Ed Rauseo's overtime goal Tuesday in the Garden may well have been the key play in Harvard's 8-5 destruction of the nation's topranked hockey team last night at Bright Center.
Having played a sensational Beanpot contest versus Boston College and lost, the Crimson was fired up from the start and practically blew Providence right off the ice.
"Every guy in there," Harvard Coach Bill Cleary said afterward, pointing to his team's locker room, "knew that we were the better team last night and we didn't win. So now we wanted to prove something."
And it seemed, more than usual, that every one of the icemen got into the act. Thirteen players' names appeared on the scoring sheet. Cleary's line-shuffling over the weekend, intended to balance Harvard's offenses, paid off in a big way, with every line contributing at least a goal.
"I just figured we could get some new offense," Cleary said. "I'm not sure I expected eight goals against Providence."
While Providence's two big guns, Gates Orlando and Kurt Kleinendorst, virtually carried its entire attack, every one of the home team's newly-concocted trios left the Friars in a daze. There was Greg Chalmers finding Greg Britz in the slot for the game's first goal, there was Phil Falcone hitting Gary Martin with a sensational centering pass and Martin returning the favor to Falcone on a nearly identical play eight minutes later, there was Shayne Kukulowiez connecting with Jim Turner zooming down the slot.
Miraculously, the Friars left the ice after 20 minutes tied with Harvard, despite being out shot, 14-5. Starting left wing. Steve Taylor answered Britz's red light with a tip-in past Crimson goalie Grant Blair, and Providence survived a five-on-three for 1 07, thanks largely to some sharp saves by Mario Proulx.
After a power-play goal by Orlando early in the second stanza was followed by the Falcone-to-Martin connection, a tense 2-2 deadlock lasted for eight minutes. Blair robbed the visitors several times in that span, a 20-ft. blast by Randy Velischek sent the freshmen rolling pads over helmet, but stayed in Blair's glove. And at 5.35 Mitch Ofson made a spectacular diving stick check, flying into the net but saving a sure goal.
When Providence's pressure let up a few minutes later, it was suddenly overwhelmed. Harvard struck gold three times in four minutes. Martin's centering pass to Falcone put the Crimson ahead. Just 65 seconds later Kukulowiez faked out Velischek--a second team all-ECAC defenseman last year--at his own blue line, broke down the right side and found Turner in front to make it 4-2. A Mark Fusco backhander through Proulx's legs made it a three-goal margin.
The Friars threatened a comeback after a late second-period goal, but Harvard delivered the knockout blow in the third Mark Fusco did one of his vintage Bobby Orr imitations, taking it from his own blue line and firing a 50-footer.
It only took another 32 seconds for Rob Wheeler to beat a clearly rattled Proulx from the right faceoff circle for his first varsity goal. After Chris Terreri replaced Proulx and Visone banked one in off the new goalie's skates, two late Friar goals were meaningless THE NOTEBOOK. The win raises Harvard's record to 12-6-1 (10-4-1 in the ECAC) and moves the Crimson into a fourth-place tie with UNH. It marked the first time Harvard has won this year without Scott Fusco scoring a point. H Greq Britz (Greg Chaimers, Tony Visone) 5.54 P. Steve Taylor (Mark Ostendorf Mike Bolstad) 11.06 P. Gates Orlando (Kurf Kienen dorst Rich Costello) 59 H. Gary Martin (Phil Falcone) 4.37 H. Jim Turner (Shayne Kukulowiez Mark Fusco) 13.47 H. M. Fusco (Brad Kwong) 16.51. P. Jim Robbins (Hugh Toppazzini) 17.29 H. M. Fusco (unassisted) 2.00. H. Rob Wheeler (Brian Busconi, (Dave Burke) 2.32 H. Visone (Chaimers) 8.33. P. Kleinendorsf (Orlando Costello) 12.48. P. Costello (Tim Army Steve Rooney) 17.48. Saves P. Mario Proulx 13.6.1--20. Chris Terreri 13; H. Grant Blair 4.7.4-15 Att 2400
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