59 Teams in 59 Days Cornell

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Ithaca, New York where the Cornell Big Red are featured.

Cornell is coming off two consecutive appearances in the regional finals of the NCAA touranment, only to lose both of those games in overtime to Minnesota in 2005, and Wisconsin in 2006.

If they want to get back to the NCAA's this year head coach Mike Schafer and the Big Red will have a lot of work ahead of them to do so.

Gone is their leading scorer and all ECACHL player Matt Moulson. Also gone is a first round pick from 2005 with the Washington Capitals, Sasha Pokulok, and all ECACHL goaltender David McKee.

So who will replace these huge losses? Senior forward Byron Bitz will be the main offensive threat for the Big Red. That is not the big issue for the Big Red however. The big issue is who will replace David McKee in net. The battle will be between Sophomore Dan DiLeo, and incoming Freshmen Troy Davenport, and Ben Scrivens. Cornell has had a history of good goaltenders, will one of these three become the next great goaltender in Big Red history?

Another piece of good news for the Big Red is that former UMASS-Lowell forward Chris Fontas will be ready this year. Their recruting class is solid and a few years from now they can be a threat to win it all. But for right now the Big Red will just have to sit and wait.

The predicted ceiling for Cornell is third in the ECACHL, the gutter is seventh.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to Hanover, New Hampshire as Dartmouth will be the next team to be featured in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour. Can the Big Green step in and become an elite team in the ECACHL? Find out tommorrow as the tour continues.