The Harvard men's hockey team embarked on a five game road trip on November 20 in search of its first ECAC win.
Three defeats, one tie, and an emotional--but non-division--5-3 victory over Boston University later, the Crimson is still yet to triumph over a divisional opponent.
The loss total is now six, spanning half of the conference.
Last-place Harvard (2-6-1, 0-6-1 ECAC) returns home this weekend to battle Clarkson (3-6-0, 1-2-0) and St. Lawrence (6-4-0, 2-1-0) and try to reverse its fortunes. Despite the welcome sight of Bright Hockey Center, Harvard will have to face two of the toughest teams in the league.
"We are not really pressing for wins yet," said junior defenseman Matt Scorsune. "However, we have to be very thorough to come out okay."
The Crimson enters this weekend in complete disarray, and the perennial division leader Golden Knights seem to finally have gotten on track after sweeping the two Boston teams last week--No. 5 Boston College and B.U.
The Saints have surprised many with its torrid start, when they won six of their first eight games, but they are looking to recover their winning ways after dropping their past two to the Beantown duo.
Harvard's first priority of the weekend will be tightening up its defensive zone coverage. The Crimson looked awful at times in its 7-4 loss Tuesday night to R.P.I. Harvard defenders could not match the speed of the Engineer wingers. Moreover, the blue-liners made poor puck-handling decisions resulting in turnovers in their own zone.
"We are confident in our system," said junior forward Trevor Allman. "However, we need to eliminate the mental breakdowns and lapses. We know what to do out there."
The Engineers's seven-goal output marked the fourth time this season an opponent has netted at least six goals.
Harvard has especially struggled in the first period, getting outscored 15-4.
"We have really been emotionally inconsistent out there," Allman said.
Clarkson will seek to add to Harvard's list of blowout defeats with a deep, fearsome attack led by fowards Eric Cole, Matt Reid, and Ben Maidment. Defensemen Philippe Roy and 6'3 215-pound Willie Mitchell provide a scoring threat from the blueline.
Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni has given sophomore backup goaltender Oliver Jonas the assignment of stoning the Golden Knight offense. Jonas played very well in Harvard's win at B.U. and tie against Brown. Junior starter J.R. Prestifilippo has a 5.08 goals-against average.
St. Lawrence boasts a highly efficient offense that has yet to overwhelm an opponent but manages to score enough to win. The Saints lost their all-time assists leader, Paul DiFrancesco to graduation. However, they have found adequate output from seniors Bob Prier and John Poapst and sophomore Erik Anderson. All three players average at least a point-per-game.
"We are confident we can eliminate the mental mistakes," Allman said. "We believe we can compete at a very high level with anyone."
Although the defense has been the glaring defect this season, Harvard's offense may face bigger obstacles this weekend. It has notched just 17 divisional goals this season--eight on the power play, two shorthanded and just seven at even strength.
The attack has suffered from a lack of flow--inaccurate passing and failing to win the one-on-one battles. Against R.P.I., its most consistent unit was its fourth line of juniors Brice Conklin and Allman and freshman Derek Nowak.
Unfortunatley, the injury bug has just struck this line, with Nowak expected to miss 10 days for a concussion.
Of course, the Harvard offense especially misses last year's leading goal scorer, sophomore Chris Bala, who will miss his third and fourth games with a broken wrist.
"There is nothing we can do about injuries," said sophomore forward Harry Schwefel. "We just have to make up for the people who are out."
The Crimson will also be missing captain Craig Adams for today's game. Adams will be serving a suspension he received for fighting against R.P.I. in defense of Prestifilippo.
"We expect our team to stick up for each other," Allman said. "Still, that will be a tough hole to fill."
The only forward who has consistently produced through the season has been Bala's usual linemate, sophomore Steve Moore, who is tied for second in the ECAC for scoring with four goals and four assists. Moore received ECAC Player of the Week honors last week for his efforts against Brown and B.U.
Clarkson and St. Lawrence are among the worst teams in the league to jumpstart an offense against.
The Golden Knights dare any opposing attacker to make his way through their physically dominating defense. Roy is the only regular defenseman not at least six feet tall. Mitchell cuts as imposing a presence stopping the rush as he does supporting it. Last weekend, Clarkson held high-powered B.C. to a goal.
"Our team is ready for the challenge," Scorsune said. "We know they are a big team, but we can play physical too."
One player comprises the heart of the Saints' defense--goaltender Eric Heffler, Jr. Heffler has simply been the best netminder in the ECAC this year and takes a miniscule 1.34 GAA and remarkable .955 save percentage into the weekend. Harvard will have to pepper Heffler with shots if it hopes to break through.
"We need to move the puck around better on offense," Schwefel said. "We have to start getting more shots to create chances."
As the first Crimson trip around the ECAC winds down, Harvard enters a pivotal moment in its season. These are Harvard's final two conference games until Christmas vacation. Two upset victories would reverse the team's fortunes immediately. A solid split would at least provide for some holiday cheer and the starting point for a potential second-half renaissance.
"We need to start to put wins together," Allman said. "We are not quite desperate yet at 0-6, and we feel we will be right up there come playoff time."
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