Krantz Leads Defense

Groucho Marx once said “anyone can get old; all you need to do is live long enough.” With so many freshmen and sophomores on the men’s hockey team, it seems like the four seniors are indeed old, wise men. Of the seniors, the only defenseman in the class is co-alternate captain Doug Krantz. It therefore falls on Krantz’s shoulders to anchor the defense.
“[Krantz] is a big leader out there,” said junior Jared Seminoff.
Playing an important role is nothing new for Krantz, who has been making an impact since his arrival at Cornell as a freshman. In his rookie campaign, the senior from Marysville, B.C., played in 31 games for the Red, including the last 24 of the season, notching four goals, five assists and a +12 rating. His first career goal that year was a game-tying score in the second period in an eventual 1-1 tie with Michigan State.
As a sophomore, Krantz continued his strong play, despite an injury that kept him out of the final two games of the regular season and forced him to play with a cast on his arm for the final six contests of the year. Nevertheless, he recorded seven points and a +10 rating on the year.
Last year, he helped pace a group of defensemen hurting from the departures of Ryan O’Byrne ’07 and Sasha Pokoluk ’08 to the NHL and the loss of Dan Glover ’07 to injury for thet majority of the season. Krantz became a leader on defense, becoming one of four players on the squad to ap pear in all 31 games, and he also recorded a career-high five goals on the year, the highest total on the team among the defensemen. The senior also notched a career-high 10 assists and recorded a +7 rating, extending his career total to +29.
“[Scoring goals] is something I try to do,” Krantz said. “It’s part of my game. I try to … join the offense and contribute that way, so everybody has a role on the team. If I can contribute a role here or there, help the forwards out when they need it.”
Despite Krantz’s individual accomplishment, he still preaches a team-first defensive philosophy.
“We are a team that works not just with the defensemen being solid, but it’s a real team concept that we work from the net out,” Krantz said.
As the elder statesman of the defensive corps, Krantz will be called upon to lead a mostly young group of blue liners this year, consisting of two juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen. As proof of his teammates’ respect, Krantz was named a co-alternate captain, along with sophomore forward Colin Greening.
“There were two real clear cut guys in terms of assistants in Colin and Doug,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86.