JONNIE ON THE SPOT

At this time last year, the Harvard men’s hockey team was 9-6-3 overall, 8-3-2 in the ECAC. It was in first place.

Today, Harvard is 12-6-1 overall, 11-3-0 in the ECAC. It is in first place.

The similarities do not stop there.

Against Yale a year ago, Harvard used a strong third period to win before a sellout crowd at Bright Hockey Center.

Against Yale on Friday night, Harvard used a strong third period to win before a sellout crowd at Bright Hockey Center.

Harvard dominated Princeton Jan. 11, 2002, outshooting the Tigers, 38-18 (56 total). But an outstanding performance by goaltender Dave Stathos did the Crimson in. Princeton won, 2-1.

Harvard dominated Princeton Jan. 11, 2003, outshooting the Tigers, 46-10 (56 total). But an outstanding performance by goaltender Trevor Clay did the Crimson in. Princeton won, 2-1.

I’m enjoying that I can write this column by using the simple cut-and-paste technique.

Pretty wild, huh? Straight out of the Twilight Zone.

But then again, two years do not make a meaningful trend, and two games against Princeton and Yale probably won’t matter too much in the long run.

Two months, though, are everything in college hockey.

But those two months aren’t November and December, even though Harvard might like them to be, since it won 10 games during that span.

The last time the Crimson did that was 1988-1989, a season in which it also played well in the two months that matter: February and March.

And it won the national title.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. “Live in the now,” as Garth says to Wayne.

Actually, let’s “live in 2002,” and rewind to what happened to Harvard’s icemen after hosting Princeton and Yale last season.

First, they went to places like Science Center C and took exams. Then, they played horribly in February, winning just twice in their last 11 regular season games. Finally, they played superb hockey in March, won the ECAC tournament in dramatic fashion, and made it to the first round of the NCAA tournament.

And that’s where it stopped, in overtime, against a team that came within seconds of winning the national championship.

And last year, that was OK.

OK because the team was young, OK because of how far the team had come, OK because everyone knows it’s awfully hard to win a zillion consecutive overtime games when the teams get better every weekend.

So it ended March 23, 2002, when a little-known fourth-liner from Maine named John Ronan scored to beat the Crimson in overtime.

But what about this year? Where will Harvard be March 23, 2003? More importantly, where will it be March 29, 2003, during this year’s NCAA Regional?

Still playing hockey? Or yakking from the Norwalk virus after going on a spring- break cruise because the season ended earlier than it was supposed to?

Harvard had better hope for the former. First, because yakking is bad no matter how you look at it. But secondly, and most importantly, because the Crimson is good enough to play hockey in late March.

The key to March, though, is February. Sure, Harvard didn’t seem to need it last year, and it ended up winning the ECAC tournament, but it also didn’t win anything after that, which should be the Crimson’s goal this year.

And for this year’s Harvard team to get the chance to play hockey in late March—or even April—it has to start Jan. 31 against Brown.

Because here’s the plain truth: the chances are not good that the Crimson can have an off month, flip the switch on for the playoffs, and then win three straight overtime games and the conference tournament for the second consecutive year. There was a better chance of Princeton beating Harvard in Cambridge by the same score two years in a row.

But here’s what can happen after exams: Harvard beats Brown at home, wins a game (maybe two) in the Beanpot, builds up some momentum with a good finish to the regular season, and secures an at-large NCAA bid so it doesn’t have to spend the ECAC playoffs on the verge of having its season end at any moment.

That’s how this team needs to go into the playoffs—and very easily could.

After all, the Crimson roster has 13 NHL draft picks. 13! That’s tied for the most in the nation.

Dominic Moore is a fantastic goal-scorer and has been a very able captain. Tim Pettit (again I ask, how is he undrafted?) has one of the most vicious slapshots in college hockey. Defenseman Noah Welch regularly abuses the opposition’s best forward. And Dov Grumet-Morris is a legitimate, big-time goaltender who plays best when he’s challenged the most.

This is a good team, but we’ve known that for awhile. Now it’s time to see how badly it wants to become a very good team—or maybe even a great one.

And that’s going to come down to whether or not Harvard can play consistently in the second half, when the wear-and-tear of a hockey season sets in, when the weather in Boston makes you feel like you have the Norwalk virus even when you don’t and when opponents start getting a little hungrier.

Because—last year notwithstanding—good Februarys are needed for good Marches.

And this team is capable of marching awfully far.

—Staff writer Jon Paul Morosi can be reached at morosi@fas.harvard.edu.