St. Lawrence, Clarkson Next for M. Hockey

It's just too bad Harvard doesn't offer Geography 101.

Because after this weekend is over, there will be about 30 members of the Harvard men's hockey team who could sleepwalk their way through the class.

After all, how many people know where Fairbanks, Yaroslavl, Canton and Potsdam are located?

The Crimson (7-5-1 overall, 5-3-1 Ivy) has already battled up in Fairbanks, Alaska and hosted a travelling Russian squad from Yaroslavl.

That leaves the latter two cities of Canton and Potsdam, both in New York, which happen to be the respective homes of St. Lawrence (6-7-1, 1-5-0) and Clarkson (8-4-2, 4-1-1)--where Harvard will play tonight and tomorrow.

Yes, that's another 14 hours of road travel this weekend for the Crimson, which won't play another home game until February 3 against Princeton. Harvard treks out to Vermont and Dartmouth next Friday and Saturday before finals begin.

"If the results continue the way they did in Alaska (5-2 and 9-2 wins), we won't mind all the travel," captain Ben Coughlin said. "We're more confident and need to continue to play well in these four games."

The Crimson has been playing much better over its last three games, getting good offensive production from all four forward lines in addition to tough defense and strong goaltending from junior Tripp Tracy and senior Steve Hermsdorf.

The sloppiness on the blue line that led to several of the early losses has abated recently, which has helped spark the team's offense.

Senior Cory Gustafson has been Harvard's most consistent offensive weapon, banging home six goals while assisting on 10 others. Senior Steve Martins is right behind Gustafson with six goals and nine assists, while juniors Brad Konik and Kirk Nielsen and seniors Perry Cohagan and Coughlin have stepped up their play as of late.

"The guys had to assume larger roles on the ice," senior defenseman Bryan Lonsinger said. "It took a little bit of time, but everyone is stepping up their game."

St. Lawrence

The Saints used to be one of the top teams of the ECAC, but hard times have hit of late the last couple of seasons. St. Lawrence finished in 10th place last year and currently resides in the ECAC cellar.

However, they are never easy to beat at home, as the noisy confines of Appleton Arena almost act as a seventh player.

"Playing St. Lawrence up there is always tough," Lonsinger said. "They got a packed house, and it's important not to let the crowd get to you."

St. Lawrence is a relatively young squad, containing only seven juniors and seniors. The inexperience has been felt on defense, as the team has allowed 4.37 goals a game.

John Bracco and Clint Owen--the current ECAC Rookie of the Week--have shared time in goal, while forward Burke Murphy is the team's top sniper, racking up 14 goals and eight assists in the Saints' first 14 games.

Clarkson

The Golden Knights were the pre-season ECAC favorite and have come on strong since a 2-2-2 start.

They have experience everywhere except in goal, but freshman Dan Murphy has done a respectable job between the pipes, starting every game and posting a 3.42 goals against average.

Seniors Marko Tuomainen (9 goals, 19 assists), Patrice Robitaille (12G, 19A), Claude Morin (14G, 6A) and Brian Mueller (5G, 11A) lead the team in scoring, while Mueller is a solid force on defense as well.

"Clarkson is a very important game," Coughlin said. "They are the most highly esteemed team in the league."

Must Wins?

Adding to the significance of these four contests is that Harvard has played more game than every other ECAC squad except Princeton. It is almost a must for Harvard to take at least three of the four games if it wants to be in the hunt for first place at the end of the season, since the other schools will be able to make up ground on Harvard later this month.

The Crimson currently resides in second place in the ECAC, one point behind Brown but only one point ahead of Rensselaer and two in front of Clarkson and Princeton.

"I don't think it's great to think about the pressure," Lonsinger said. "We just have to take it one game at a time."