Men's Hockey Can't Overcome 0-8-1 ECAC Start, Now Faces Tomassoni's Resignation

This year was supposed to be different.

After four straight non-winning seasons, expectations of success had returned for the Harvard men's hockey team (14-16-2, 8-12-2 ECAC).

Riding high off a strong performance at Lake Placid the previous year and returning all its major players, head coach Ronn Tomassoni was expected to guide the program back to ECAC prominence.

The preseason coaches poll placed the Crimson in third, and for two months of the year, Harvard validated its prognosticators, posting an 8-4-1 record through January and February--good for third-best in the conference.

But the only historic moment the Crimson could add to the 10-year anniversary of its National Championship was a 5-1 home loss on Dec. 5 to St. Lawrence. The defeat capped an 0-8-1 conference start, 2-8-1 overall, worst in school history.

Despite a valiant finish, RPI bounced Harvard from the playoffs in the first round to end yet another disappointing season.

"There were positives in the year," said Captain-elect Trevor Allman. "But we're gonna judge success by making it to Lake Placid, and we didn't."

The fifth straight sub-par year meant the end of the Tomassoni era. The man who was head coach for the past nine seasons resigned on May 14.

This year was supposed to be different.

The Crimson hosted the season opener Friday night, Nov. 6, against Brown. After a strong first period, Bear netminder Scott Stirling saw only 13 shots the rest of the night in a 4-1 defeat. The team lacked energy, lines looked out of sync, and the defense became increasingly porous.

What was chalked up to first game kinks back then soon became a trend.

Over its first eleven games, the Crimson topped the three-goal mark for a game just three times. While the offense kept its lamp dark, the defense practically gave the goal judge RSI.

During one brutal stretch, Harvard dropped a 7-2 decision versus Cornell on Nov. 13, lost 6-3 the next day to Colgate. It showed some heart the next Friday in losing only 3-2 at Princeton, but then nearly let Yale outscore its football counterparts on the day of The Game, falling 7-1.

By the end of the 11-game opening stretch, junior goaltender J.R. Prestifilippo's GAA hovered around five.

"As a team, we just didn't play well," said senior forward Rob Millar. "We were underachieving and everyone knew it."

Even on the two November evenings Harvard won, it received bad news.

The Crimson rebounded from its opening day defeat to beat UMass-Amherst 3-1, an extremely close game that was not iced until sophomore forward Steve Moore's empty net goal.

After the win, doctors alerted Tomassoni that senior defenseman Ben Storey had contracted mononucleosis. Storey's absence from the lineup dealt a crushing blow to the team's transition game. As the team's lone true rushing defenseman, he was counted on to set up the attack--especially on the power play.

"Injuries, especially Storey's, were a factor in our start," Allman said.

During the second period of its 5-3 upset win at Boston University, a Terrier viciously chopped sophomore forward Chris Bala, breaking his left wrist.

Bala, a left-handed sniper who led the team in goals last year, formed a lethal combination with sophomore Steve Moore, who led the team in overall points.

Moore became Harvard's only consistent offensive player, leading the team with ten points at the end of its horrific 2-8-1 start, doubling the output of the next teammate.

Still, injuries cannot fully explain just how poorly Harvard was playing. Signs of frustration finally arose during a 7-4 loss on Dec. 1 against RPI.

With five minutes remaining in the game, the fleet Engineers skated circles around the Crimson. RPI's Brad Tapper bowled over Prestifilippo, sparking Captain Craig Adams to come charging off the bench for a rare ECAC fight.

"No one could specify just what was going on," Allman said. "We had a lack of mental focus and we were getting frustrated."

The team then hit its nadir the following weekend, getting swept at home by Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Saints used a four-goal second period to send a listless Crimson into the Christmas break with anything but cheer.

Then, like a gift from Santa's sleigh, Harvard found some--out in the cornfields of Omaha, Neb.

"I think we went out to Nebraska ready to have fun," Allman said. "It gave us some confidence."

Harvard flew out to the Midwest to play a deuce with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Storey and Bala returned to the lineup and Harvard discovered it would be a different team 7:58 into the first period on Friday, Dec. 18.

Moore, skating down the right wing, threaded a pass through two Maverick defenders to Bala, who chipped it home. With the tandem reunited, Harvard now had offensive life.

"I think the return of Ben Storey provided a much needed stabilizing force on defense," Millar said. "Our goals against went down, and the forwards and defense were willing to take more risks and play with more confidence."

