Scott Fusco's twine-twanger 38 seconds into the game began a Crimson scoring barrage as the Harvard men's hockey team trounced the University of Western Ontario, 7-2, Saturday at London, Ont.
The victory lifted the icemen's overall record to 6-0, the best Crimson start since 1974.
The starting line of Lane MacDonald. Fusco and Tim Smith produced Harvard's first five goals, and the Mustangs didn't break onto the scoreboard until the Crimson held a 6-0 lead.
"Things just seemed to click," said Fusco. "Everything went really well for us."
Things have gone especially well for Fusco, whose goal and three assists brought his six-game total to 16 points (eight goals, eight assists). Last year, senior Brian Busconi led the team in scoring with 18 points on the season.
"We're playing a less defensive style" than the team did last year. Fusco said "That pick everybody up."
Still, it's an amazing beginning for a team that has just three seniors and plays six freshmen, and Saturday's trip to Cornell's wild and crazy Lynah Rink should pose an interesting test. Last year's Crimson squad grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first seven minutes, then watched the Big Red scream, yell, fish and tennis-ball its way back for a 6-5 decision.
THE NOTEBOOK: Two years ago's national runner-up Crimson started its year 5-1. How does this year's squad compare? "If [the young players] develop at the rate they're doing right now, we have the potential to have just as good a year," said Fusco. That 1982-83 team suffered its first loss of the year at Cornell. First period-1, H. Scott Fusco (Scott Farden, Lane MacDonald) :38. 2, H. Tim Smith (Fusco, Randy Taylor) 14:36. Second period-3, H. MacDonald (Fusco, Smith)6:01. 4, MacDonald (unassisted) 10:01. 5, H. Bill Cleary (Fusco, Mark Benning) 10:11. Third period-6, H. Steve Armstrong (Rich Haney) 4:27. 7, WO. Joe Irvin (Darren Cholod. Mike O'Neil) 4:59. 8, H. Armstrong (unassisted) 9:54. 9, Wo. Chris McCualey (Brad Schurr. Paul Thomas) 14:20. Saves-H. Grant Blair 14. John Devin 3, WO. Chris Jackson 14. Tim McCullough 14.
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