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2013\/02\/13\/slumping-cornells-schafer-we-find-ourselves-in-uncharted-territory\/","title":{"rendered":"Slumping Cornell’s Schafer: ‘We find ourselves in uncharted territory’"},"content":{"rendered":"
It takes only a quick glance at the ECAC Hockey standings<\/a> to find two of the bigger story lines in the league this season.<\/p>\n At the top is Quinnipiac, the nation’s hottest team that’s working on a three-month unbeaten streak. And sitting in 11th is Cornell, only three points out of last place.<\/p>\n The Big Red are stuck in a seven-game losing streak and are just 2-10 in the second half. They’re on pace to finish with their first losing record since 1998-99 and third overall in coach Mike Schafer’s 18-year tenure, which includes eight NCAA tournament appearances.<\/p>\n “It’s a lot of areas,” Schafer said when asked if he could pinpoint any reason for Cornell’s slump. “We’re not capitalizing on scoring chances; some games we’re not being disciplined, not blocking shots.<\/p>\n “Looking back, and going ‘How the heck are we where we are?’ and a lot of it has to do with the different little things that you do when you’re winning games.”<\/p>\n Cornell outshot Princeton 39-12 last Saturday and held the Tigers to no shots in the third period but lost 1-0.<\/p>\n “There was a lot of frustration, not just in the final period but a lot of frustration that we were getting that many scoring chances,” Schafer said. “Over the course of time, we can’t use it as an excuse.”<\/p>\n Few, if any, ominous signs were present to warn of what was ahead for the Big Red. Cornell lost four productive seniors from last year’s team that was one game away from the Frozen Four. But it returned most of its core en route to a 3-0-1 start and a 7-3-2 mark after beating national runner-up Ferris State on Dec. 28 in the opening round of the Florida College Hockey Classic.<\/p>\n The Big Red led Maine 3-0 in the tournament’s championship game the next day but let the lead evaporate into a 6-4 loss to the Black Bears, who entered the tournament with two wins on the season.<\/p>\n Cornell has had its share of injuries, including losing forward Cole Bardreau for the year last month with a fractured neck, but Schafer isn’t making excuses.<\/p>\n “It’s unbelievable that we find ourselves in this situation,” Schafer said. “I’ve never been in this situation as a coach before; the team has never been in this situation as a team before. We find ourselves in uncharted territory.”<\/p>\n He can’t help but look at first-place Quinnipiac, a team in the top spot by virtue of what Cornell has done well for so many years.<\/p>\n “Everyone has bought into their systems,” Schafer said of the Bobcats. “They get good goaltending night in and night out, they’re blocking shots and they’re disciplined night in and night out. That’s what winning teams do.”<\/p>\n There’s three weekends left for Cornell to better position itself for the league playoffs, but if all holds, it’s likely Feb. 22 and 23 will be the Big Red’s final games at Lynah Rink this season.<\/p>\n “We need to get away from the fact that we let a good season slip away,” Schafer said. “Now we need to get going and to play our best hockey of the year to be a solid team in the playoffs. It’s going to be on the road and it’s going to be difficult, but we put ourselves in this situation.”<\/p>\n The weekend blizzard that buried New England pushed Yale and Brown’s game back to Tuesday night, where the Bears took a 1-0 win in Providence.<\/p>\n Anthony Borelli continued his impressive run in net for Brown, stopping all 44 Bulldogs shots. Yale was still without starting goaltender Jeff Malcolm, who left Yale’s game against Princeton on Feb. 1 with an injury.<\/p>\n The Bulldogs’ loss opens things up a bit in the standings, as a good weekend by either Dartmouth or Princeton could leapfrog those teams over Yale into second place.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Harvard probably wishes it could face Boston University a little more often. The Crimson beat BU 7-4 Monday in the Beanpot consolation game, with freshman Peter Traber making 43 saves for his first career win.<\/p>\n Harvard has two wins since Nov. 16, both against the Terriers. The Crimson have scored 13 goals against BU this season — and just 37 in their other 21 games.<\/p>\n This is the third season in a row Harvard has won the consolation game. Last year, it rode a win over Northeastern to a first-round bye and the league playoff championship game, where it lost to Union.<\/p>\n For Quinnipiac, a lot, as the Bobcats rose to the No. 1 spot in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll<\/a> for the first time in program history.<\/p>\nMidweek wrapup<\/h4>\n
What’s in a number?<\/h4>\n