by Jane McNally/CHN Reporter
For Cornell associate head coach Casey Jones, Saturday’s trip to Clarkson was more than just a return to a place he called home for 13 years.
In fact, that was one of the least publicized storylines of the weekend. Due to the postgame fighting that endured after Cornell lost to Dartmouth, 6-1, on Jan. 25, an already depleted Cornell lineup took the ice with four fewer players due to suspension.
Speculation only swelled due to the ECAC policy that handles disciplinary action internally. Social media was shocked when Cornell suited up with eight forwards and nine defensemen on Friday at St. Lawrence, then nine forwards and 10 defensemen on Saturday.
“I did see some familiar faces there, but the way things were with our roster and all that — we [were] pretty intent on that, not a whole lot else going on,” Jones said.
Jones’ return was tainted by a disappointing result the night prior, a 2-1 defeat to last-place St. Lawrence, a game where Jones found himself clutching the reins as head coach Mike Schafer was out due to suspension.
“Unfortunately, I thought we deserved a better fate on Friday, but that’s the way the weekend is,” Jones said. “And this year in the league, it seems like everyone’s picking off everybody.”
Scraping out two points on Saturday seemed disappointing to some, considering the team had coughed up two separate two-goal leads and only managed the second point from a shootout win.
But, to the program, the two points were massive, all circumstances considered.
“Never, in any competitive hockey that I have been in, [have we] ever entered a game with eight forwards,” Schafer reflected on the weekend. “I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
On Wednesday afternoon, business in Ithaca was being conducted as usual. Less than 24 hours before departing for North Country, the team was preparing for a crucial road trip with massive ECAC seeding implications.
At that point, the team had no knowledge of further disciplinary action.
“We’re trying to figure out what we’re prepping for, too. We’re trying to guess,” Jones said last Wednesday. “It is what it is.”
Quickly, things turned on its head. Along with the previous disqualifications of Hoyt Stanley, Kyle Penney, and Jack O’Leary, Nick DeSantis was also dealt a…
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