Harvard decreased its record to 0-2 Friday night versus Yale, in a 3-2
loss in front of a record-setting crowd at the Whale. [Since typing this
up, Harvard beat Princeton Saturday, but I missed that one; I keep
chosing the wrong games.] Engells rink has historically not treated the
Crimson very well, but the last three season seemed to turn that trend
around, with two ties and a 12-1 romp last year. The Bulldogs wanted
revenge, and with the return of coach Taylor they got it. Actually, for
the Crimson, it was a better game than the previous one versus Brown: In
the first period, and through much of the rest, Harvard looked ready to
take on anybody. There was none of the sluggish defensive play, and there
was amazing criss-crossed offensive breakouts, leading to creative
scoring opportunities. Sadly, a lack of finishing touches on the scoring,
a plethora of penalties and injuries, and perseverance on the part of
Yale prevented a Harvard victory. Also, no matter what sort of team Yale
has, playing Harvard always changes the equation.
 
The only goal of the first period was one-timed in by Nielson on a pretty
pass by Karmanos. Yale did not have any realistic shots. Harvard could
easily have had a 3 or 4 zip lead, on a series of point-blank set-ups,
but Sullivan came up big, and the Harvard snipers did not seem up to the
passes they were given. In the second, things seemed to turn a little
sour for the Crimson. They made the score 2-0 on a wide-angle shot by
freshman Doug Sroule that edged past the Yale goaltender, but then
Harvard seem to let up, and the Elis began to get some very realistic
scoring opportunities. Throughout the game, Yale didn't look
overwhelming, but their first line has nice speed, and their defense is
steady. However, by this point in the middle of the second, their
determination and coaching began to pay off. A defensive breakdown in
Harvard's end led to a steal and a nice goal. The period ended 2-1, with
Harvard looking tired and shaky.
 
In the third, Yale continued to fight, and Harvard was exhausted by a
series of penalties. [By my count, Harvard had exactly one man up
situation; Yale had at least 7; there were some 4-4's, which favored
Harvard; but Yale had a sizeable advantage. As a spectator and fan, I was
a little frustrated, as I could see no difference in play: I literally
did not see any of the offenses that were called, and both teams seemed
to play it pretty clean. In the end, this was a major factor in Harvard's
slumping, although they did show excellent penalty killing.] Not to
long into the period, another bad defensive play by Harvard popped the
puck onto a Yale forwards stick, just to the left of the Harvard goal. He
centered the pass to a teammate, and it was 2-2. The third goal was a
lofty, floating shot from the blueline. Tracy was shielded and never saw
it, but Yale seemed destined to put it in, not so much by outplaying
Harvard, as by getting the bounces and taking advantage of Harvard's
mistakes. With only a few minutes left, and facing a 3-2 deficit, Harvard
seemed to wake up a bit. Unfortunately, their shorthanded woes continued,
but for one penalty, Martins and Tom Holmes bottled the entire Yale team
up and created two beautiful scoring opportunities (these I was sure were
going in). Harvard pressed, but time ran out. Yale almost put the puck in
the empty net, but the whistle blew.
 
Some notes on Harvard:
 
- the exhaustion was clear. It stemmed from the penalties, certainly, but
also missing players. Playmaking center Brad Konik, who set up two power
play goals versus Brown, was unaccountably missing. I assumed that he was
injured, but apparently he played against Princeton. Steady senior
blueliner Brian Lonsinger didn't play most of the second and skated off
at the end of that period with his left arm in a sling. It looked like a
shoulder injury, hard to tell how bad. This led to shuffled forward lines
and depleted defensive pairings, and with highly-touted freshmen McCarthy
and Hyland still missing as well, this may be a concern.
 
- Briestroff. The defensive mistakes on the first two Yale goals were
both by Michel.
 
- Leadership. Again, I didn't sense a strong character or leadership on
the part of the experienced players, and this contributes (I believe) to
breakdowns late in the game. Coughlin was once again fairly quiet,
although apparently he did well vs. Princeton, so I'll reserve my
opinion. Martins was much more restrained than usual, which meant he
didn't pull any dumb penalties, but on the other hand, was not a factor
offensively, until late in the game, when things were going bad. He did
have a breath-taking rush at the goalie in the final seconds, where he
got a backhander off even with a Yale defenseman draped over him; I
believe the shot went over the net. He had some other excellent play late
in the game, but if I'd trade the dumb penalties for the two goals he
scored versus Brown. Neilson was actually the best Harvard forward, very
strong and confident. In general, their middle ice play was brilliant,
but they do need to work on finishing. Tom Holmes had three perfect two
on ones, and chose to wind up for a huge slapshot: now Holmes doesn't
have a powerful shot, why not a wrist shot or a pass to the other player?
Anyhow...I'm encouraged....we'll see. They need to put it together for BU.
 
Sandy