M. Hockey Searching for Playoff Position

Heading in to this weekend against Ivy rivals Princeton and Yale, the Harvard men's hockey team is again experiencing a taste of de ja vu.

Sporting an almost identical record to the 6-10-2 performance it posted last season at exactly this time, Harvard (8-14-2, 6-9-2 ECAC) has only four games left to secure a playoff position.

Despite the similarities, the objectives of last year's squad and the new guard are quite different. While the Crimson was desperate to snag a spot in the post-season last year, Harvard Coach Mark Mazzoleni has loftier goals in mind for his first year in the ECAC.

"We're at a point in our schedule where the games are crucial if we hope to acquire home ice for the upcoming playoffs," Mazzoleni said. "We're going to have to go 4-0 or 3-0-1 down the stretch to have a chance."

But the second half of the Crimson's schedule has been anything but kind.

Turning in a dismal 1-6-1 conference record since the turn of the millennium, Harvard has not taken a weekend since the home-opening series against Vermont and Dartmouth last November, it's first and only sweep of the year.

Despite its inability to put together two solid victories, Mazzoleni is confident that his team can pull out two consecutive winning weekends.

"Even though we haven't put a streak like that together this year, I think we're capable of doing it," Mazzoleni said.

The Tigers and the Elis, however, are not going to make Harvard's quest any easier.

Princeton (9-12-3, 7-7-3 ECAC), currently tied for fourth place with Cornell and Dartmouth, is riding a three-game winning streak. Its victories over Union, Rensselaer, and Dartmouth were good enough to even its record to obtain a .500 winning percentage.

Tigers' center Kirk Lamb leads Princeton with 22 points on the season, tied with Brandon Dietrich of St. Lawrence and Darryl Campbell of Colgate for fourth in the conference in scoring. Lamb had a hand in three of Princeton's goals in its recent 5-2 victory over the Big Green, including a goal and two assists, including a set-up on the game-winner.

Sophomore netminder Dave Stathos anchors a solid defensive core. He has posted a 2.87 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage this season, both good enough for eighth in the league.

An added problem for Harvard will be Princeton's home ice. Hobey Baker Rink, which is about fifteen feet shorter through the neutral zone, is going to require a slight adjustment on the Crimson's part.

"The key is going to be making good decisions in the neutral zone," Mazzoleni said. "If you take away the extra distance, they're on you, so we don't have much time to make the plays. We can't afford to get cute at the blue lines."

Despite the disadvantage the Crimson will face with the smaller rink, the players don't foresee any major difficulties.

"Rink size is a factor, but it's not as big a deal as people make it out to be," freshman center Dominic Moore said. "The better team will win the hockey game no matter how big the rink is."

Boasting a slightly better overall record than Harvard, Yale (9-11-4, 6-8-3 ECAC) has had an equally difficult second half of the season, going 2-6-1 in conference this year.

The Elis' strength is its skating ability, as the team shies away from the aggressive physical play that is a staple of both the Crimson and the Tigers.

Forwards Ben Stafford and Jeff Brow share offensive responsibilities for Yale. Stafford posts a career-high 27 points on the season, with Brow trailing slightly with 21.

Goaltending is also a key factor for the Elis, thanks to the dynamic duo of Trevor Hanger and Dan Lombard. Between the two netminders, Yale currently allows only 2.42 goals per game. In addition, Lombard was at the tops of the ECAC three weeks ago in both GAA and save percentage, but fell to sixth after being lit up six times by St. Lawrence and four times by RPI.

Considering the difficulty of the second stretch of Harvard's schedule, this weekend could not have come at a better time. Though both Yale and Princeton will be tough opponents, Harvard has already emerged victorious against the Elis once this year in perhaps its best-played game all season when it defeated Yale 3-2 last month.

The Crimson will be seeking revenge against the Tigers, who robbed Harvard of a win despite being outplayed, after dropping a 4-2 decision on Jan. 8th.

"This weekend we'll do what we can to get a few bounces that we didn't get last weekend and get some points," Moore said. "We've got a good mix of speed and depth and we're confident that we can handle their styles of play."

Though last weekend was not successful in terms of augmenting the Crimson's lackluster .412 winning percentage, it showed promise of a stronger Harvard squad this weekend. A tighter defense, coupled with a more potent offense and power play, threatened St. Lawrence with an upset, and almost turned the tide on Clarkson the following night.

"We generated almost twice as many quality scoring opportunities as St. Lawrence and Clarkson," Mazzoleni said. "Earlier this season we had nights where we were barely hitting double digits. Now we're hitting the 30s and we're coming up short. If we stop making fundamental mistakes, this wouldn't be happening."

Harvard must continue to focus on improving its transitional game and its defensive zone if it has any hopes for home ice.

A large percentage of opposition goals come from turnovers at the blue line, meaning that if the Crimson closes the gaps it often allows near the neutral zone it will offset the offensive rushes that allow its opponents to score, and

score early.

The Crimson's other fatal flaw is its inability to battle back from early deficits. Against both Clarkson and St. Lawrence, Harvard fell behind as quickly as five minutes in to the game.

"We've shown that we're not a good team once we have to play from behind," Mazzoleni said. "We need to come out of the blocks early if we want to win."

Keeping together the offensive trio of junior center Steve Moore, and wingers Scott Turco and Harry Schwefel, Mazzoleni hopes to continue to generate shot counts that have recently climbed in to the 30s. In addition, junior winger Chris Bala and senior winger Matt Macleod have swapped positions.

Combining last week's strong play and improvements with a few good bounces, Harvard may be two games closer to securing a playoff berth and a chance for home ice.