LaxPower Back-Up Stick

Sunday forecast at the Kopf. About 47 and partly Sunny.
If this forecast holds up, then I will be back at my usual spot about halfway up the Crescent at the 50 yd line.
Can't wait as this will be my first in person game this year and PENN always plays us tough.
I expect a close hard-fought game.
Gobigred
Joewillie78

Terry Foy:

The return of Michael Long is compelling. Billy Coyle kept his role at X and dished six assists. Prior to that, he had registered 0, 1, 0, 2, and 0 assists. Coach Connor Buczek said postgame that what Long brings to the group is calmness. It seems like the way to conceive of the Big Red offense going forward is that Long replaces Piatelli, and Coyle replaces Long. That’s not what I expected, and I’m intrigued by how it’ll develop.

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... ier-/60998

Much has been written about the Yale game - but I always I hope to offer a few additional angles to the analysis:

* This was one of the most complete games I've ever seen a Cornell team play. Top to bottom. All positions. The energy was incredible. Offense was a paragon of unselfishness. Defense was tough and efficient. Faceoffs were not perfect but relentless. And finally, goaltending was superb.
* Chayse is playing at a first team AA level. He does not get the national recognition he deserves. He badly sprained his ankle in Q1, but returned to play a spotless game. Except for 2-3 late goals that were in chaotic, unsettled plays - it was one of the best performances you will see at this level. Just a huge part of this team. Who is playing better in goal this season?
* Defensively, Adler again showed why he is the best at his position. It seemed like Brandau literally stopped dodging/attacking the defense - in large part due to the pressure Adler brought. He was as usual a vacuum off the ground. Now, Cornell played a bunch of pressure zone - which seemed to really stymie Yale - but there was enough individual opportunities in this one to highlight just how good Adler is. The other revelation was Singer. He was flying around (particularly on the IG reel making its rounds where he lays out 41 and then body checks 44 on the crease). He is becoming another low-key star on this excellent defense. And depth - it seemed like Cornell played so many guys (see SSDMS 7, 5, 6, 13 and LSMs 33 and 50 - with other quality players waiting on the bench).
* Faceoffs - kudos to Angelo for his persistence and confidence. He may not have gotten a single draw vs Penn State (??), but comes out and goes 8/13 against Ramsey who dominated him last year. Faceoffs are all about matchups - who can gain an edge on an opponent in any particular game! Petrakis showed that he is ready to contribute no matter the circumstances. Also - the 3-headed monster that this group has become is hopefully going to help Cornell in tight games when they are up against a real FO stud. 33 and 7 are improving every week on their wing play.
* The return of Michael Long has already been well chronicled. Buczek said among other things that his return had a "calming" effect on everyone. That is a perfect description. It seemed like everyone on offense was relaxed and focused on spinning the rock as fast as possible to the open man. And we saw the results. Great to see. The other thing (and Terry Foy touched on this) is that Long played the right wing while Coyle stayed at X. Not many expected this. Obviously this worked to perfection. My take however is that Long's legs are not quite where they need to be yet to generate the quickness or speed needed to doge from X. He was clearly not 100%. But it will come and then we will see both Coyle and Long playing interchangeably. They are two of the most underrated players at attack in the country. To be clear - no one is going to replace J Piatelli and his production in the manner he produced it in 2022. If Long stays on right wing it will be different for sure. But it can have super results. The other key thing is Kirst was not required to carry the ball and dodge as much as the primary guy - i.e., he got the ball in the flow of the offense and was then deadly in his ability to improvise, shoot, dish, etc. A lot like how Teat was so effective. If this holds - Kirst will only get better! Hard to imagine. This attack line certainly has the potential to do great things.

In any case - we should also pump the brakes a little. It was just one game and a very skilled and dangerous Penn team awaits. Yale got down by a lot very early and the game simply just got away from them. It's just one game and they will be back. And don't be fooled - Penn has so much talent. They sometimes get stuck relying on Handley too much on O and lose their balance on D. But they are capable of playing great and beating anybody. This will be a very difficult game.

As someone close to the program often said for many years - "let's stay down on the farm." Great advice this week!

VF

I've had the opportunity to watch three Penn games this year (not in person). They are a skilled team. Penn plays in a disruptive style, with skill in unsettled situations. Penn's goalie, Emmett Carroll, is very solid. If Cornell can avoid getting drawn in to Penn's game tempo, and play disciplined ball, Cornell should have an advantage. Handley is an amazing outside shooter. He is, also, disruptive in that he often draws a slide or a double team that leaves a Penn attacker open. Good luck to the Big Red.

