Overtime Win Gives M. Hockey NCAA Berth

Two weeks ago, it looked like the Harvard men’s hockey team was going nowhere fast.

But now—for the first time since the 1993-94 season—the Crimson is going to the NCAA tournament.

After winning only twice in its final 11 regular season games, Harvard (15-14-4, 10-9-3 ECAC) posted a perfect 4-0 mark in the ECAC tournament—including Saturday night’s dramatic, double-overtime victory over Cornell—to earn the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

The Crimson received the No. 6 seed in the East Regional at the Centrum in Worcester, Mass. Harvard will play third-seeded Maine in the first round at noon next Saturday.

The winner of that game will face Boston University at noon on Sunday for the right to go to the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn.

As the seedings were announced on television last night, the Harvard players waited anxiously in a lounge at Bright Hockey Center. The team erupted with cheers when it learned it would be able to stay in its home region and play in front of family and friends.

“We’re excited,” junior center Dominic Moore said. “I think our reaction said it all. We’re going to be able to play close to home and get a lot of fan support.”

A year ago, the Crimson might very well have been placed in the western bracket—the NCAA tournament selection committee has historically favored putting the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds outside their home regions to encourage inter-regional play.

However, in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedies, the committee has decided to limit travel and keep teams close to home.

“It’s outstanding that we’re getting the opportunity to play in Worcester,” said Harvard Coach Mark Mazzoleni, who has brought the Crimson from an 11-17-2 mark in 1999-2000—his first season at Harvard—to the NCAAs just two years later.

“It’s a great opportunity for our fans to see us play,” Mazzoleni continued. “Our preparation won’t be as rushed as it would be if we were going to Michigan. We earned the right to be [in the tournament] and we feel good about ourselves. We’re just going to take it one game at a time and take care of business.”

Maine (23-10-7, 14-5-5 Hockey East) tied for second place in Hockey East this season and lost to No. 1 New Hampshire, 3-1, in the league title game at the FleetCenter on Saturday.

“Maine’s an excellent team,” Mazzoleni said. “They’ve been outstanding over the past four weeks, and their tradition in the NCAAs in unparalleled. They have a lot of experience in the tournament.”

The Crimson last played the Black Bears—the No. 7 team in the country in both national polls—in 1993-94.

The Crimson lost that game, 7-6.

“We haven’t played them in awhile, so it should be a lot of fun,” Moore said.

While the Crimson has not faced Maine on the ice recently, Harvard does have some familiarity with the Black Bears. Current Harvard assistant coach Nate Leaman served as an assistant to the late Shawn Walsh during Maine’s 1998-99 national title season.