M. Hockey Bounces Back From Dartmouth Tie, Tops Huskies in OT

Although it will close the millennium in sole possession of first place in the ECAC, the Harvard men's hockey team realized that it was in need of a serious adjustment after skating to a disappointing 1-1 overtime tie with Dartmouth (2-5-3, 1-2-3 ECAC) Friday night.

The Crimson (6-5-1, 5-3-1 ECAC) did just that when it downed Northeastern 6-5 in overtime last night, scoring as many goals as it had in its previous three games.

The win over the last Beanpot team was by no means effortless.

When the Huskies (7-7-2, 4-4-2 Hockey East) pushed the Crimson in to its second straight extra-minute game, a sense of deja vu was all too apparent.

Harvard lost a comfortable 5-3 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the final stanza. But senior winger Matt Macleod restored the Crimson's non-conference winning record and recovered bragging rights against its cross-town rival less than a minute into overtime.

"Maybe it's justice that we didn't play one of our better games, but we won a hockey game," Harvard Coach Mark Mazzoleni said. "They worked hard to maintain that work ethic and it's nice to see a reward out there, instead of a tie."

Harvard 6, Northeastern 5

With only five minutes to play against Northeastern, it appeared that the Crimson had the win in the bag. Sporting a 5-3 lead supported by excellent offensive play, it seemed highly unlikely that the Huskies would pull ahead.

Northeastern never did regain the lead in the contest, but when Huskies' wingers Brian Cummings and Billy Newson notched two late third-period goals within 17 seconds of each other, the demeanor of the game changed.

Facing its second consecutive overtime game, Harvard was forced to employ its dominant offense for one final minute, as Macleod launched the puck past Huskies' netminder Jason Braun after only 41 seconds of extra play.

Junior winger Chris Bala swooped behind the net with the puck and found Macleod perched by the goal mouth waiting for the feed. Macleod took the pass and gave the Crimson a 6-5 win.

"It was nice for Matt Macleod to do that," Mazzoleni said. "He's persevered over the last few years, and he's done a very good job for us. It's nice to see him rewarded for that."

Harvard had to battle back from an early deficit, thanks to a bench minor issued to the Crimson for a protocol violation. Northeastern center Bobby Davis worked the puck down low and pushed it past junior goaltender Oliver Jonas to light the lamp first 1-0.

Despite trailing early, the Crimson never stopped generating offense and capitalizing on opportunities. And the first of three power play goals for Harvard was vindicating for the flailing power play unit.

"We're experimenting with things and seeing what works best," said junior center Steve Moore. "We had to adjust our breakout but towards the end we were getting more solid and getting more shots."

The Moore connection was at its prime on the first power play, as freshman center Dominic Moore picked up his fifth career goal. Steve Moore took a pass from sophomore defenseman Peter Capouch and sent a pass across the crease to his younger brother who banged it home at 5:07.

But the Huskies refused to give up their one-goal lead, as Newson got the puck in front of the net and sniped it top corner over Jonas's shoulder at 6:41.

Suffering six penalties in the first period alone, Northeastern allowed the Crimson to practice its power play, including a new unit composed of five forwards.

Northeastern lost the lead permanently when junior winger Harry Schwefel slapped a hard shot from center point at 15:05 past Huskies' goaltender Mike Gilhooly to even the score once again.

The defense worked hard to keep the puck away from Jonas, holding Northeastern to a mere four shots on target in the first period.

The second period was reminiscent of the offense of two years ago, when Steve Moore and Bala were the premiere offensive snipers for the Crimson. Both looking to augment their statistics, Moore and Bala both gave the Crimson go-ahead goals in the middle stanza.

Both teams down a man from matching minors issued against Northeastern's Mike Ryan and senior captain Trevor Allman, sophomore winger Jeff Stonehouse found Moore waiting in the slot, and slid a pass across for the goal barely two minutes into the period.

But Northeastern refused to let Harvard run away with the lead, as winger Leon Hayward slapped home a loose rebound in front of the goal mouth.

Bala closed out the second period with his fourth goal of the season, thanks to a horrific turnover. Bala found the puck on his stick and took his time on the play. His initial shot rebounded, but he roofed the puck over Gilhooly at 2:39 to put the Crimson up 4-3.

Halfway through the third period, the Crimson clearly dominated offensive play, taking advantage of a lackluster Northeastern defense.

