Men’s hockey was ranked 16th in the most recent USCHO.com poll on Dec. 30, falling 10 spots from its highest ranking — No. 6 in the Nov. 11 iteration of the poll. The Red has seen its ups and downs through the first half of its season.
Many college hockey fans laughed at the single voter that continued to award Cornell its first-place vote in the early in the season, even before the Red had taken the ice. Cornell also received 10 of 12 first-place votes in the ECAC Preseason Poll, making it a favorite to defend its Whitelaw Cup title.
The team swept perennial powerhouse North Dakota in its opening weekend, but has dropped games against Dartmouth, Colgate and Quinnipiac, and only mustered ties against Yale, Harvard and Quinnipiac in its rematch with the Bobcats at Madison Square Garden.
When asked about his team’s play over its first 11 games, head coach Mike Schafer ’86 characterized the fall semester as marked by “a lot of inconsistency.”
In the first of its kind, I will give my best answer to your burning questions about the team as it gears up for a paramount second half.
Why has the team not lived up so far to early season predictions?
The biggest hindrance for Cornell has been injuries. While it returned nearly its whole 2023-2024 starting squad — sans Gabriel Seger ’24 — the team has played the majority of its games without key installments to its lineup.
Eight skaters have missed games for some kind of injury or ailment. And not only are these injuries excessive, but they are primarily concentrated within the forward group. The lack of depth has put a damper on the Red’s scoring, as notable names like senior forwards Kyle Peney, Sullivan Mack and Ondrej Psenicka have all missed time.
Another unfortunate consequence of the Red’s long list of injuries is the loss of physicality in its lineup. If you watch Cornell hockey, you are familiarized with the physicality and stinginess that has aided the Red to success — the style of play that has remained unchanged and marquee to Cornell since the 1970s. Players like junior forward Winter Wallace, sophomore forward Luke Devlin and freshman forward Parker Murray are three of the largest and most physical forces on the team, and their absence has undoubtedly affected Cornell’s approach and execution of its gameplan.
Long story short, injuries — specifically within the forward group — have been the main impediment for Cornell in a season where many dealt high expectations. While the team doesn’t use that as an excuse or a cop-out, it’s the biggest thing that comes to mind when asked about the team’s struggles.
Also worth noting, though, is the similarity between this year’s and last year’s team, and not just on the roster. Through 11 games in 2023-2024, Cornell was 23rd in Pairwise, per College Hockey News. Through 11 games this season, the Red ranks 24th. Although expectations were lofty after a Whitelaw Cup and close regional final game against the eventual national champions, this team was not an offensive juggernaut or shoe-in to the NCAA tournament — the Red only qualified because of the automatic bid from its ECAC title.
Just some food for thought.
Could we get a rundown of current injuries and when players are expected back?
If things are going as Schafer has informed me, the team should be healthy by February barring any further injuries. Specifics of the injuries are not disclosed to me, but I can characterize it in NHL terms — upper vs. lower body — to preserve the players’ rightful privacy.
Devlin and Wallace have both been sidelined from lower body injuries since the start of the season. As I previously mentioned, both are hopeful returners by Feb. 1. Still, if that return date is taken literally, the Red will have to go nine to 10 games without either forward in the lineup.
Penney’s injury/ailment prevented him from traveling to Madison Square Garden and to Colgate. His name was listed beside Devlin’s and Wallace’s for a Feb. 1 return.
I won’t be in Arizona this weekend, but I will be at Sacred Heart for the Jan. 10-11 series. By then, I should hopefully know more about the timelines for return.
What’s going on with the power play?
As of Jan. 2, Cornell’s power play is 10th-worst in the NCAA, converting at a 14.3 percent clip.
I think the personnel changes on the top unit made by Schafer later on in the semester helped. One of those changes included swapping junior forward Dalton Bancroft for sophomore defenseman George Fegaras. Having Fegaras brings some added mobility on the blueline and ultimately generates more chances. Bancroft’s role is largely a bumper role — waiting atop the crease for potential rebounds or tips — or he’ll position himself for one-timers on the left circle. He’s scored lots of great goals this way, but with the power play struggling to get pucks to the net, Fegaras’ playmaking abilities alongside sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson are welcome changes.
Shot selection is another aspect. Cornell’s offense doesn’t lean on pretty one-timers and highlight-reel, between-the-legs goals. The Red, instead, scores chippy goals within a few feet of the crease. I think the team got away from that at times, as the early struggles began to mount on the power play unit, and in turn placed pressure on them to take low-percentage shots from the perimeter.
Also, with the lack of forward depth, the number of different combinations for both power play units are limited. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Devlin or Wallace get some power play time if they return and the man-advantage is still struggling. Getting physical in front of the net and driving hard to the net will be crucial if Cornell wants to see that percentage rise. Penney will also be a great addition when he returns.
Has [associate head coach] Casey Jones ’90 taken on a larger responsibility to help smooth the transition? Any idea how he will construct his staff next year?
This is something that I talked with both Schafer and Jones — who is set to take over as head coach of Cornell following the conclusion of the 2024-2025 season — about at the start of the year, and can definitely tap into further. From my perspective, just having Jones a part of the staff a year before he takes over inherently helps smooth the transition — all the guys become familiar with him and get to know him, which bodes well for when Schafer’s tenure comes to a close.
The biggest thing that has helped the transition is Jones taking on recruitment responsibilities, freeing Schafer from the stress of dealing with potential recruits and keeping up with future talent. That was one of the things Schafer was most grateful for, as he told me in October:
“Some of the things I’ve grown tired of, which is scheduling, recruiting, budgets and, you know, staff department meetings and trainings and that stuff is like — that’s great. That’s the last time I have to do that. That’s been exciting,” Schafer said.
This allows Schafer to focus solely on coaching and remain fully immersed in the present. As for next year’s staff, I don’t imagine it will change too much, but Jones will likely dictate who will be brought in to replace him as associate.
At this stage of the season, what overall letter grade would you give to the Red for its efforts and results? Also, in your opinion, what’s been good and not so good with the team?
I’m going to give them a B. Some might argue higher or lower, but when accounting both effort and result, I think this is fair.
In my opinion, there hasn’t been a game that the Red wasn’t in. It has played the come-from-behind card a lot so far, and finishing games has been the biggest issue. Even in the Yale game, probably one of the biggest reasons it fell in the Pairwise ratings, Cornell outshot the Bulldogs 15-1 in the final 25 minutes of the game. Moreover, Cornell has only been outshot twice in its first 11 games (34-26 by Harvard on Nov. 16 and 23-16 by Quinnipiac on Nov. 22).
Cornell’s ability to shut opponents down offensively has been a strength that has continued this season, as illustrated by its ease in outshooting opponents. As the group continues to be battle-tested, games similar like those against Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale could turn into wins.
The biggest reason for the grade goes back to special teams — which has not been so good. With a power play and penalty kill ranking 54th and 53rd, respectively, those will have to rise in order for the Red to work its way back up.
All things considered, injuries and lead changes galore, Cornell is a team with a lot of untapped potential. After a similar slow start in 2023-2024, the team embarked on a 14-game unbeaten streak, beat Harvard for the first time in four years, swept the Crimson in the ECAC quarterfinals, won the Whitelaw Cup, upset Maine and battled Denver to a close defeat.