M. Hockey Falls to Stirling, Brown, 4-2

When the Harvard men's hockey team opened its season against Brown last month, it skated away with its first win of the year, setting the pace for one of the strongest starts for the Crimson in recent history.

Since Brown hadn't yet won a game in this young season, the Crimson felt confident that it could duplicate that performance Saturday at Bright.

But in similar fashion to Harvard's 2-1 loss to BU last Tuesday, Brown (1-6-0, 1-5-0 ECAC) dominated the contest for most of the three periods, stealing a 4-2 shocker from the Crimson (4-3-0, 4-2-0).

"Of course we have to give credit to our opponent, but that's two times in a row that we've come out of the chute at home and we haven't gotten it done," Harvard Coach Mark Mazzoleni said. "It's not acceptable."

Harvard showed its only signs of revival in the second period after senior winger Scott Turco notched the Crimson's first goal on a pass from sophomore center Jared Cantanucci, wristing a shot from the right face-off circle through traffic to hit the backstop. That goal made the score 1-1 at 15:35 of the second.

But Harvard couldn't hang on, allowing the Bears to take a 2-1 lead with barely a minute left on the clock in the second. But the Crimson's fate was sealed early in the final frame, as Brown defenseman Greg Hayes scored the eventual game-winner, sending a hard slapshot from the left point right by senior goaltender J.R. Prestifilippo at 5:14 of the third, giving Brown a 3-1 lead.

Though Brown predominately controlled the flow of the game, Harvard forced the Bears' netminder Scott Stirling to turn away 29 shots.

Stirling, undoubtedly one of the top goaltenders in the league and quite possibly Brown's best asset, was stellar Saturday night in holding Harvard at bay. His presence between the pipes was an enormous psychological boost for the floundering Bears, since he sat out the last five games. Injured in his first outing against the Crimson, he was questionable for Saturday.

"[Stirling] was a big component of their team's success in the past," Mazzoleni said. "Having him out was probably a major shortcoming. Tonight he gave them very good goaltending and his team played with a lot of confidence."

The Crimson pushed the play hard in the first period but couldn't seem to find its legs, and fortunately for Harvard, neither could Brown, as the period ended in a scoreless tie.

Turco, who posted one of the strongest individual performances in the game, just missed putting the Crimson on the board late in the first on one of the best chances of the night. Beating his defenseman, Turco came down wide on Stirling's left at a tough angle. Turco flipped the puck at the net, but Stirling used his quick reflexes to make the glove save.

Harvard's most admirable performance came from the penalty kill, which held Brown scoreless on its four power plays, three of which came in the first. But extra-man play wasn't where the Crimson suffered.

"I think the five-on-five was our most lackluster performance," junior center Steve Moore said.

But a lethargic start in the second allowed the Bears to light the lamp first. Brown center Jeff Lawler flew down the ice and broke in for a shot on Prestifilippo, which deflected off his pads. Winger Tyler Garrow took advantage of the loose rebound in the crease and poked in Brown's first goal at 9:07.

Turco's goal at 15:35 in the first evened the score for the Crimson and gave it temporary momentum, but the equalizer and the surge would only last for another four minutes.

Bears' winger Matt Kohansky reclaimed Brown's lead with only 42 seconds left in the middle frame with another rebound shot that went five-hole.

The Bears only suffered three penalties, all of which came in the third. So it was surprising that the Crimson went scoreless on the power play, since Brown kills just 55 percent of its penalties.

"We had good possession of the puck in the offensive zone, but we just didn't generate any scoring opportunities like we have been," sophomore defenseman Peter Capouch said. "I just think it was indicative of how the whole night went."

Defensive breakdowns and general sluggishness characterized Harvard's play in the third, allowing the Bears to dominate offensively.

Hayes's goal barely five minutes in to the third period ultimately gave Brown the game-winner. Captain Mike Bent's breakaway led to a five-hole shot at the halfway point in the final stanza to pad the Bears' lead.

With time winding down, the Crimson turned on its offense in an effort to push the game in to overtime. With 3:57 to go in the third, Moore took a hard slapshot from the point but Stirling proved once again to be a wall. Sophomore winger Jeff Stonehouse and Moore took a couple of rebound shots only thirty seconds later, but couldn't break Stirling's impenetrable hold on the net.

Prestifilippo abandoned the net with less than two minutes to play, giving the Crimson its fourth extra-man advantage of the night, the first on which Harvard was able to capitalize.

At 19:18, freshman winger Brett Nowak notched his fourth career goal, and is now tied with senior winger Brett Chodorow for the team lead in goals. Taking a pass from senior defenseman Matt Scorsune from behind the net, Nowak positioned himself near the slot and dished the Crimson's second goal past Stirling.

"We've got to look at ourselves and take a look in the mirror and find out where it is because we can't keep doing this," Moore said. "I think we'll have to sit down as a team and talk about it and hopefully be ready to go next weekend."