It was one of those 'what if?' games.  The Harvard Crimson took
advantage of shaky first period goaltending to build a 5-1 lead by the
middle of the contest and then held off the Brown Bears for a 5-3 victory
at Meehan Auditorium on Saturday evening.  The ECAC opener was the first
regular season game for both teams and Harvard appeared to have their game
in control during the early going while Brown struggled to sustain a
consistent performance at both ends of the ice.
 
        Brown Coach Bob Gaudet tapped his senior goaltender, Brian Audette,
who had earned the start by turning in solid performances in his two
preseason appearances, and Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni went with his
highly-touted freshman goaler, J. R. Prestflippo.  While Bears' senior
forward Rob Merrill scored the initial goal of the contest at 4:55 of the
first stanza, Harvard responded with two power-play tallies and one
even-strength goal and, by the end of the period, it was apparent that
Audette was not ready for prime time on this particular evening and
Prestflippo had been staked to a comfortable lead which allowed him to
relax somewhat and build his confidence.
 
        The Crimson scored again on a quick strike at the :16 second mark
of the middle period and then made the score 5-1 on still another
power-play goal at 6:23.  At that juncture, Bear junior goaltender, Jeff
Holowaty, who had entered the pre-season as the goaler most likely to get
the starting nod, replaced Audette in goal and proceeded to shut the
Crimson offense down for the remainder of the game with a number of
spectacular saves.  The Bears picked up their pace and intensity
considerably during the balance of the match, scored two more goals to
narrow the final margin, but could not overcome the advantage that Harvard
had built during the first half of the game.
 
        Bear fans had to wonder how this game would have evolved if
Holowaty had played the full sixty minutes; but to be fair, the Crimson
were able to keep Brown's top forward line off the scoresheet all evening
and seemed more cohesive on their power-play opportunities as well as their
defensive zone coverage.  Still, when the two teams meet again in Cambridge
on Nov. 19, it is also fair to say that the game may play quite differently
if Brown's first line of Damien Prescott, Jade Kersey and Marty Clapton is
more successful in dealing with the Crimson defense, and the Bears' receive
a steady performance in goal.
 
        Next up, the Various Shades of Red Parade continues at Meehan with
Cornell and Colgate visiting for what promises to be a very challenging
weekend assignment for the Bears.
 
 
 
Bill Corrigan
 
LET'S GO BRUNO!
 
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