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The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2003/04/11/despite-loss-hockey-season-memorable-for-its-great-moments/)

April 11, 2003

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Despite Loss, Hockey Season Memorable for its Great Moments

By wpengine | April 11, 2003

BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s been three hours and 10 minutes since Cornell lost to New Hampshire in the NCAA semifinals. Yes, I thought Shane Palahicky’s tip in the first period was a goal, I also thought the call on Shane Hynes with three minutes left in the game was bogus.

That said, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone associated with the men’s hockey team: from Coach Schafer to Joanna Cheng, the team manager, for the most memorable experience at Cornell.

I think of life as a string of stories and none has been as neatly wrapped up in a bow as this year’s hockey team. Last year’s success was condensed into two losses: one to Harvard in the ECAC championships, and the other to UNH at the NCAA quarterfinals.

The stage is set: Resolute not to have a d

Heavyweights Sweep Rutgers

By wpengine April 14, 2003

With a strong headwind and sunny conditions, the men’s heavyweight crew swept all three races against Rutgers to capture the Howard Smith Cup. The varsity eight boat crossed the finish line with a time of 6:22.1, nearly eight seconds ahead of its opponents. The Red’s second varsity boat clocked in at 6:30.1, while Rutgers posted a time of 6:44.0, and the Red’s third varsity boat pulled in three seconds later at 6:47.3 In novice action, the Red dominated the Scarlet Knights as, it raced to a 6:36.7 finish, while Rutgers finished second with a time of 6:49.2. Despite the cold weather, junior John Lipiros, a member of the varsity eight boat, was extremely pleased with his team’s performance. “We handled the conditions really well. They [Rutgers] were fighting, but we pulled away at the halfway point,” he said. The heavyweights will use these victories to prepare themselves for next weekend’s regatta against Navy and Syracuse. The Red also has its sights set on the race that will take place two weeks from now, when it will compete against Princeton and Yale for the Carnegie Cup. Cornell’s other crews were also in action this weekend. The men’s lightweight boats were only able to capture one first-place victory on the Cayuga Inlet, where the team hosted Princeton and Rutgers. The Tigers won the varsity eight race in an impressive 6:31.9, while the Knights finished 11 seconds later at 6:41.2, just two seconds ahead of Cornell’s 6:43.1 third-place finish. “We had a stiff headwind going on the course. We just never really clicked on the boat,” said senior captain Michael Cody. “Since it is still early in the season, we haven’t come anywhere close to reaching our potential; with more racing experience, we can expect top speed out of our boats.” Cornell’s third varsity boat and the second novice boat each raced to first-place victories. Cody had only good things to say about the third varsity boat, which dominated Princeton with a time of 6:27.0, five seconds ahead of the Tigers’ 6:32.2. “They are a deep team and have been capitalizing on strong rowers.” Head coach Todd Kennett ’91 agreed with his captain’s assessment of the crew’s performance this weekend. “We significantly underperformed as compared to what we are capable of doing,” he said. The Red will have a chance to redeem itself as it prepares to travel next weekend for competition against Columbia and MIT. The women’s crews traveled to Lake Carnegie Saturday to compete in a quad race against Wisconsin, Radcliffe, and Princeton. Radcliffe took the varsity eight race with a time of 7:01.1, while the Red came in third with 7:18.59. The Red’s sole first-place finish was claimed by the second novice eight boat, which beat Radcliffe with a time of 7:46.2. Cornell will travel to Schuylkill River next weekend where it will face Penn and Rutgers. Archived article by Adrienne Dunbar
Men's Hockey Falls to UNH 3-2 in National Semifinal

By wpengine April 12, 2003

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The men’s hockey team had spent all of nine seconds this season trailing by three or more goals. So when New Hampshire scored 7:10 into the second period of the national semifinal to go ahead 3-0, Cornell had its work cut out for it. The Red (30-5-1, 19-2-1 ECAC) never was able to catch the Wildcats (28-7-6, 15-5-4 Hockey East), but it came as close as it could, scoring two goals and ringing a possible game-tying shot off UNH goalie Mike Ayers’ mask with under a minute left. Ayers’ strong play in net and a momentum swing after a disallowed first period goal ended up as deciding factors in the 3-2 New Hampshire win. “I have no complaints,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86 after the failed comeback attempt. “We had our opportunities, we went for it and that’s the definition of success. We laid it all on the line, we weren’t tentative. When our players look back, they can’t doubt their work ethic or their performance tonight.” Cornell came out strong in the first period, keeping the puck in the New Hampshire zone for much of the first half of the frame. The Wildcats were unable to manage even a shot on sophomore goalie David LeNeveu for the first seven minutes of the period. It appeared as though the Red struck first, as senior Shane Palahicky deflected a Jeremy Downs shot under the left arm of UNH goalie Mike Ayers 12:06 into the period. Upon reviewing the replay, though, the officials determined that Palahicky’s stick was higher than four feet off the ice when it touched the puck. Referee Don Adam waved off the goal, ruling it a high-stick infraction. New Hampshire seized the momentum after the disallowed goal, and began putting pressure on LeNeveu. With 5:39 remaining in the first period, the Wildcats’ fourth line became the first unit to find the back of the net. Tyler Scott picked up the puck behind the Cornell goal and sent a pass to linemate Tim Horst in the high slot. Horst then blasted a quick one-timer past LeNeveu to give the Wildcats the first goal. Although UNH only led by one at the first intermission, it had all the energy in the second half of the period following the overturned goal. The Red was outshot 10-0 in the first period after at point. “That was the part when we needed a momentum shift,” said New Hampshire’s Patrick Foley of the disallowed goal. “We weren’t playing the game we needed to; that was a momentum swing.” The Wildcats stormed out again in the second period, capitalizing on some nifty passing. Sean Collins left a drop pass for Nathan Martz, who sent a precise pass across to Steve Saviano. Saviano redirected the puck from the right hashmark into the net, putting UNH up by two. Saviano wasn’t finished, either, scoring again less than six minutes later. He threaded a shot on the power play between LeNeveu’s left shoulder and the post, beating the goalie to the short side. However, Cornell dominated most of the action in the period, as the two New Hampshire goals came on just three shots. The Red finally scratched its way onto the scoreboard midway through the period, when it took advantage of a power play. With 58 seconds left in the minor penalty, Schafer called a timeout to allow his top power play unit to catch a breather. The move paid off, as senior co-captain Stephen B