Icemen Hit the Road

Not everyone is going to The Game.

While Harvard fans are preparing for The Game at The Stadium this weekend, the Harvard men's hockey team will be at the Multi-Purpose Sports Facility in West Point, N.Y.

For what purpose will the Multi-Purpose Sports Facility be in use this weekend? The Harvard-Army matchup tonight at 7:30 p.m. (WHRB, 95.3 FM).

And when most Crimson faithful straggle into The Stadium from their pre-Game tailgates, the hockey team will be listening to the Game on the radio in Princeton, N.J. The icemen have their own game tomorrow--an ECAC contest against Princeton at Baker Rink at 7:30.

The icemen don't have many chances to see The Game. Senior Captain Lane MacDonald saw The Game once--and then he wasn't even there to cheer for Harvard. It was on his recruiting trip to Yale, five Games ago.

Army (2-2 overall, 0-2 ECAC) has a little problem when it plays Harvard (2-0 overall, 2-0 ECAC). It can't win.

The Cadets have not beaten the Crimson since they notched a 5-1 win in December of 1964. Army has only beaten Harvard four times ever.

Cadet Coach Rob Riley isn't expecting things to be any different this time. He knows he needs to get lucky to get a win.

"We always know what to expect from Harvard," Riley said. "Year in and year out they are one of the best teams in the league. We want to keep it close, play strong defense and maybe sneak in a goal near the end of the game."

Army's strength this season is its defense. Anchoring the defensive contingent will be senior Mark Hudak, with Scott Williams, Scott Schultze and Neal Minihane also returning behind the blueline.

"The big game is Saturday at Princeton," Harvard forward Allen Bourbeau said. "They lost two and they're going to want to win two. They're tough at home. It's a whole different ballgame up there."

The Tigers (0-2 overall, 0-2 ECAC) fell to Cornell and Colgate on a road trip last weekend. Senior John Messuri, freshman Andre Faust and sophomore Andy Cesarski led Princeton in scoring in its opening weekend, each tallying two points.

The Tiger net is protected by sophomore Mark Salisbury who currently has a 6.73 goals-against average after the rough weekend.

With seniors MacDonald and Bourbeau returning to the ice after suffering injuries, the Crimson is expected to return to its five-forward power-play option, and hopes to improve on last weekend's less-than-stellar showing.

"Hopefully we'll play better this weekend," MacDonald said. "We need a better effort defensively, and we need to get our power-play going. Hopefully it will start clicking."