Just How Cornell Fans Are So Wild and Crazy

The first-ever at-large playoff bid for an independent NCAA Division I ice hockey team has been awarded to Merrimack College.

The Warriors (32-4) clinched the spot with a 4-1 victory over Bowdoin in the ECAC Division 2 championship game last weekend.

Other candidates for the playoff bid going into last month were Notre Dame--which had a 16-0-0 record going into February--and Alaska-Fairbanks, which had been in second place in the KBYR-Anchorage poll all year and was responsible for one of Merrimack's four losses.

Notre Dame, however, has fallen on hard times, going 2-3-2 in the past month. And Alaska-Fairbanks is no longer second-ranked--U.S. International University has taken that position.

Rockin' At Lynah: Imagine, if you will, that the Celtics and Lakers announced that they were not going to play each other in the regular season because of a preoccupation with conference games.

The above is a purely hypothetical example from pro basketball, but in the world of collegiate hockey four years ago, something like this happened. When the ECAC-Hockey East split occurred, the greatest rivalry in the East--Cornell versus Boston University--went on hiatus.

And with it went the great symbols of the rivalry--Scarlet versus Red. Jim Craig versus Darren Eliot. B.U.'s six ECAC titles versus Cornell's five. And, of course, fish versus chickens.

But the rivalry resumes next year and will continue for at least the next three years. Finally, the Cornell band's "Screw B.U." cheer will have some meaning to it.

Don't Blame Us: People have criticized and second-guessed the U.S. Olympic team in many ways. Even Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, had his say-so about how the U.S., on offense, had "three people behind the net."

Coach Dave Peterson this past weekend laid blame on his goaltenders, Chris Terreri and Dave Richter. But nobody has even tried to lay blame on the Harvardians in the competition.

In all, the Crimson Olympians netted 13 out of 28 goals in Group A games, representing almost half the total offensive output of Team USA. This ratio went down significantly as the units without Harvard players woke up--just in time for the seventh-place game with Switzerland.

Before The Game: Pre-game warmups are important.

Junior Jennifer White did not look quite her usual self in the warmups before the final game of the Ivy League tournament against Princeton. She gave up two quick goals in the first period, but the rest of the team rallied for four straight tallies to beat the Tigers.

And in warmups, strange things can happen. About halfway through the RPI warmups last Friday night, RPI forward Bruce Coles stepped on the puck and fell, reminiscent of what Harvard forward John Murphy had done two weeks earlier. Immediately, goalie Steve Duncan looked very shaky in net. The hex carried over into the game, and the Crimson got three goals in the first period.

The Chalkboard:There's nothing riskier than having a 2-on-1 situation with an angle goaltender in the net. Especially if the goaltender plays the angle as extreme as RPI's Steve Duncan.

In the graphic below is Harvard's fifth goal on Saturday night. Duncan (D) is playing the shot here on Janfaza (12). Meanwhile, Rob Schena (S) is playing the pass and is covering Steve Armstrong (27).

But look at how Duncan is trying to cover more net than he has to, as symbolized by the gray area. This sets up a situation where the moment Janfaza decides not to take a slapshot, the percentages swing in Harvard's favor.

As it turns out, the puck hit Schena and went into the open net.

So That's How They Do It: Ever wonder how Cornell hockey fans get so crazy? Some self-appointed student entrepreneurs use a Macintosh laserprinter to help coach the crowd on specific cheers, how to find the best chickens, fish, tennis and so forth. "Section D Tonight," is one of the most widely-read publications on campus.

Have to wonder how some Ivy League schools are spontaneous in their cheering and others need to have a handbook.