As the regular season of college hockey winds down, many fans have their eyes on next Saturday’s tilt between the Cornell and Clarkson men’s teams. After all, it is a matchup between the No. 2 and No. 5 teams in the country, respectively, as well as the final game in ECAC play for both teams. And if that wasn’t enough incentive, the two teams are currently tied for first place in the conference.

However, there are more games to be played before we reach next Saturday. It is important to remember this, especially for the Cornell Big Red, who could very well be walking into some trap games this upcoming weekend.

Potential trap games ahead

Cornell has a weekend road trip coming up against Yale on Friday and Brown on Saturday. Both teams have struggled this season, and both sit in the bottom half of the ECAC. Cornell defeated both teams in their previous meetings, downing Brown 4-1 on November 8th and besting Yale 6-2 on November 9th. A lot has happened since then, and while Cornell is still one of the top teams in the country, this does not make them invincible.

Yale is 11-12-2 on the season, and have perennially hovered around the .500 mark since the 2017 season. While this may be a far cry from the powerhouse they once were, the Bulldogs still boast a relatively talented group. Despite being short on offense this season (2.6 goals per game), Yale still features two of the top six goal scorers in the ECAC, with Curtis Hall (14) and Justin Pearson (12).

Yale currently sits in 8th place in the ECAC and will be hungry to move up as much as possible in the last two weeks of the season. Cornell has not been immune to putting up bad outings this season. They lost 2-1 at Dartmouth on Dec. 7th, tied Union 3-3 on Jan. 11th, and lost 5-0 at Quinnipiac on Jan. 31st.

Final thoughts

While the Big Red boasts one of the most talented groups in the country, it is imperative that they keep their focus on this weekend. Looking ahead to next weekend’s highly-anticipated matchup could potentially push Cornell out of the running for 1st place before the game even begins.