Penn's great attackman Dylan Gergar was injured against St. Joe's. After reading the article at the following link, I was wondering whether he'll be suiting up against the Big Red this Sunday. Does anyone know? http://www.thedp.com/article/2023/03/pe ... iladelphia

That article is ten days old. The broadcast team for Penn said in the Princeton game that he was out for the year. But that's only the broadcast team. I think the answer to your question is no. Nobody knows outside of the team.

Ivyman wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2023 9:41 am That article is ten days old. The broadcast team for Penn said in the Princeton game that he was out for the year. But that's only the broadcast team. I think the answer to your question is no. Nobody knows outside of the team.

We'll find out when Penn publishes their anticipated starting line up. Of course that may not be definitive. If he isn't available, that's a big negative for the Quakers. Rubin is lethal and of course there's Handley. We'll know soon enough.

Congratulations to CJ KIRST who is now the leading goal scorer in the nation at 4.5 goals per game, and Chayse Lerlan who is now 3rd in the country in save %.

For team stats, Cornell is top 10 in Caused turnovers, groundballs and clearing %.

All of the above just a great indicator of how well our coaches are doing and how hard this team works.

Looking forward to Sunday at noon at the Kopf.
Gobigred
Joewillie78

Updates on recruits ———>

5. Hill Academy (Ont.), 4-0
What a start to the season for the Pride. Jumping up 15 spots in the rankings, the Hill put together a tremendous second half comeback to beat Calvert Hall (Md.) 11-7 on March 13, then turned around the next day to beat St. John's (D.C.) 11-5 in a game that was never really close. The Pride followed that up with a commanding 15-4 win over Spalding (Md.) before facing Loyola Blakefield (Md.) a day later. In that contest, they were tied with the Dons 5-5 at the half and ultimately won, 10-8.

Cornell recruit Willem Firth (2023) leads the way for a Hill squad that can score at will and out-tough teams in all facets.

8. Malvern Prep (Pa.), 2-0
In the marquee matchup of Saturday's six-game Inter-Ac vs. IAC event, the preseason No. 10 Friars built a 6-1 first quarter lead against No. 11 Bullis (Md.), going on to win 12-9. Yale-bound junior Nick Wehmeyer won 15-of-21 face-offs, sophomore Michael Ortlieb posted a goal and three assists and

5-star senior AJ Nikolic (Cornell-2023) had two goals and an assist to lead the way for Malvern in Matt Mackrides' head coaching debut.

On Tuesday, the Friars also looked dominant at times in a 13-8 win over La Salle (Pa.) to grab local bragging rights. They have a murderers' row ahead of them between now and the end of the month, going on the road to face Calvert Hall (Md.) on Thursday night before hosting Lawrenceville (N.J.) on Saturday, with a March 30 battle with No. 1 Brunswick (Conn.) looming.

Sorry for the off-topic, but a reminder that the Big Red hockey team play in the NCAAs later today against #4 Denver. Puck drops @ 5:30 pm, and looks like it's being televised on ESPNNews.

It's been 20 (!) years since their last trip to the Frozen Four. Here's hoping today is the start of something big...

The hockey game will also stream on ESPN+

https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/ ... 4336fca943

ICGrad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 1:35 pm Sorry for the off-topic, but a reminder that the Big Red hockey team play in the NCAAs later today against #4 Denver. Puck drops @ 5:30 pm, and looks like it's being televised on ESPNNews.

It's been 20 (!) years since their last trip to the Frozen Four. Here's hoping today is the start of something big...

Cornell leads 2-0 in the 1st period!

Just about to post that! And Denver is the defending national champ!

LGR!

CU77 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 5:57 pm Just about to post that! And Denver is the defending national champ!

LGR!

After 1 period still 2-0!

After two periods Cornell still leads 2-0!

And the Red killed off a 5-minute unreleaseable (to use lax terminology)!

With 3:30 left in the game, Cornell still leads 2-0. The Big Red called time out & Denver is in empty net mode! Nailbiter!!

The BIG RED WINS 2-0!!!!!!! Shane with 27 saves. Go Big Red. Saturday against Boston University 4PM for a place in the Frozen Four.

What a defensive effort. Congrats!

Fantastic win, solid game from beginning to end.

Next: Screw BU!