Done at One, Again

ALBANY, N.Y.—This one, unlike its predecessors, wasn’t even close.

It wasn’t like the overtime losses of 2002 and 2005, and it wasn’t like the third-period collapses of 2003 and 2004.

No, this year’s opening round of the NCAA tournament was simply a blowout defeat for the Harvard men’s hockey team: a 6-1 drubbing by Maine, the same team responsible for the 2002 and 2004 affairs.

You can say that the Crimson, one of five programs to make the tournament in five consecutive seasons, has been remarkably consistent. But that consistency has been so overshadowed by the first-round losses that before last weekend’s game against the Black Bears, there was an undeniable elephant in the media room.

Harvard had outscored its previous two opponents 18-3 to win the ECAC tournament title, and junior defenseman Dylan Reese had said it was the “best team we’ve had since I’ve been here.” Still, there was that streak.

Reese echoed the mantra of his teammates and coaches when he said before the Maine game, “Every team is a new team, and we get a new team with a bunch of new guys, guys that don’t remember, and you just have to do your best to not think about it.”

But it was difficult to ignore entirely; every year brought the same questions.

And for reasons unknown, the Black Bears “came out with a purpose,” said Crimson captain Peter Hafner after this year’s disaster, “and we just weren’t able to match that. It’s disappointing, because we really didn’t show what type of team we [are].”

It was the last game for Hafner and classmates Tom Walsh, Charlie Johnson, Dan Murphy, and John Daigneau. Unlike the ECAC title weekend, during which Harvard dominated Dartmouth and Cornell with tranquil efficiency, coach Ted Donato ’91 said his team was “outplayed pretty much for the entire game, from top to bottom” by Maine.

“Our biggest game of the year,” the coach said. “To come up with one of our poorer performances—[it’s] frustrating.”

The Crimson has made 21 appearances in the NCAA tournament, including two streaks of five consecutive seasons. That first streak culminated in 1989 with a national championship, the banner for which hangs in the Crimson’s Bright Hockey Center.

This season’s end, despite all the momentum that led up to it, was not nearly as satisfying.

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Seesel can be reached at seesel@fas.harvard.edu.