{"id":45975,"date":"2025-01-15T16:55:05","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T21:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=45975"},"modified":"2025-01-15T17:46:14","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T22:46:14","slug":"hockey-coaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/hockey-coaches\/","title":{"rendered":"After Three Decades, Big Red Men\u2019s Ice Hockey Passes the Torch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Mike Schafer \u201986 prepares to retire, he and successor Casey Jones \u201990 chat about their love of the game, Lynah pride, and more<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Beth Saulnier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of the final tally of wins, losses, and ties, the 2024\u201325 men\u2019s ice hockey season will be remembered as a legendary one for the Big Red\u2014because it marks the final outing for Mike Schafer \u201986<\/a> as head coach.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leading the team for three decades, Schafer is retiring<\/a>. His successor? A fellow alum, Casey Jones \u201990<\/a>, who previously coached on the Hill in 1991\u201393 and 2008\u201311 and went on to spend 13 years as head coach at Clarkson.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scenes
Ryan Young \/ Cornell University<\/figcaption>
The Big Red battles Colgate in Lynah in December 2024. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Schafer and Jones\u2014who rejoined the Big Red in summer 2024, for a transitional year as associate head coach\u2014have long been colleagues and friends. In fact, their relationship stretches back to Jones\u2019s freshman fall, when he was a newly recruited Big Red player and Schafer was in his first year as an assistant coach.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even beyond their stellar records as Big Red players and coaches, the two have much in common. Both are Canadians (Schafer from Ontario, Jones from Qu\u00e9bec) who strapped on hockey skates practically from the time they could walk.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Schafer
Cornell Athletics<\/figcaption>
Schafer coaching during the 1998\u201399 season.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

They\u2019re not only both CALS alums, they share a major (agricultural economics). Each married a fellow Cornellian (Diane Composti Schafer \u201986 and Kimberlee Voci Jones \u201995), although the Schafers were undergrad sweethearts and the Joneses didn\u2019t connect until after Casey graduated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And both root for the same NHL team from their native country\u2014though that\u2019s a bit of a sore subject.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Schafer prepares to retire and Jones to segue into the top job, <\/em>Cornellians sat down with them in the hockey offices in Lynah for a wide-ranging chat.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Can you think back to when you two first met?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>It was my freshman year. Mike had just finished playing and was kept on as assistant coach. He pretty quickly became the guy the players went to. He was out recruiting quite a bit, but he was the facilitator for us on the staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>I just remember how skinny he was. [He laughs.] I\u2019d never seen him play during the recruiting process, and the first time I met him, I thought, \u201cMan, this guy\u2019s gonna struggle in college hockey.\u201d But he quickly established himself\u2014using his skill and his hockey sense not only to play, but excel.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Casey
provided<\/figcaption>
Jones (right) with his undergrad advisor, food marketing professor Gene German, PhD \u201978.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you love about hockey?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>I think it\u2019s the greatest team sport. It brings out the competitive juices in me. I grew up with it and have been around it my whole life. The fact that I\u2019m still able to be a part of it\u2014it\u2019s exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>It has been the fabric of my life, from childhood. I like that it\u2019s a sport that you can play for your whole life. And I\u2019ve seen the camaraderie it creates\u2014from playing pickup hockey here in the community, all the way to someone like Joe Nieuwendyk \u201988<\/a>, who\u2019s in the Hall of Fame. It\u2019s a special game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

<\/strong>I think hockey is the greatest team sport. It brings out the competitive juices in me.<\/p>\nCasey Jones<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your fondest memory of playing for the Big Red?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>My first two years, the league was pretty competitive, and we didn\u2019t make the playoffs. So winning the ECAC title in 1986, as a senior\u2014that was outstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>There was a coaching change when I was here, and my senior year, the program was getting back on track and we had a good year\u2014and then we drew Harvard in the playoffs. We\u2019d had zero success with them during my career. But we swept them at home, and the fans came onto the ice. I\u2019d never experienced that before, and it\u2019s still a special memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Schafer
Cornell Athletics<\/figcaption>
Schafer on the ice in Lynah in February 1986, and …<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Casey
Cornell Athletics<\/figcaption>
… Jones playing for the Big Red the following season.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over the years as coaching colleagues, did you keep in touch?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>When I became head coach here in 1995, I tried to hire him, but he\u2019d just taken a job at Ohio State a few weeks earlier. But we stayed in touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>He was probably my closest confidante, especially after I became a head coach; you need that mentor, the person that you can lean on: \u201cHey, have you experienced this before?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

It\u2019s been great to share ideas; this is the first time in my career that I\u2019ve been able to work with another head coach.<\/p>\nMike Schafer<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

