876-5309: New Chapter in the Rivalry

There's no question about it--the storied rivalry between Harvard and Yale is alive and well.

And it took a new twist last weekend, both on and office the ice.

The attendance at Bright Hockey Center last weekend was only at about 50 percent capacity both nights, but those who braved the aftermath of the snowstorm were privy to a new chapter in Harvard Hockey history.

Before this series, the Ivy foes, whose academic and athletic rivalry goes back hundreds of years, never faced off against each other in the ECAC Quarterfinals. Twice the Crimson has gone toe-to-toe with the Elis in the consolation games in the league tournament, and twice Harvard has set Yale back on its heels.

The Crimson added another pair of wins last weekend, knocking off the Elis, 5-4 and 7-4, to secure a coveted spot at Lake Placid. The victories boost Yale's record at Bright to 1-20-3 and send the Elis packing back to New Haven.

"We are going to take a lot of confidence out of this series, because we battled against a good team even when the chips were against us," Harvard captain Steve Moore said. "Everyone on this team now knows what it takes to get the job done at Lake Placid."

Despite earning its second sweep of the year and posting a strong margin over Yale on Saturday, Harvard did not skate to easy victories. In fact, just about everyone in the rink both nights was on the edge of their seats for six periods of hockey.

And the Crimson didn't disappoint.

After a post-exam period tailspin, Harvard has slowly been plugging away in the standings and gradually regained its foothold in the league. Difficult victories over St. Lawrence and Rennsalaer almost a month ago, and a dominant performance against Yale a few weeks ago--a mere taste of the series that was to come--boosted the Crimson's confidence to unprecedented levels this season.

The culmination of this renewed poise on the ice came in the second game of the sweep. Perhaps a Harvard squad that was having less luck accomplishing its goals late in the season would have been rattled by the grievous officiating and Yale insurgence in the third period.

But this Crimson team responded perfectly.

Referee Dan Murphy, who has no business donning an official's jersey in the ECAC after this series, certainly exercised his arm Saturday night. Rivaling former official Mike Noeth for most atrocious playoff officiating, Murphy tagged both teams with a total of 17 penalties.

"These were two pretty clean hockey teams that were on the ice," Yale coach Tim Taylor said. "It's a shame that a playoff game came down to penalties."

And his mishandling of blatant offenses left much to be desired.

During Saturday night's second period, Yale gained the momentum, albeit underhandedly, and took control of the game.

The Crimson went up 3-1 at 10:24 when sophomore winger Brett Nowak slammed home a rebound from rookie blueliner Dave McCulloch's blast from the left point.

Murphy was responsible for the momentum change with about seven and a half minutes to play when he turned his head away from the action. Yale winger Lee Jelenic dished the puck deep to Vin Hellemeyer and took the liberty of knocking down senior goaltender Oli Jonas to give his linemate a clearer shot.

Hellemeyer couldn't miss on the open net, bringing the Elis within one.

While the Crimson squad protested the unfair goal, Jelenic--the same player who had an altercation with a group of rowdy Harvard students through the glass on Friday night--skated off the bench and circled Jonas with a few words for the star netminder.

Jonas kept his cool, but sophomore defenseman Aaron Kim wouldn't let it slide. Kim hopped the bench and charged Jelenic, but fortunately didn't let his flaring temper get the best of him. Jelenic was assessed a ten-minute misconduct, while Kim earned two minutes in the sin bin, leaving the Crimson a man down.

While both players deserved a few minutes off the ice to cool down, Jelenic should never have been allowed back. If Taylor wasn't going to set an example by benching the instigator, Murphy should have.

While Murphy lost control of the game on the ice, things got out of hand on the sidelines as well, a scene that probably hasn't occurred since Harvard's incredible stretch run during the late 1980s and early 1990s. A skirmish ensued on the visitor's side of the rink between a group of rabid fans. Chants of "H.U.P.D." thundered from the student section, as the men in blue restored peace and order to the stands.

For the rest of the period, the tide had turned, and left spectators questioning whether the series would turn as well. On the man-advantage, Yale winger Nick Deschenes battled for Captain Ben Stafford's rebound in the slot, knotting the game at three apiece.

As the teams took the ice for the final period of the series, it was clear that the Crimson was rattled. Sophomore center Dom Moore took a dubious penalty for slashing behind the play, allowing Stafford to net the go-ahead goal at 4:02 in the third.

This season, opponents have outscored Harvard 42 to 27 in the final frame of play, meaning that the prospects of pulling off a come-back in the last 20 minutes was dim on paper. But the Crimson reversed that trend and popped four unanswered goals in the span of six minutes to clinch the game and the series.

"We couldn't have picked a better time for our first come-from-behind victory," Mazzoleni said. "We tied the game, got the momentum change and then jumped out all over him. Our kids really played with focus tonight."

Nowak knocked home the equalizer on a rebound at 7:59 to make it 4-4, and marked the end of Yale's offensive pressure.

The elder Moore memorably capped his collegiate career in his home barn by posting easily his best performance of the season, and netting the game-winning tally less than a minute later.

"It was really nice to have a game like that in my final contest at Bright," Moore said. "The second period was unbelieveable because it felt like everything was going against us. Our team showed a lot heart."

Heading to Lake Placid, a tournament where you can't advance without stringing together two victories, the weekend sweep over Yale is tremendous.

"It was an emotional roller coaster out there," rookie winger Tyler Kolarik said. "Teams that win championships peak right at the end of the season. That third period tonight was the peak of our season."

If the standings hold up, Harvard will face St. Lawrence, the No. 2 seed in the championship tournament. However, if Vermont topples Clarkson in tonight's final matchup, the standings are reshuffled, and the Crimson could face Cornell and extract a little revenge for last year's playoff defeat.