He Just Wahz-n't Enough

He came to Bright Center with a fifth-in-the-nation 2.10 goals-pergame average, a nickname and a reputation as a pugilist on skates.

But Colgate men's hockey forward Gerard ("The Wahz") Waslen didn't score any goals last night.

And he didn't record any assists.

And he didn't even start any fights in Harvard's 2-0 victory over the Red Raiders.

Last night, the Great Red Menace became the Invisible Man.

His powerful slapshot--which has helped him to 28 goals on the year--didn't zing.

His usually crisp passes--which have aided histeammates to 35 tallies this season--weren't on target.

And most disappointing to the 2212 spectators who turned out for the contest, he didn't let his hot temper get the best of him.

Perhaps the pressure of leading his team day in and day out for three years finally caught up to him.

"You're aware of a kid the caliber of Waslen," Harvard goalie Grant Blair said. "When he gets the puck you think about it."

Or perhaps playing with two linemates who had scored a combined one goal on the year irked him into scorelessness.

Or perhaps it was the NHL scouts--who have been hounding him for the past month--in attendance at Bright who jinxed him.

"There's always a lot of pressure on Waslen," Colgate Coach Terry Slater said. "He's had agents and everyone else after him. They should let him alone and let him play hockey."

Whatever it was, it wasn't pleasant for the Wahz.

"There's been a lot of pressure on me the last month," Waslen said. "A lot of guys expect me to come through."

It was Waslen who set off last year's Harvard-Colgate brawl in the second game of the opening round of the ECAC tournament.

With Colgate down 1-0 in the two-game series and losing 5-1 in the second game, Waslen kicked a prone Blair, setting off a three-minute, bench-clearing rumble.

Slater tried to restrain him, but Waslen escaped and proceded to deck several Crimson players before being ejected from the contest.

But last night, Waslen threw no punches.

"I try to learn from my mistakes," he said.

And despite his valiant efforts, he couldn't punch a shot past Blair.

"Blair played well," Waslen said. "I had the shots but he came up with the saves."

Like his team, Waslen seemed tame last night. And he was the one being dumped on the ice by the Crimson icemen, not the other way around.

With nine minutes left in the second period, Waslen slapped a shot from the right that Blair deflected.

But the Wahz had an opportunity to pay Harvard back with three minutes left in the second stanza.

The Crimson owned a 2-0 lead, but the Raiders had a power-play and Waslen--his team's Most Valuable Player the last two years--was on the ice.

A goal was needed. And all eyes turned to the Wahz.

But Waslen and his mates again failed to put the puck in the net.

And don't think Colgate's leading scorer didn't feel any pressure.

"In a close hockey game, the guys are always looking to me for a goal," Waslen said. "On the bench they were saying we need a big goal and they were looking at number 16."

But last night, the Wahz simply wasn't.