In Year of Few Expectations, Harvard Shocks the Experts

The Beanpot has traditionally signalled the halfway mark of the Harvard men's hockey team's season. With that in mind, we take a look back at the Crimson's successful season so far.

November 8

Harvard welcomes back some of its greatest hockey players of all time. Suited up for Team USA, Lane MacDonald '88-89, Scott Fusco '86, C.J. Young '90, Ted Donato '91 and Ted Drury '93 all get standing ovations from a packed Bright Center.

Harvard's spry young hockey team, however, quickly ends the warm greeting. Team USA escapes with a 5-3 win, and Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni gushes about his players' first game.

Meanwhile, USA Coach Dave Peterson, trying to explain away his team's lackluster performance, mumbles about how he sat his top line out.

November 15

Union College hosts its first Division I game, and puts a scare into Harvard. In probably the Crimson's ugliest game of the season, the two teams hit and trip each other all night long, but Harvard manages a 7-5 victory.

Captain Kevin Sneddon nets his first goal of his career. Sophomore Brian Farrell and freshman Ben Coughlin each pump in two.

November 16

All defense. No offense. That was the rap on Harvard before the season.

The Crimson puts a quick end to that theory with a 6-0 slapping of Rensselaer. Harvard skates circles around the Engineers and limits them to 13 shots.

Six different players score for the Crimson, including four freshmen.

November 22

A former assistant at Boston University, first-year Princeton Coach `Toot' Cahoon has probably never liked Harvard much.

This game gave him one more reason to hate his one-time cross-town rival. With junior Matt Mallgrave leading the way, Harvard trounces the hapless Tigers, 8-1.

November 23

No one expected much from the Elis at the beginning of the season. But the Elis are currently in the thick of the ECAC race, and its visit to Harvard will go down as a harbinger of what the Elis have since proven.

Yale jumps out to a 2-0 lead, but Harvard manages to tie it up behind goals from junior Steve Flomenhoft and freshman Brad Konik. Harvard cannot break the tie, though, as Yale goalie Nadew Bafekadu (who?) slaps away 47 shots.

Looking back, Harvard should be happy it escaped with a tie.

November 26

Few fans show up for this contest in Providence, even though it was billed as the battle of the Ivy powers.

Harvard comes away with a 4-2 victory, but the margin is--we've heard this before--deceiving. The Crimson owned the Bears from the beginning, but poor officiating and some fluke goals keeps Brown in the contest.

November 30

It's been a long time since Brown won in Bright Center. In fact, it's been a long time since Brown came within a few goals of losing to Harvard.

But the Bears pull off the unbelievable, taking a 6-5 win at Bright. Harvard, needless to say, is shell shocked by the loss.

Thankfully, with most students away on Thanksgiving Break, only a few witness the debacle at Bright Arena.

December 5

Colgate Coach Terry Slater, 54, dies in Syracuse, N.Y. four days after suffering a stroke. Slater, the 1990 ECAC Coach of the Year, guided the Red Raiders from obscurity into one of the most competitive hockey teams in the country.

In response to the tragedy, the Harvard-Colgate game scheduled for December 6 is postponed a month.

December 8

Lynah Rink has always been a den of iniquity. Cornell's fans are characteristically loud, obnoxious and raucous. Behind its fish-hurling minions, the Big Red plays a rough, physical game against the Crimson and pulls off a 2-2 tie.

Harvard, however, could take comfort in the result. The Crimson contained the potentially explosive Red offense even though top defenders Sneddon and Brian McCormack were sidelined.

December 27

Twenty-day layoff. Sneddon out. Nationally-ranked opponents.

Harvard opens up the Great Lakes Invitational with the cards stacked against it. Both Harvard and Michigan--which squared off in the opening round--look out of synch all game long, but the talented Wolverines manage a 3-1 victory behind stellar goaltending from sophomore Steve Shields.

December 28

Michigan State Coach Ron Mason summed up the game against Harvard best: "It was a typical consolation game." Yep. That's about it.

Harvard looks alive at the beginning, taking a 1-0 lead, but Michigan State begins pounding away at the Crimson cage midway through the second and eventually secures the game, 3-1.

The Crimson leaves the Motor City with some well learned lessons. Watch stupid penalties. Forecheck aggressively. And never spend more than three days in Detroit.

January 3

Harvard staves off a last minute Vermont charge to take a 3-1 victory in Burlington. Goalie Allain Roy turns in a masterful performance, recording 20 saves against an aggressive Catamounts squad.

Win #1 of a three-game, three-state roadtrip.

January 4

Thompson Arena is bitingly cold and painfully empty, but Harvard doesn't mind. The Crimson handles the sluggish Big Green, 6-3, with balanced scoring (six different players) and solid defense.

In marked contrast to last year, Harvard begins to look comfortable on the road. Two down, one to go.

January 6

Road sweet road. Harvard secures one of its sweetest victories of the season, completing the grueling road trip with a 5-4 victory over Colgate.

Konik steals the show with two goals, including the dramatic overtime tally, pushing the Crimson to an impressive 7-1-1 in the ECAC.

January 10

St. Lawrence is feeling confident. It's power-play is clicking at a phenomenal 31 percent, it has the top three scorers in the ECAC and it has already beaten its main competition, Clarkson.

Harvard, however, is feeling a little more confident. A little quicker. A little more together. And a lot more aggressive.

The Crimson dismantles the Saints 3-2, freshman Steve Martins tallies three assists and Roy stops 27 shots. Meanwhile, SLU Coach Joe Marsh--noticeably livid--leaves Bright in a hurry.

January 11

Bad luck. Harvard puts up another brilliant performance against the Golden Knights, but comes away with a disheartening 4-4 tie.

No one seems very happy about the result, least of all Tomassoni. But nevertheless, Harvard does hold firm against one of the top teams in the nation and earns itself a spot in the national polls.

January 31

Harvard ends an unbeaten January by skating past Rensselaer at Bright Center, 5-1.

The Crimson starts slow after its 20-day exam break, but manages to get enough good defense and timely offense to sink the Engineers. Steve Martins chalks up another to goals in the last game of the month.