Less Moore, M. Hockey to Collide With Big Red Menace

Things aren’t getting any easier for the Harvard men’s hockey team.

Off to a slow start, Harvard will face a tough task this weekend in its attempt to right itself as it hosts rival No. 9 Cornell tonight and Colgate Saturday .

Harvard (1-2-1, 1-2-1 ECAC) enters this weekend still trying to find a consistent level of play. The team has mixed periods of dominance against Dartmouth with long stretches of sloppy play in losses to Vermont and Brown.

Head Coach Mark Mazzoleni blames Harvard’s start on a combination of inexperience and undisciplined hockey, especially in taking unnecessary penalties.

“We deserve to be where we are,” Mazzoleni said. “We have to be more disciplined.”

Forward Dominic Moore’s misconduct penalty near the end of last week’s game against Dartmouth not only allowed the Big Green to tie the score, but it also makes him ineligible for action tonight against Cornell. Harvard will thus have to defeat the Big Red without its best offensive player.

Freshmen goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris will see his first collegiate action of his career this weekend. Morris will fill in for the injured Will Crothers, who started Harvard’s first four games.

“Dov’s got a lot of personality and fire,” Mazzoleni said. “He’s the type of goaltender teams like to play in front of.”

Injuries to forwards Aaron Kim and Brendan Bernakevitch will further deplete Harvard’s lineup. Kim will have surgery on a broken finger next week, and should be out for an extended period of time. Bernakevitch has a separated shoulder.

The Crimson must also make up for the loss of defensemen Jesse Lane. The freshman abruptly decided to leave school to enter Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, essentially an independent developmental league for aspiring-NHL players. Lane announced his decision to leave school earlier this week and played for his new team the same night.

The NCAA regards Major Junior players as professionals, meaning Lane has lost all future college eligibility.

Lane’s decision surprised the entire team. While college hockey players occasionally leave school early for the Canadian Major Junior Leagues, leaving a team after only playing in three collegiate games is extremely rare.

Cornell (4-0, 2-0) has been Harvard’s nemesis in recent years. The Big Red ended the Crimson’s hopes for the ECAC tournament title last year, winning 5-2 in the conference semifinals. Earlier last season, the Big Red defeated Harvard 2-1 at Bright in a battle for first place in the ECAC.

Cornell has turned Bright Hockey Center into Lynah Rink East the last few years—the team has not lost at Harvard in Coach Mike Schafer’s six-year tenure. The Big Red always brings hundreds of loud supporters to Boston, and with The Game at Yale this weekend, Harvard might find itself playing in a hostile atmosphere.

“It’s just like playing a road game,” sophomore winger Kenny Turano said. “We have to come together as a team and focus more on ourselves than worrying about outside influences.”

Despite returning its top ten scorers and top goaltender from last year, Cornell received little respect in the preseason ECAC media poll and were picked to finish sixth.

Thus far, the Big Red has proved the pundits wrong—the team is off to a terrific start, winning their first four games by a combined score of 20-4. Cornell is one of only two unbeaten and untied teams in the nation.

Harvard must reduce the number of penalties it commits tonight, as it faces a lethal Cornell power play. The Big Red has converted on a remarkable 40 percent of its chances with the man advantage.

Defensemen Doug Murray (5 g, 3 a) is especially dangerous on the power play. His accurate shot from the blue line has earned him four power play goals already and made him the team’s leading scorer.

Cornell’s biggest strength, however, is on defense. In past meetings, the Big Red has frustrated the Crimson with its methodical play, hindering Harvard’s efforts to use its speed to create offense.

“They try to slow the game down, and we want to establish a quicker tempo,” Turano said. “It’s difficult for us when they’re always clutching and grabbing.”

Cornell’s last line of defense is equally tough. Goaltender Matt Underhill continues to post impressive numbers with a 1.88 goals-against average.

When it faces Colgate Saturday night, Harvard will be in an unusual position— its opponent will be just as young as the Crimson.

A remarkable eleven freshmen and seven sophomores dot the Raiders’ roster, as the team continues to rebuild after its NCAA tournament season in 1999-2000. Colgate finished 10-20-4 last year, missing the ECAC playoffs.

One of Colgate’s newcomers is winger Dmitry Yashin, brother of New York Islanders star Alexei. While not quite as skilled as his older brother, Yashin has scored the most points of any of the Colgate freshmen.

Though Colgate is expected to finish near the bottom of the ECAC standings this year, the team has shown that it is capable of playing well against far more talented opponents, opening up the season with two close losses to No. 7 Nebraska-Omaha.

“They are an extremely hard-working team,” Mazzoleni said. “You can expect their energy level and focus to be high when they play.”

On the other hand, the Raiders were demolished by top-ranked Minnesota the following week, losing two games by a combined 17-0 score.

Colgate might try to emulate Brown’s success against Harvard by playing defensive-minded hockey and hoping to capitalize on counterattacking chances. If so, Harvard will have to show improvement from previous weeks to avoid another upset loss.