By wpengine November 7, 2003
One week ago, the men’s hockey team opened its season at home with high hopes and lofty expectations for a return trip deep into the NCAA tournament. But, after failing to win a game against Western Michigan, the No. 15 Red was forced to go back to the drawing board this past week in preparation of the beginning of its conference schedule, which begins tonight in New Haven, Conn. Though the Red has gotten off to a slow start, the team is confident that it will be able to put last weekend’s struggles behind it and post the season’s first win. “It’s a very difficult road trip, but I think the road will be very good for us now to go on and play what I call road hockey. It’s a little more defensive-minded and pay a little more attention to detail,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. Cornell will face another pair of stern challenges this weekend, as it matches up against ECAC rivals Yale and Princeton. The Elis play host to the Red tonight in Ingalls Rink. Last weekend, Yale opened its season by dropping a pair of games to North Dakota by a combined score of 18-4. The Bulldogs will also be without the services of last year’s ECAC Co-Player of the Year Chris Higgins, who signed with the Montreal Canadiens over the summer. Schafer, however, believes Yale will still be a formidable opponent. “Yale’s going to come out very fired up after being embarrassed at North Dakota,” he said. “They always play well at home and I’m sure Coach [Tim] Taylor will have his team ready to play.” Yale returns last season’s second leading scorer, forward Ryan Steeves. Steeves tallied 38 points last year on 15 goals and 23 assists. In addition, forward Vin Hellemeyer and defenseman Jeff Dwyer also return. Last season, the Red had little trouble with the Bulldogs, winning by scores of 6-2 and 3-0. Tomorrow night, Cornell will visit Princeton at Hobey Baker Rink. The Tigers have suffered through several very difficult seasons in recent years. Last season, Princeton compiled a record of 3-26-2, including only two conference wins. Last weekend, the Tigers dropped both games of a season-opening series at St. Cloud State, 2-1 and 3-1. However, as much as the Tigers have struggled in the past, the Red will view tomorrow’s game just as any other. “We’re going after them the same way we go after every team,” said senior captain Ryan Vesce, who scored two goals against the Tigers in last November’s 3-0 win at Lynah Rink. “Every game is important. You play so little games, it’s definitely important to get off to a good start.” The last time the two teams met in Princeton, the Red won, 2-1, to clinch its second consecutive ECAC regular season title. For the Red, there are still some questions to be answered after last weekend. A starting goalie for this weekend has not yet been named. Freshman David McKee played both games last weekend after senior Todd Marr was unable to practice all of last week. In addition, the Red continues to work out some inconsistencies with its power play, which also struggled a bit last week, largely due to inexperience as a unit, Schafer said. Cornell will hope to use this weekend to continue to build and develop as a team. “We generated a whole lot of chances. I’d be really concerned if we didn’t generate any offense. If we were very bad in our own zone as far as losing the check, I’d be really concerned, but I’m not right now. It’s just a matter of getting more playing experience with guys,” said Schafer. “Playing and continuing to play shows you where your strengths are and where your weaknesses are.”Archived article by Owen Bochner
By wpengine November 7, 2003
While the football team (1-6, 0-4 Ivy) hasn’t won since Sept. 20, its biggest loss of the season might’ve come last Sunday. Last Saturday’s 28-6 loss at Princeton was certainly devastating, but the day after the loss provided the week’s worst news. “Mick’s done for the year,” said head coach Tim Pendergast of his senior quarterback and offensive captain Mick Razzano. “He knew that he wasn’t healthy, knew he wasn’t 100 percent, and I told Mick, ‘If you were my son I would encourage you not to play until you’re healthy because you’ll put yourself at more risk.'” Razzano, who gained an extra year of eligibility this season in order to lead the Red, has been suffering from a pulled abdominal muscle since the season’s first month. At a press conference Wednesday, Pendergast talked further of Razzano’s decision. “He’s such a competitor and he’s such a driven guy that he didn’t want to take no for an answer,” said Pendergast. “After the Princeton game, he basically knew he can’t do it anymore. So I talked to him on Sunday and he’s made his decision and it’s the right decision.” As if Razzano’s departure was not tough enough for the Red, Cornell also lost freshman wide receiver Tony Jackson (clavicle) and outside linebacker Pat Starleper (ACL tear) this week. Furthermore, junior cornerback Sean Nassoiy is out indefinitely and will not play tomorrow. “We’re staying positive. It’s about staying the course, and that’s what you have to do in this situation,” said senior wideout John Kellner of the losing streak and the team’s injury problems. “The only thing that will fix it is a win and we know that.” The reality for the Red is, indeed, that the most immediate issue at hand is a trip to Hanover tomorrow to face the red hot Green of Dartmouth. Last week, Dartmouth (3-4, 2-2 Ivy) stunned then-undefeated Harvard 30-16 in one of the Ivy League’s biggest upsets in recent memory. Sophomore quarterback Charlie Rittgers led the charge for the Green, completing 17 of 33 passes for 344 yards. Rittgers, one of the league’s most exciting young talents, also threw two touchdowns and scored another on the ground in the victory. Rittgers favorite target is senior Jay Barnard who averages 8 catches per game for 103.3 yards, both tops in the Ivies. Barnard is the current school record holder for career receptions and is only 354 yards away from being Dartmouth’s all-time yardage leader. Dartmouth tends towards the big play, something Cornell’s defense has been prone to give up in 2003. Last week saw the Green execute 11 plays of 20 yards or more. “Last week against Harvard, they really let the cat out of the bag. It was really an offensive explosion in many ways,” said Pendergast. “Give all the credit to Dartmouth because they won that game on the scoreboard, they didn’t win it in statistical categories necessarily, but they won it on the scoreboard.” Cornell’s defense will have to neutralize that scoring prowess in order to compete with the Green, who is currently riding a three-game win streak since Rittgers took over the helm. “After watching the Harvard tape, they’re going to cause a lot of problems. Hopefully we’re going to prepare well enough for anything they’re going to throw at us,” said senior free safety Neil Morrissey, who leads the Red in tackles with 9.1 per game. “It does not look complicated, they are just athletes and we have to be athletes right back and neutralize the attack.” As for Cornell’s offense, it will have to contend more with itself than with Dartmouth’s oftentimes inconsistent defense. The Red is currently last in the Ivy League in rush offense (103.7 ypg), sacks allowed (19), first downs (124) and scoring (12.1 ppg). The reins of Cornell’s struggling offense will be passed to senior D.J. Busch, who had been sharing snaps with Razzano the past four weeks. Busch, to this point, has thrown for 608 yards on 55-111 passing, averaging 121.6 yards per game. Busch’s teammates are optimistic about his extended and permanent role behind center. “We’re really comfortable with D.J. He’s a great quarterback. We lose a great player in Mick and that hurts, but as far as athletic wise, D.J. can step in and do a great job for us,” said Kellner. On the other side of the ball, junior David Blanks will step in for Nassoiy and sophomore Jeff Hahn will fill Starleper’s role. Still, regardless of the changes and in spite of its six game losing streak, the Red has remained optimistic this week and will head into Hanover with a renewed sense of purpose. “I don’t think anyone could sit here and tell you we’d be 1-6. It’s something that you don’t think about, it can happen to anybody,” said Kellner. “It tests your character, it tests the team’s character. And we just need to come out and get a win.” And Pendergast feels good about his team’s chances to turn it around starting tomorrow. “I feel very sure that we’ll win a game — this week,” he concluded.Archived article by Scott Jones