Cavicchi Stymies Crimson

Ah, sweet, sweet revenge.

For New Hampshire, that is.

For goalie Trent Cavicchi, more specifically.

Cavicchi had to wait 252 days, 22 hours and 27 minutes for this one, and to call the win satisfying would almost be too much of an understatement.

Cavicchi closed the book on his 1993-94 season by opening the flood-gates in last year's humiliating NCAA Tournament second-round loss to the Crimson. He was the victim of five goals in two and a quarter periods of play, allowing the Crimson to coast to a 7-1 victory over the Wildcats.

What a difference a year makes.

Cavicchi came up big in all three periods last night, leading the Wildcats to a 5-2 victory over the struggling Harvard men's hockey team.

But midway through the game, Cavicchi was having major feelings of deja vu. The Crimson had just extended its lead to 2-0 as Harvard's Doug Sproule set up camp once again in front of an opponent's net.

You'd think visions of another 7-1 game would shake the junior netminder.

"Sure, it was tough then," Cavicchi said. "The fans were really into it, and we were getting down."

But as fast as you can say "momentum swing." New Hampshire was back in the game. In a 2:26 span, the Wildcats had scored two quick goals--one an uncharacteristic shorthanded tally--and they were suddenly even with the Crimson.

Cavicchi was forced to make only four saves in that second stanza.

"After that period, I was feeling really good," he said. "The momentum had really shifted our way. I knew we definitely had an excellent chance to win it."

In one of the most fitting instances of "what comes around, goes around," it was New Hampshire that exploded in the third period to put the game out of reach.

Eric Royal made two crisp dekes on Harvard's Tripp Tracy three minutes apart, and four minutes into the period it was suddenly 4-2. New Hampshire then reverted to a defensive strategy, dumping the puck whenever possible and keeping Harvard back in its own zone.

It was not until there were five minutes left in the game that Harvard could finally mount a flurry of shots on the goalie. But Cavicchi met the challenge, turning away all six shots he faced and thus preserving the second-half shutout.

Nick Poole's empty-net goal with 32 seconds left sealed Harvard's fate, much to the delight of one happy goaltender. (Hint: he did not wear the "Veritas" on his shoulder.)

As the Wildcats hugged their rejoicing goalie, even they knew that this game meant much more than an out-of-league win. It was almost a chance to turn back the clock on last year's embarrassment.

"It must've been satisfying for Trent," head coach Dick Umile said.

But maybe the game didn't mean THAT much to him. Maybe this was just another win for Trent Cavicchi, the junior Wildcat netminder.

"[Last year's game] was such a big factor for me tonight," Cavicchi said. "Everyone was extra fired up for this game, and I especially wanted to rebound against Harvard because of last year."