How does it feel to be back together, coaching as colleagues again?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>It\u2019s been great to share ideas; this is the first time in my career that I\u2019ve been able to work with another head coach. I\u2019ve always said: you don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to be a head coach until you are one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So to have him come back with that experience\u2014on the ice, in the locker room, in one-on-one meetings, someone that talks to the players like a head coach, who has a long-term vision\u2014that\u2019s been really fun. We can lean on each other, right across the office. It\u2019s been outstanding to have him back here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Men\u2019s
Ryan Young \/ Cornell University<\/figcaption>
Game time: Jones (left) and Schafer behind the Big Red bench.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>Mike is a much different coach than he was when I was here, before I went to Clarkson [in 2011]. I love the development of the program, how it has evolved. So it\u2019s not coming back to something that\u2019s old; I\u2019m learning a lot of new things. It feels fresh and exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching hockey in Lynah is among the most iconic Cornell traditions<\/a>. What does it feel like to be stewards of that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>It feels great. I think at an academic institution like Cornell, the importance of athletics can sometimes be lost\u2014but they have huge importance for students\u2019 mental health and wellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s something really special about the game-night environment, where the students look across and see the faculty and townspeople, and the faculty and townspeople look across and see the students. Cornell hockey has always brought that pride\u2014that we could compete on a national level and win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Ryan Young \/ Cornell University<\/figcaption>
Forever upstanding: The student section of the Lynah Faithful.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>As a player, I remember how proud I was of the support we got on the road; Cornellians kind of take over the rink, and it becomes a bit of a home game. Alumni stay connected to the University through the program on the road, seeing friends in those venues. That\u2019s something we talk about in recruiting\u2014how fortunate the athletes are. To me, it speaks volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casey, when you were coaching for Clarkson and playing against Cornell, what was it like for you to be on the opposite side from your alma mater?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>I remember my first time back in Lynah: I walked across the ice and got called a traitor the whole way. I was like, \u201cHey, come on\u2014I just left!\u201d But I appreciated that Mike stopped and said hi prior to the game, and we got a chance to get out of that competitive element. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Cornell hockey has always brought that pride\u2014that we could compete on a national level and win.<\/p>\nMike Schafer<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The 60 minutes the game\u2019s going on, you\u2019re in the heat of battle. But outside of that, it goes right back to reality, where there are a lot of friends and familiar faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike, most head coaches don\u2019t stay in their job for 30 years. Could you reflect on why you\u2019ve stayed this long?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>Well, I didn\u2019t get fired. [He laughs.] There\u2019s an old saying: \u201cCoaches are hired to be fired.\u201d And I remember my wife saying, \u201cYou know, no one\u2019s ever been in this job at Cornell longer than seven years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Matt Dewkett \/ Cornell Athletics<\/figcaption>
Schafer at a 2023 NCAA Regional Semifinals game, which the Big Red won 2-0. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I had opportunities to go to other programs throughout my career. But you get so entrenched with your family living in the community, it would have been selfish of me to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always wanted to win a national championship\u2014but I felt that I could try to achieve that goal within the parameters of the Ivy League [which, unlike many competitors, does not allow athletic scholarships]. Overall, I\u2019ve been very fortunate with great assistant coaches and outstanding athletes. Thirty years\u2014it went by quick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

As a player, I remember how proud I was of the support we got on the road; Cornellians kind of take over the rink, and it becomes a bit of a home game.<\/p>\nCasey Jones<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Casey, why do you think Mike has been so successful over the past three decades?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>Number one is the staff he attracts\u2014the continuity of people who have worked for him. Number two, he\u2019s competitive, and he has great ethics and morals. Obviously all of that funnels into his development of the players, and the teams he has built have competed at a high level. Those foundations have stayed pretty consistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
provided<\/figcaption>
A young Jones, suited up for the ice.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

