By wpengine February 27, 2004
If the season had started last weekend, the women’s hockey team would be in good position to start off the year undefeated. After collecting three points in a win and a tie over Findlay, the Red could elongate its meager unbeaten streak tonight in Schenectady, N.Y. as the squad takes on bottom-feeding Union in a two game series. Unfortunately for the embattled team, this is not the beginning but, rather, the very end of the season, and two wins this weekend are a necessity, not a luxury. The Red (1-13-0, 5-17- 2 overall) currently rests in ninth place in the ECAC, two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot with four league games remaining. Luckily for the Red, the final four opponents are just the teams any squad would want to play the most. “Making the playoffs should be pretty easy,” head coach Melody Davidson said. “We need to win three of our next four games. The last game of the season against Vermont could turn out to be the game we need to get in the playoffs.” The Catamounts occupy that coveted eighth seed, with games remaining against league powers Harvard, Brown, Colgate and the Red. Cornell, on the other hand, will be facing off against the cellar-dwellers, including the two contests this weekend at Union. Yet the less daunting schedule does not mean that Davidson and the rest of the Red will be simply coasting through these final contests. With a scoring average of just over two goals per game, the Red’s offense will need to show some signs of life if the team hopes to advance significantly in the playoffs. Last weekend, freshman forward Halina Kristalyn provided a much-needed boost by notching two goals and an assist against Findlay, including the game-winner on Saturday. “Generating offense is something we have been working on for the past couple weeks,” Davidson said. “We will continue to work on it in preparation for the Union games.” Fortunately for the Red, Schenectady should provide the perfect shooting range for the offensively-challenged squad. The Dutchwomen (0-14- 0, 3-26- 1) have yet to win a league game and rank last in almost every conceivable statistical category, including the unenviable feat of allowing 67 second-period goals. All totaled, Union is giving up an average of 6.1 goals per game, a figure that should make the mouths of the Red scorers water with anticipation. “Everyone is expected to step up,” said Davidson. “Our scoring is fairly balanced — so in five on five situations we expect everyone to contribute.” The Red has been getting key contributions from a number of sources, both expected and unexpected. Kristalyn, who was named the Tompkins Trust Co./Cornell Varsity Athlete of the Week this week, has netted eight goals on the season (tops on the squad) and ranks second on the team in scoring with 14 points. The Bloomfield, Ont. native has been complemented by another dynamic Canadian import, classmate Caroline Scott (six goals, two assists). Both newcomers have registered serious time on the Red’s special teams, another aspect Davidson hopes to tighten up down the home stretch. “The special teams must be solid,” Davidson said. “We were 100% on penalty kill this past weekend and scored a power play goal in each game. That has to continue.” The Dutchwomen are also led by two star underclassmen, freshman forwards Elise Nichols (12 goals, seven assists) and Kelly Lannan (four goals, eight assists). Union’s troubles can be attributed to the relative youth of their program both off (women’s hockey was added as a varsity sport in 1999) and on the ice (the team boasts only four rostered juniors). Head coach Fred Quistgard is in his fifth season with the team. Archived article by Kyle Sheahen
By wpengine February 27, 2004
Last semester, Eric Angles ’06 walked down the flight of steps by Rockefeller Hall as usual. This time, however, he slipped on a patch of ice and, after using his hand to break his fall, fractured his wrist in two places. Angles had stumbled into an all too familiar Cornell problem — dangerous ice patches that can not only wound one’s dignity but also break bones and cost hundreds in medical costs. In this case, Angles took full responsibility. “The path has signs that say it isn’t maintained, but I failed to take it seriously,” he said. Not everybody takes these accidents so lightly, however. “We live in a litigious society,” said Russell Kendzior, president of the National Floor Safety Institute. “50 years ago, if someone were to slip and fall they pretty much went home and suffered.” Kendzior, who often serves as an expert witness in slip and fall cases, also emphasized how major an issue slip and fall accidents are. He said that such accidents cost $60 billion dollars a year, and that these accidents are the leading cause of death in people over 75. “8 million people a year go to emergency room due to slip and fall,” he said. “Those kind of slips and fall accidents can be prevented. It’s simple stuff.” Cornell grounds maintenance is committed to helping prevent such accidents. Pete Salino of Cornell Grounds Care explained that the grounds team worked in shifts throughout the day, starting at 5:00 a.m. “We have quite a program set up. Everyone has their positions,” Solino said. During the day, the strategy is generally plow and salt any problem areas reported. After 11:00 p.m., however, the regular shifts end. If there is a sudden overnight storm, the team relies on calls to the local police to discover problem areas. “Basically, we’re going to be in half an hour [after a call is placed],” Salino said. “We’ll just send a salter truck usually.” Despite the team’s efforts though, accidents such as Angles’s still occur, and not everyone takes them as well as he did. According to University Counsel, the school is sued approximately once a year for slip and fall accidents, though many of those are non-ice related. Legally, a plaintiff must demonstrate that Cornell had fair notice of the problem and was negligent in taking care of it. So far, the University has successfully pushed for dismissal in slip and fall cases, although a case against the school is currently being heard in Westchester, New York, in Greenspan v. Cornell. Gannett did not have ice-related slip and fall accident numbers on file, said Sharon Dittman, associate director of community relations for Gannett. She did, however, offer tips to students on protecting themselves from injury. “No matter how well the snow and ice is removed from streets and sidewalks, we all will encounter some slippery surfaces when walking outdoors in the winter,” she said. “Plan ahead; give yourself time to get where you’re going so you don’t have to go too fast.” If students do begin to fall, she advises that they roll with the fall. She also said that students should “relax as much as possible when [they] begin to fall.” If an injury does still occur, she also notes that students can receive mobility assistance from the Office of Student Disability Services. Staff members can receive help from the Office of Human resources. Kendzior said that the best way to deal with injuries, though, is to prevent them. He recommended color coding sidewalks and curbs for easy visibility, as well as making sure proper lighting was present to help pedestrians see problems spots before stepping on them. “That’s the key: prevention,” he said. Angles agreed; he said his accident may have been avoidable had he worn his boots instead of tennis shoes, another piece of Dittman’s advice. Archived article by Michael Morisy