"We had success once we got the puck deep on them, past the goal line," Mazzoleni said. "I thought that's where we generated most of our offense, through out offensive zone play."

Steve Moore notched an unassisted power play goal at 10:52, his second goal on the night. Another turnover by Northeastern defenseman Jim Fahey handed Moore the puck in the right circle. Moore lifted the puck over Huskies' goaltender Jason Braun, the replacement for Gilhooly, to make it 5-3.

But two soft goals by Cummings and Newson at 15:21 and 15:38 respectively gave Northeastern a chance to take the win in overtime.

"In the 20 seconds I addressed them between the end of the game and overtime, I told them not to get overly cute at the offensive blue line because Northeastern is a good transition team," Mazzoleni said. "We needed to get the puck down low and we did."

Macleod's overtime goal gave the Crimson the momentum it desperately needs to carry with it in to the New Year. Closing out the millennium at home with a gritty 6-5 win is precisely what the doctor ordered.

"I think for the better part of three periods and the overtime we matched them in intensity," Macleod said. "That's what really won it for us in the end."

Harvard 1, Dartmouth 1

Harvard did not fare as well as it hoped heading in to last Friday's contest. After blasting Dartmouth 7-2 earlier this season, the Crimson skated to a mediocre 1-1 tie against the Big Green, breaking a streak of seven series wins since 1996.

After 56 minutes of sluggish scoreless hockey on both sides, it seemed as if Harvard was going to take control of the game.

Sophomore winger Derek Nowak dug the puck out from behind the net and took a shot on Big Green netminder Nick Boucher. Boucher could not control the rebound, allowing senior winger Scott Turco to make the play. Turco fed the puck up to Moore who put it on net with 3:54 remaining in the third period.

But Dartmouth winger Michael Byrne's slapshot from the right circle 28 seconds later pushed the match up into an uneventful overtime.

The low-scoring game was not indicative of a lack of offense. Both teams recorded a high number of shots, but neither could penetrate the goal. The Crimson took a season-high 35 shots on Boucher, while senior netminder J.R. Prestifilippo stopped 24 shots.

"I thought our effort was very good and we competed hard," Mazzoleni said. "We did generate more offense than we have. We got some people to create some congestion around the net, which we haven't been doing. But we didn't finish."

The Crimson's inability to capitalize on its numerous opportunities is a problem that had plagued Harvard in the last five of its six games.

Macleod brought the Crimson closest to scoring, foreshadowing his game-winner the following night, when he gained possession of the puck on a turnover, and rang it off the post at 4:37 in the first.

Big Green winger Ryan Sinclair answer Macleod's attempt with a close shot of his own from the right post. Prestifilippo stoned Sinclair, and defenseman P.J. Martin tried for the rebound but hit Prestifilippo's pads.

Prior to yesterday's game, the Crimson had been denied most of its power-play opportunities, but not due to lack of effort. Dominic Moore crashed the net at 12:40 and backhanded the puck just shy of the net.

Again, Dartmouth was opportunistic and attempted to capitalize on the defensive weaknesses that the Crimson has been struggling with as of late.

With just over a minute to play in the second, Big Green center Jamie Herrington gained control of the puck from a turnover, and tried to move in for the kill. Senior defenseman Mark Moore aggressively backchecked and broke up the play to keep Dartmouth scoreless in the second stanza.

With freshman winger Brett Nowak, who had four points in Harvard's last contest with Dartmouth, playing with the United States Junior National Team in Sweden, many of the other younger players had to step up to fill the slot.

"Brett Nowak is a big part of our offense but I thought other guys stepped up and played well," Mazzoleni said. "I thought Derek Nowak played well, I thought Cantanucci stepped up very well. If we have to depend on the play of a freshman to get over the hump, we're in a world of hurt."

Sophomore center Jared Cantanucci gave the Crimson yet another chance early in the third period to take the lead. Cantanucci had a breakaway at 3:23 and almost poked the puck across the goal line, but Boucher made the save.

Harvard did pick up its play late in the third period, culminating with Steve Moore's goal with 3:54 remaining in the final period. The Crimson couldn't regain the lead after Byrne's slapshot went on net.

"We're not an upper-echelon team," Mazzoleni said. "We have to play hard and disciplined each and every night we play if we want to win. The big thing is that we did play hard, and I wish we had been rewarded with a win."