Mike, why is Casey the right person to succeed you in this job?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS:<\/strong> When you watch him in the recruiting process, when you watch him deal with his athletes, the conversations he has with his players\u2014he\u2019s honest while being caring and respectful. I think a lot of coaches get caught up in trying to sugarcoat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s had that characteristic from when he was a player, when he was a captain and a leader within his team, and it has carried on as a coach. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s well respected across the country, and it always goes back to relationships and how he handles himself\u2014being forthright with people, but at the same time holding them accountable and not just trying to be their friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s had success within a team, in recruiting players, and in working with alumni\u2014across all spectrums of what it means to be a head coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Thirty years\u2014it went by quick.<\/p>\nMike Schafer<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Casey, Mike has said<\/a> that one of the most important things in a player is their \u201chockey sense.\u201d What does that mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>It\u2019s probably the number-one quality in a player. In hockey, we don\u2019t get to reset like in football; it\u2019s a very fluid game. You’ve got to have confidence and the ability to make quick decisions\u2014to read the ice and, as I always say, \u201clive in the gray.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The players who can live in the gray area, where we haven\u2019t told them exactly what to do in that situation\u2014they have good hockey sense. And if your players have good hockey sense, you can really grow as a team.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Schafer
Riley Joslin \/ Cornell Athletics<\/figcaption>
Schafer in his element.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As a senior, Casey won the annual award for sportsmanship<\/a>. How would you both define being a good sportsman?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ:<\/strong> It\u2019s playing the game the right way. Something that has jumped out to me most about this team is that we have tremendous sportsmanship. We play hard within the boundaries of the game. We know how to practice hard and play hard without taking liberties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is what I consider to be sportsmanship: you tip your hat to your opponent, and know that the competition stays within the 60 minutes of the game. And when you win, you handle it the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Casey
provided<\/figcaption>
Jones takes a shot on the Harvard goalie during his playing days.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>Yeah, I\u2019ve never been claimed to be a good sportsman. [He laughs.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think a good sportsman\u2014a coach or a player\u2014knows that a sport is competitive, but it\u2019s never personal. But honestly, I always felt that \u201cgood sportsmanship\u201d can have negative connotations, because it can imply that an athlete is not competitive, or they\u2019re timid. To win the award that Casey got, you also have to be a great and very competitive player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

In hockey, we don\u2019t get to reset like in football; it\u2019s a very fluid game. You’ve got to have confidence and the ability to make quick decisions.<\/p>\nCasey Jones<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Mike, what will you miss most about this job?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>The relationships and the day-to-day\u2014working with the staff, developing a game plan, watching video, having heart-to-heart conversations with the athletes. Helping them as people, not just as players; that\u2019s my favorite part of the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then going on the ice, watching them practice and get better. There are only so many games, and I\u2019ll miss the competition. But the camaraderie that exists inside the building\u2014you don\u2019t find that anywhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mike
provided<\/figcaption>
Mike with wife Diane Composti Schafer \u201986.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

What do your retirement plans look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>I don\u2019t have a bucket list per se, but there are some things I\u2019ve always wanted to do. Go to the Qu\u00e9bec Winter Festival. Play with my son at a three-on-three pond hockey tournament up in New Hampshire or Maine or Alaska. Go on golf trips with friends, travel with my wife, see family. And during the fall and winter\u2014just do things on Fridays and Saturdays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The downside about coaching is that from mid-August to mid-May, you\u2019re in coaching mode. I\u2019m looking forward to giving my mind a chance to relax.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business-wise, I don\u2019t know what that looks like. Everybody\u2019s advised me not to do anything for six months\u2014but who knows?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casey, Mike is on the record as a long-suffering fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Whom do you root for?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ: <\/strong>Don\u2019t go there. [He laughs.] I\u2019m a Leafs fan too, and I\u2019m also long suffering. But I\u2019m a fan, no question; Darryl Sittler<\/a> was my childhood hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The downside about coaching is that from mid-August to mid-May, you\u2019re in coaching mode. I\u2019m looking forward to giving my mind a chance to relax.<\/p>\nMike Schafer<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, you\u2019ve both had former players go pro. What\u2019s it like to see guys you\u2019ve coached playing in the NHL?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CJ:<\/strong> It\u2019s hard to describe, but it\u2019s a pretty special feeling\u2014especially when you\u2019ve had the chance to recruit them and bring them along and watch them grow, and then see them reach their goals at the pinnacle of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Casey
provided<\/figcaption>
Casey with wife Kimberlee Voci Jones \u201995.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

MS: <\/strong>One thing I would add is that as a coach, I\u2019ve had a lot of pride over the years, not just seeing players in the NHL\u2014but being doctors or teachers or guys running their own businesses, or being successful on Wall Street, or being great dads and husbands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that\u2019s the pride of working at a school like Cornell\u2014having those longstanding relationships, not just the hockey, but outside the game, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top: Schafer (left) and Jones in Lynah. (Ryan Young \/ Cornell University)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published January 15, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As Mike Schafer \u201986 prepares to retire, he and successor Casey Jones \u201990 chat about their love of the game, Lynah pride, and more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":46177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[44702,17935,32249],"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-45975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter Three Decades, Big Red Men\u2019s Ice Hockey Passes the Torch - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As Mike Schafer \u201986 prepares to retire, he and successor Casey Jones \u201990 chat about their love of the game, Lynah pride, and more\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/hockey-coaches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After Three Decades, Big Red Men\u2019s Ice Hockey Passes the Torch - 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