PROVIDENCE, R.I.--Imagine a flooded Franklin Field in Dorchester 100 years ago. Two teams took to the makeshift hockey rink, and unbeknownst to the handful of players and spectators on hand, played what would become an historic game.
On that day, Harvard and Brown initiated college hockey's oldest active rivalry.
The Bruins may have skated to a crushing 6-0 victory that night, but on Saturday night's centennial anniversary, Harvard had a score to settle and a must-win game on its hands.
By playing in the historic game, the Crimson (2-4-1, 2-2-1 ECAC) made history of its own, but it was the 5-3 win over the Bears (1-6-0, 1-4-0) which mattered most to the Crimson team that took the ice at Meehan Auditorium.
"From a psychological standpoint there is certainly a lot of season left, but I felt that it was a must win," said Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni, whose team's record recently dropped below .500. "Obviously we've been on a skid as of late and this was a league game so this was an important game for us to win."
After a period of deadlocked hockey, Harvard looked to be giving ECAC cellar-dweller Brown a lifeline.
But at the 7:35 mark of the second period, freshman Steve Moore tallied the first goal of his collegiate career on the power play.
That would be the beginning. Three minutes later junior Craig Adams stormed down the right wing and let loose a wicked wrister, which stunned Brown goaltender Scott Stirling.
The blast came from a precarious angle deep in the right corner and Adams appeared to find the only slice of daylight for his second tally of the young 1997-98 season.
Moore would continue the Harvard scoring with another goal--this one a rebound off a Chris Bala shot.
With three minutes left in the second stanza, Harvard, who owns a 87-30-7 series advantage over Brown, appeared in cruise control with a 3-0 lead.
But that comfort zone would soon be disrupted. One minute after Moore's second tally, Brown captain Damian Prescott put his team on the board.
With Harvard caught on its heels and Brown on an offensive rush, Prescott cycled behind the Crimson net and surfaced to the right of Harvard netminder J.R. Prestifilippo (24 saves) just in time to wrist a shot into the upper right hand corner.
Continuing the pressure in the third period, Brown center John Direnzo made it a 3-2 contest after four minutes of play. A deft stickhandling move across the Harvard crease by Direnzo which led to a backhander past Prestifillipo. A roughing penalty called on Brett Chodorow 53 seconds earlier catalyzed the tally. Second Period Har--S. Moore (Adams, Millar) 7:35. (PPG) Har--Adams (Macleod) 10:08. Har--S. Moore (Bala, Adams) 17:26. Bro--Prescott (Smith Petricig) 18:56. Third Period Bro--Direnzo (Andersson, Prescott) 4:55. (PPG) Har--Turco (Chodorow, Higdon) 8:32. Bro--Prescott (Kersey) 12:59. (PPG) Har--Higdon (Schwefel) 19:18. Saves: Bro--Stirling 12-10-10 32; Har--Prestifilippo 9-14-1 24. Power Play: Bro--2/6; Har--1/3. Penalties: Bro--4/8; Har--7/14. Attendance: 2,466 But just when Harvard's Scott Turco batted in his team's fourth goal, Brown roared back once again. This time a Crimson mishap at its offensive blueline caused a two-on-none break down the ice. Prescott got the benefit and once again Brown was within one. "We made a bad decision and you just have to be a lot more careful and a lot smarter than that," Tomassoni said. "We gave them an opportunity. Not only on that play, but also with Brett Chodorow's penalty which was very much a retaliatory penalty. "Those are the situations where you beat yourself and we have to eliminate those." The Crimson, proving that it can withstand a late-game rush, even if it is Brown, held on and even added an empty netter with 42 seconds remaining in the game. "And the fact of the matter is, [our guys] went out and won it," Tomassoni said. "We bent a little bit there, but we didn't break." It probably should have been an easier win as the Crimson is still struggling to find that elusive, magical 60 minutes of solid hockey. Yet in many ways the victory is one step towards a much larger goal. "Of course we would like to win every game, but the most important games are the league games and to come out here and get a win is great," Adams said. "It seems like we have lost a few games lately, but if you look, we're 2-2-1 in the ECAC so we're doing alright."
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