Crimson Ready For Cadets

'This year the circumstances are different. Harvard needs these games to get back into the top bracket.' --Army Coach Rob Riley

Army-Princeton matchups, like the one the sixth-place Crimson face this weekend, have given the Harvard hockey team fits in the recent past.

The unranked Cadets skated into Bright to play the defending national champion Crimson in its home opener last year. Army was a heavy underdog. But, not submitting to its more talented opponent, the Cadets upset the Crimson, 5-4.

The Tigers and Cadets also gave Harvard a fight earlier this season. Princeton held off Harvard's potent scoring attack en route to a 4-3 win over the Crimson in Princeton, N.J. Army was well on its way to doing the same to Harvard the very next day before the Crimson (8-8 overall, 8-6 ECAC) came up with four goals in the final period to win, 5-2, in West Point, N.Y.

And for this weekend's games against Army (tonight) and Princeton (Saturday), there is both good and bad news for Harvard hockey fans. The good news, though, is 11th-ranked Army (6-12-3, 1-11-2) is not playing on the same emotional high as it did when the Cadets defeated the Crimson, according to Army Coach Rob Riley.

"[The 5-4 win at Bright] was a combination of a lot of things," Riley said. "We had beaten Cornell and almost beat Colgate. We had a very experienced senior core that was playing on an emotionally high level.

"This year the circumstances are different. Harvard needs these games to get back into the top bracket, and we're struggling," Riley added. "We don't quite have the positive energies we had last year."

Army's strong defense and goaltending has kept the Cadets in most games. At Army's blueline, senior Co-Captains Scott Williams and Todd Tamburino have been the main reasons why the Cadets have stayed in many would-be blowouts this season. Goalie Brooks Chretien (3.81, .862) has given the Cadets consistent goaltending so far this season.

But the Cadets' success against the Crimson will be largely dependent on its often-faulty offensive production.

Cadet Center Kevin Darby (5-28--33) is flanked by wings Al Brenner (11-11--22) and Paul Haggerty (12-9--21). As Harvard knows from its own experience this year, though, it takes more than one line to create a solid, consistent offense.

"The players that we've got are more aggressive, hard-working types," Riley said. "You can't take a player who scores 6-8 goals a season and make him into someone who scores 22-24 goals a season. We're hoping to get more chances, but we know our limitations."

Roaring Tigers

The bad news is that ninth-place Princeton (6-11-1, 5-8-1) is coming out of its exam period on a hot streak. The Tigers finished off last term with wins over first-place Cornell (7-6) and Army (6-3) and a tie with Colgate (2-2).

And Princeton will add the services of defender Mike McKey, a second-team All-ECAC defender last season, who has missed the last thirteen games because of an ankle injury.

Andre Faust (13-17--30)--the bruising, 6'1", 180 lb. center--leads the Tiger offense. But, after Faust, the Tigers have few scoring threats.

Like Army, the Tigers are strongest at defense and goaltending. Burly 6'2", 195 lb. Tri-Captains Andy Cesarski and Sean Gorman anchor the Princeton blueline. Gorman delivers bone-crunching forechecks, and Cesarski handles the puck smoothly.

Goaltenders Mark Salzbury (4.02 goals-against-average, .875 save percentage) and Ron High (5.01, .846) have played well in net for the Tigers.

Rested and Ready

Crimson defenders Kevin Sneddon and Derek Maguire return from shoulder and knee injuries, respectively, and sophomore forward Ted Drury comes back from a concussion sustained in the Brown game.

Health is not the only advantage the Crimson possesses. Incentive is very high for the Harvard squad, since only the top four teams enjoy a home-ice advantage for the first ECAC playoff game. Sitting in a tie for sixth presently, the Crimson will need to win most, if not all, of its remaining eight league games, starting tonight.

The one real question for the team is: Who will man the net? While the Crimson has three fine goaltenders, even they were unable to stop the four-game January slide. At press time, Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni had not announced which netminder would play tonight.

Allain Roy, Chuckie Hughes and Mike Francis are certainly all prepared, and Tomassoni's choice, for tomorrow as well as tonight, should not figure largely in the outcome of this weekend's games.