Cornell Hits Road with Eye on First-Round Bye
The following article appeared in the February 25 issue of the Cornell Daily Sun.
When the men’s hockey team takes the ice against Brown tonight, it is unlikely that anyone will mistake these two squads for the ones that faced-off on Nov. 20 at Lynah Rink. That contest, which ended in a Brown victory, 3-2, saw a struggling Cornell team continue its early season struggles with a third consecutive ECAC loss. Fast-forward three months and enter Meehan Auditorium in Providence, R.I., where the Red (13-11-3, 11-7-2 ECAC Hockey) takes on Brown (8-13-5, 6-11-2) at 7 p.m. for the final time this season with a first-round bye in the ECAC playoffs on the line. While there is certainly plenty riding on tonight’s game, the marquee event of the weekend will take place in New Haven, Conn. for a 7 p.m. puck drop against No. 3 Yale (22-5-0, 16-4-0).
“We know going on the road that we have to continue to win in order to get into the Top-4 [against] both Brown and Yale … on their senior weekends, and there’s a lot at stake for everyone right now,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86.
Returning to the ice after its own senior weekend, the Red is very familiar with the emotions that go along with the final sendoff for the graduating class. According to Schafer, in the Cornell’s matchups with rivals Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend, the Red had difficulty finding a balance between the excitement of senior weekend the businesslike approach that came along with vying for a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
