Sitting in Second, Crimson Guns For No. 1

With a weekend sweep of No. 10 Brown, the Crimson moves to No. 2 in the polls

By John R. Hein, Crimson Staff Writer February 18, 2004

Harvard will get this chance this weekend, however, with a momentous two-game doubleheader against ECAC rival St. Lawrence, currently No. 1 in the league. A series sweep would propel the Crimson into first place in the league as well as secure its position for No. 1 in the nation.

“This upcoming stretch of our season is definitely going to make or break what’s going to happen in the postseason and we’re really looking forward to it,” said junior winger Nicole Corriero. “We’re up to this challenge. We’ve got 21 competitors who are looking forward to these teams who are going to bring a solid game every night.”

The shuffling of the nation’s top teams and the emergence of schools such as St. Lawrence and Wisconsin onto the scene is a far cry from the days when the top four teams of Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, Harvard and Dartmouth were more or less set in stone

“I think this is probably the first year where eight teams truly would have been a great thing,” Stone said, in reference to next year’s expansion to a Frozen Eight format. “Last year everybody wants it, but this year, truly you could get it.”

This past weekend validates Stone’s words. By comparison, last season when college hockey coaches around the country voted to reformat the playoffs to include four more teams, the top four teams were set apart from the rest of the pack.

But this season, more than ever, a larger playoff system would be the ideal way to avoid the controversy of leaving teams out of the title chase, as happened to Harvard in 2000, one year after capturing the national championship.

Nevertheless, the Crimson continues to look towards the remainder of this regular season to secure its place in the Frozen Four.”Bottom line is that everyone is in control of their own destiny for the most part, so we need to take care of our own business,” Stone said.

This weekend’s series against St. Lawrence will be one very large step in determining whether or not Harvard is destined to be the nation’s top team in 2004.

—Staff writer John R. Hein can be reached at hein@fas.harvard.edu.