A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, Cornell joined Maine, Princeton, and Colorado College on a journey to a tropical land. This land was called Estero, and it lay within the kingdom of Florida.

Each school knew that it had a chance to win something in this magical land. Colorado College was considered to be the third-best in the country at winning things, and Cornell was fourth-best. Maine had been winning more treasure recently, and Princeton had not won nearly as much as they were expected to win.

Maine left Florida very happy. They received the tournament crown, which includes a tie (officially) against Princeton and a solid win against mighty Colorado College. Maine has now won treasure in each of its last eight expeditions.

Princeton also left Florida very happy. They secured a tie against a good Hockey East team (Maine), even though unsteady captain Zane Kalemba surrendered six goals. Then, they topped fellow Ivy kingdom Cornell University, a team which had beaten them 5-2 just one month earlier.

Colorado College left Florida somewhat happy. They vindicated their lofty ranking by bringing home a convincing victory against Cornell. They played a mostly good game against Maine, and had a 2-1 lead late in the game. Sadly, they lost, but they still brought home some treasure.

The only school which returned from Florida empty-handed was Ol' Cornell. Cornell did not look like it was interested in winning any treasure during its first game against Colorado College. In fact, Cornell may have forgotten where the treasure was located. It took forty-five minutes of hockey before Cornell reached ten shots on goal.

Fate presented Cornell with another opportunity for treasure. True, the rewards for beating Princeton were not as valuable as those for beating Colorado College or Maine, but it would have been better than nothing! Cornell looked like they might get some treasure, as they took a 2-1 lead early in the third period. But two-faced Keir Ross, who seemed so interested in winning when he scored that second goal, quickly sabotaged his team by going to the penalty box. Cornell's accursed penalty-killing unit surrendered a tying goal, and the winning goal was not far behind.

Thus, Cornell was the only team to make the long journey northward without any treasure in hand. Cornell heads next to the frozen winter kingdom of New Hampshire, where the prospects for winning treasure appear to be bleak.