Most Agree, Pettit's Goal Was In

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—He was pretty certain it went in.

Same goes for his teammates on the ice. And everyone on the Harvard bench. And at least one Brown player, along with, we presume, most of the 1,528 on hand.

If majority ruled at Meehan Auditorium, Crimson senior winger Tim Pettit would’ve been awarded the game-winning goal at 1:40 of overtime Saturday night. After all, even the great Yann Danis had put his head down, seemingly conceding defeat to the Harvard skaters buzzing about him with glee.

This one was over, right?

Well, no. The two most important people in the building when it comes to such matters—the goal judge and referee Scott Hansen—didn’t see Pettit’s laser sail over Danis’s glove and pop out, quicker than you could say, “Albany.” Serves Pettit right, you might say, for possessing a vicious slapshot that can be unseeable, unstoppable or both.

“I knew it didn’t go over the crossbar, so I had the idea that it went in, but I wasn’t positive,” Pettit said. “Everyone up top saw it go in…I got all of it, that’s for sure.”

After a quick but spirited dispute, however, the teams played on. One felt as if it had been robbed. The other was thankful for new playoff life.

In the end, the team that deserved to win, won. Harvard junior Tom Cavanagh scored about six minutes later to send his team to Albany with a 3-2 victory.

With that, all was forgiven.

“I could care less now because we won. Who cares?” Pettit asked. “If we would’ve lost, that would’ve been a big hit.

“But after [the non-goal], Danis psyched himself out. It was only a matter of time before we scored.”

Pettit may have missed out on what would’ve been his first overtime winner in a Crimson sweater, but he certainly did not go home empty-handed. His parting gifts included a pretty important goal of his own—coming less than 30 seconds after Brown took a 2-0 lead in the second—and the honor of playing more games (132) than anyone else in Harvard hockey history, breaking the old mark of former captain Steve Armstrong ’88.

Both coaches agreed that Pettit’s goal, coming on a 2-on-1 with Charlie Johnson at 11:03 of the second, changed the game’s momentum. Pettit tipped it into the air, off Danis, and barely over the line for his 10th goal of the season, second of the series.

“Charlie just made a great pass, right over the guy’s stick,” Pettit said. “Danis made a great save just to stop the puck, but luckily it went over the net. It’s nice to have a lucky bounce every once in awhile.”

Pettit said he didn’t know about the record until Harvard assistant director of athletic communications Jamie Weir told him about it earlier this season.

“It feels good to have played that many games in my career,” said Pettit, also tied for 16th in school history with 136 career points. “It’s definitely something I’m proud of.”

The record is a tribute to Pettit’s durability. He has missed only two games (the Princeton-Yale road trip as a freshman) over four years. His teammates, though, joke that he has the “most games played but least amount of preseason runs” because of conditioning sessions he’s missed due to injury.

Cavanagh and Ryan Lannon recently became the first juniors to play 100 games for Harvard. Barring injuries, one or both may pass Pettit next season.

“Some guys are probably going to break it next year, but it’s nice to have now,” Pettit said. “But really, all I’m interested in now is getting on the ice in Albany. All individual things aside, the seniors just want to go out on a winning note.”

REESE LETS IT RIP

As the second period wound down Saturday, Harvard freshman defenseman Dylan Reese had the puck just inside the blue line with a clear look at the net.

But he waited too long to pull the trigger, and a defender blocked it.

“I should’ve shot the puck,” Reese lamented. “I had a lane.”

In a similar situation at a more critical stage—7:35 into overtime—he didn’t hesitate, which is one big reason why the Crimson is still playing hockey this season.

Reese was left unmarked at the point because pressure from Harvard’s forwards had forced Brown’s wingers to help down low. He saw a lot of dark sweaters in front of the goal and had “all day” to send in his wrister.

“I was having a lot of my shots blocked in that game and the first game, so I was worried about getting it on net,” Reese said. “I wasn’t looking to score. I was hoping he’d kick it out, because we had three guys in front, and he did.”

Cavanagh put the rebound five-hole to send the Crimson to the ECAC semifinals for the fourth straight season, extending what is now the longest active streak in the league.

WORTH THE TRIP

With a 7-1-1 record over its last nine games, you could say Harvard is back. Same goes for the student fan base.

Over 100 clever, crimson-clad students made the trip to Meehan Auditorium for both games and often out-chanted the home supporters. Crimson captain Kenny Smith said it was the best road crowd he has seen for Harvard during his career, and said the team appreciated it.

“Going into another team’s rink with that much support from our fans means a lot to the guys,” he said. “They were awesome. That type of atmosphere is what makes college hockey so special.”

H-Club Co-President Nicholas Shiftan ’04 said his organization plans to send a bus to Albany for the ECAC championships, beginning with Friday’s 7:45 p.m. semifinal against Dartmouth. Shiftan said the H-Club would likely send out details of the trip tonight via e-mail.

“After this weekend’s turnout, we’re very confident that Harvard students are willing to make this trip,” he said. “We had well over 100 Harvard students who arranged their own transportation and really outdid the Brown fans. You couldn’t tell the game was at Brown.”

MILESTONE AND MIDTERMS

Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni was happy with Saturday’s win for a number of reasons. In addition to clinching the series, it was also his 300th career victory.

“That just means I’m getting old,” Mazzoleni said with a laugh. “You’ve got to be around a little bit to win 300 games.”

Mazzoleni still remembers his first win: an 8-0 victory at Wisconsin-Superior in 1985, his first season at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

“There are a lot of good memories in there,” he said.

Mazzoleni was also happy to wrap it up in two for an entirely different reason: his players’ midterms.

“Thank God we [didn’t] have to play Sunday,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough week as it is, with where we are academically.”

Cavanagh has three midterms this week.

“It’s nice to have some extra time,” he said.

BRIEFLY

Senior winger Kenny Turano, who missed almost the entire regular season with an ankle injury, was in the lineup for the Beanpot consolation and every game since, but missed both games this weekend with a leg injury sustained in practice. Sophomore Dan Murphy skated in his place and was minus-2 with two shots on goal. Mazzoleni said Turano will be re-evaluated this week…Before Saturday, the Bears hadn’t lost when leading after two since Jan. 28, 2003 and hadn’t blown a two-goal lead all season. But they are now 0-10-1 when the opponent scores three or more goals.

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