Harvard swept UNO, 4-1 and 4-3, and rung in the new year with its first ECAC wins at Dartmouth and Vermont, 4-2 and 7-6, respectively. Moore had a hat trick against the Big Green.

Coming back home to the Bright Center, Harvard stalled the Engineer attack, but a 20-save performance by goalie Joel Laing squeezed a 1-0 victory for RPI. The Crimson bounced back with a 4-3 win over Union.

Millar almost single-handedly beat the Skating Dutchmen. He set up the first two Crimson goals and bagged two in the third to surmount a 3-2 deficit.

The senior forward displayed his talent over the next month-and-a-half as the Crimson put together an 8-4-1 record starting with Nebraska. He picked up the slack as nagging injuries put Moore into a mini-slump.

He scored the insurance goal Jan. 13 in perhaps Harvard's biggest win of the season. The Crimson played a rousing, spirited game against then No. 6 Boston College. Prestifilippo made 28 saves and top Eagle guns like Brian Giaonta fell silent in a 3-1 win.

"We came together as a team and started to play for each other," Millar said. "Individually every member picked up their level of play. Even practices were much more up tempo."

The Eagle victory marked the beginning of the break for first semester finals, and Harvard returned by faltering in the Beanpot, dropping both games.

But by now, Bright Hockey Center was becoming a true home ice advantage. Harvard took the ice and rode Millar's pair of goals to edge Yale 3-2 on Feb. 12 and outplayed Princeton 5-3, a team that was ranked during the season, on Feb. 13.

The Crimson had righted its ship, and though it lost three of its next four, home ice witnessed another sweep in the last weekend of the season over Vermont, 5-3, and Dartmouth, 3-2.

"The Princeton-Yale weekend gave us a huge lift that carried through the rest of the season," Allman said.

The double dip not only clinched a playoff spot, but also a fortunate No. 8 seed and first-round match-up against RPI, which represented the best chance for Harvard to advance.

Harvard, though, received a serious setback during the week leading up to its first round contest against the Engineers.

During a crash at the net in practice, one player fell on Prestifilippo breaking his collarbone, forcing sophomore Oliver Jonas--who was pulled in two previous appearances--to start against the best offense in the ECAC.

The Crimson attempted to rally as a team, and as a sign of unity, everyone on the roster--down to the student managers--bleach-blonded their hair.

Jonas, whose hair practically turned white with the dye, rose to the occasion, making 32 saves in the first game. His team, meanwhile, executed the perfect game plan of defense and counter attack in a 2-1 win. However, the defense abandoned Jonas in a 4-0 rout the following night, March 13.

"We took RPI to three games, it was great fun," Allman said. "Oli put in a terrific performance shutting down one of the ECAC's best offensive teams...It was a true team effort."

The deciding match was knotted at two entering the third period, with junior defenseman Matt Scorsune getting the equalizer on a bomb from the point late in the second. Jonas gave his team every chance to win in the last frame, making 10 mostly spectacular saves. But two costly defensive mistakes ended Harvard's season, 4-2.

The season that began with a trip to Lake Placid taken for granted ended with a long, snowy bus ride from Troy. The four seniors on the roster, Clayton Rodgers, Adams, Millar and Storey never experienced a winning year in Cambridge.

Adams especially poured his heart out as the squad's leader, but the team ultimately fell one game short.

"It is a sad feeling taking off your college jersey for the last time," Millar said. "I certainly would have liked to make it back to Lake Placid and to the NCAA tournament, but it wasn't in the cards."

The strong finish though once again creates hope for next season. Both Moore and Bala were severely hampered by injuries--the cast never left Bala's wrist.

Two freshmen--forward Jeff Stonehouse and defenseman Peter Capouch--also distinguished themselves this year. Stonehouse, who has a hard, accurate shot, earned a spot on the top line and became the team's best face-off man.

Capouch, despite his diminutive 5'8, 165-pound frame, proved himself one of the smartest Crimson backliners and notched three goals.

With the talent in place, the team hopes the new head coach can revitalize the program.

Athletic Director William J. Cleary '56 has yet to tip his hand as to possible candidates, but rumors have swirled around U.S. Women's National Coach Ben Smith '68, Princeton Coach Don "Toot" Cahoon, and Union Coach Kevin Sneddon '92.

"Hopefully, last season's second half surge will carry through to next year," Millar said. "With a new coach coming in, everyone is in the same boat. There are no guaranteed spots, and I think that everyone's play will be much hungrier and...with much more intensity and desperation."

This year was supposed to be different. Next year has to be.