Here's the view from the other side:

Harvard yields to No. 1 Maine in rematch
By Elijah M. Alper Harvard Crimson

(U-WIRE) PORTLAND, Maine -- The Harvard men's hockey team outplayed the No.
1 team in the country for 45 minutes Sunday. For all of that span, though,
it didn't really matter.

Top-ranked Maine used an exceptional first period to jump all over No. 11
Harvard Sunday, taking a quick 3-0 lead en route to a 4-2 victory at a
sold-out Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

"We came out with a little too much respect for this team," said Harvard
captain Dominic Moore. "They're a great team and we know that, but so are
we. In non-conference games we give these teams a little too much room, and
we don't play the attacking style that wins us games."

Sunday's game was far different from last year's NCAA Regional, which Maine
won 4-3 in overtime. Harvard (9-4-1, 9-2-0 ECAC) jumped out in front in that
contest, forcing Maine to play catch-up for half the game. This time, sloppy
play and penalties put the Crimson in a huge hole early.

It took the Black Bears (13-1-2) only 45 seconds to set the tone for the
game, as Maine forward Colin Shields crashed the net, creating a scramble
for a loose puck which found its way past Harvard sophomore netminder Dov
Grumet-Morris. That goal marked the start of 20 minutes of Black Bear
domination during which the Maine forwards created scoring chances with
ease.

It was one of the worst periods of the year for Harvard's defense, which
looked a step slow as the Black Bears skated circles in the Crimson zone,
gaining prime position in front of Grumet-Morris with little resistance.
Maine had 19 shots on goal in the period, most of those from close range.

Maine was helped by five Harvard penalties in the period, which led to two
power-play goals. Martin Kariya scored for the Black Bears at the 9:31 mark,
and a five-on-three Maine advantage five minutes later set the stage for one
of the most bizarre power plays in college hockey this year.

While defending Maine's two-man advantage, Moore broke his stick, and
Grumet-Morris lost his after colliding with Kariya. Sophomore defenseman
Ryan Lannon lent Grumet-Morris his own stick, leaving classmate Noah Welch
as the only fully-equipped Harvard skater. The result was a five-on-one
power play.

After nearly 30 seconds of near-comical hockey, Maine finally put a merciful
end to the situation, scoring on Shields' second goal of the game.

"The five-on-three was a crazy play," Maine coach Tim Whitehead said. "I
don't know when you're going to see that again."

That goal marked the low point for the Crimson, who, trailing 3-0, finally
began to settle down. Harvard killed off the remaining penalty and skated
roughly even with the Black Bears the rest of the way, preventing Maine from
recreating the offensive pressure it generated during the game's first 15
minutes.

"It would have been easy just to cave in after that goal," Grumet-Morris
said. "We killed off the next [penalty] though, and that's what helped turn
it around."

Harvard's offense performed admirably, generating plenty of shots from the
outset, although never quite matching Maine's first-period offensive
explosion.

The Crimson finished with 34 shots on goal, but few of those came off of
quality scoring chances. Black Bears' goaltender Jimmy Howard continued his
superb freshman season (.942 save percentage), giving up few rebounds and
limiting the Crimson to mostly long-range chances.

After the first intermission, Harvard's defense adjusted well. Maine had no
shots from the middle of the ice in the second period and did not generate
nearly the offensive pressure it did in the first 20 minutes. Despite the
Black Bears' first-period onslaught, Maine only outshot the Crimson 36-34
for the game. But Harvard had fallen too far behind to pull one out against
the nation's top-ranked team.

"Obviously it's a good sign that, when we do play our game, we can compete
with the best teams in the country," Moore said. "But it's about time we
started treating ourselves as one of the best teams in the country, too."

Harvard helped itself after the opening period by staying out of the penalty
box. Maine had just two power plays after the first 20 minutes.

But Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni said the difference was due more to
inconsistent officiating than to any change made by either team.

"I thought the game was called differently after the first period,"
Mazzoleni said. "I saw the same game for three periods. And yet all of a
sudden there's [seven] penalties called in the first period, two in the
second and three in the third."

Sophomore forward Kenny Turano gave the Crimson new life in the second
period, scoring his first goal of the season on a shot from between the
faceoff circles at 10:06. Turano's happiness would be short-lived, however,
as he later left the game with a broken finger.

Maine answered just four minutes after Turano's tally to take a 4-1 lead,
and despite its improved play, Harvard could never pull closer than two.
Moore narrowed the gap to 4-2 at 5:23 of the third, and the Crimson almost
scored again moments later, when Howard left a puck floating along the goal
line. Maine cleared the puck, though, and effectively iced the game.

Harvard is idle for the next two weeks, playing again Dec. 29 when it meets
Northern Michigan in the first round of the Badger Showdown.



© 2002 Harvard Crimson via U-WIRE