Usual Suspects Begin To Pull Away

This weekend’s contests could play a major role in Harvard’s playoff picture

By Timothy J. Mcginn, Crimson Staff Writer February 4, 2005

There can be no doubt that Union was overrated prior to its first matchup with the Crimson.

None of the six wins that inflated its record came against a team currently in fifth place or higher, and five of those victories were taken from programs that are now in ninth place or lower.

But even that, it would seem, doesn’t fully account for Tuesday’s meltdown.

The underlying cause does, however, likely spring from the weakness of the Dutchmen’s early schedule. In each of Union’s first six games, its offense scored at least three goals, masking a goaltending corps of marginal talent that allowed four goals or more three times during that span.

Against higher caliber defenses, those scoring numbers have precipitously declined, while goals-against have held steady.

“I also think they’re not getting any help from the goaltender,” Harvard captain Noah Welch said. “It’s evident—[against us] their starter got pulled quick. And it’s kind of tough when one of your go-to guys or your goalie gets pulled like that. And then their backup came in, and he didn’t do too much better. So I think goaltending’s an issue there, and it’s tough right now for them.”

ALONG THE BOARDS

The ECAC currently features three of the top four goaltenders in the country, according to two measures of backstopping prowess. Brown freshman Adam D’Alba and Harvard senior Dov Grumet-Morris are tied for first in the country in save percentage and third and fourth, respectively, in goals-against average (GAA). Cornell’s David McKee is tied for first in GAA, and ranks fourth in save percentage...Were the NCAA tournament to start today, three ECAC teams—Cornell, Harvard and Colgate—would qualify, according to the latest Pairwise Ranking, a projection that mirrors the process employed by the NCAA selection committee...Despite its continuing difficulties, Princeton surpassed its win total for all of last season with a 4-2 victory over Bentley on Jan. 25. The Tigers are now 6-14-1, an improvement upon their 5-24-2 mark a year ago.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.