On Tue, 14 Mar 1995, Paulette Dwen wrote:
 
> Actually, that brings up something I've always wondered about.  If I
> recall, Harvard went into a slump the second half of that season right
> about the time Cleary announced his move to leave as coach.  I would have
> expected the team to send him out with a bang and make his last season one
> to remember, but instead they didn't appear (from their win-loss record at
> least) to care too much.  It was almost as if they were too down about his
> leaving to worry about winning games. Anybody have any insight as to what
> happened to the team chemistry that season?
>
> Paulette Dwen
> Cornell '89
> Let's Go Red!
>
 
No insight into the team chemistry, but I think that whole season was up
and down. It took them ten or so games to get over .500, as I recall. The
loss of Ted Donato for much of the season also hurt morale, but even the
early games were dreadful -- the home opener defeat vs. Army was
particularly (un)memorable. They did run up a sort of a streak in the
middle of the season, but their confidence was again snapped when they
ran into real tough opponents: 6-1 home loss to NCAA finalst Colgate and
8-2 crushing in the Beanpot final by BU. I think injuries depleted their
ranks and their confidence. I agree that Cleary's announcement did cut
into the team's performance, though I do remember them turning in a gutsy
final home game vs. RPI (5-2 victory, I think) to close the regular season.
 
Sandy