It was a great day for hockey as Boston's first snowfall coated Bright Hockey
Center.  Friday night the Harvard Crimson and the Tigers of Princeton played
to a 3-3 draw.  I felt that Princeton's wonderful passing game deserved the
victory, but Harvard came back with enough perseverance to earn a share of the
points.
 
The game started with so much interference going on that neither team could do
much.  It was the kind of game only some coaches would find remotely
entertaining.  I was beginning to wonder if anyone could skate and pass at the
same time.  The lone goal occurred when Harvard defender Ben Storey (Henry
Higdon, Trevor Allman) dumped one in from the popcorn stand.  Fortunately that
score turned the Tiger engines on and we started to see some nice passing from
them.
 
The Crimson was nursing its one goal lead, as the second opened, but Princeton
was moving.  Syll Apps broke down the right wing, cut to the net and slipped
the puck in high at the near post.  Lovely goal!  The Tigers were changing the
point of attack in an elegant manner.  Their passing and movement had the
Harvard defenders watching.  Princeton took the lead with a power play goal by
Robbie Sinclair (Benoit Morin, Jeff Halpern).  That goal had been coming for a
while and it was fitting that the play was made by Morin who was redirecting
the puck to his mates brilliantly.  At that point the Tigers were a little too
tight and the Crimson started to come back.  Graham Morrell (Geordie Hyland,
Harry Schwefel) tied the match with a blast from the point after a spell of
Harvard pressure.
 
In the final period, the Crimson were buzzing and Princeton was playing it
cool.  The Harvard defense got caught watching the puck again when Halpern
(Steven Shirreffs, Brad Meredith) whacked a rebound in with five minutes left.
With thirty seconds left and their goalie pulled, Harvard gained its point
when Higdon (Steve Moore, Morrell) scored after a ton of pressure.  There was
no scoring in overtime, but Princeton went close several times as they swarmed
the Crimson zone.
 
It was a treat to see Princeton's excellent passing game.  The way they moved
the puck around from the back door, to the front door, to the side door was
fun to watch.  The Tigers should have gone for the killer goal on a couple of
occasions.  Their power play, which was a natural extension of their standard
passing game, was splendid.  The Princeton man of the match was Morin.  He has
a soft stick and was the principle conduit that caused the Tiger game to flow.
Morin and linemates Ethan Doyle and Brian Horst moved so well together.  The
most effective line, that really motored, featured Halpern, Scott Bertoli and
Casson Masters.  On the blue line Michael Acosta played a smart game that put
him in the thick of it and let him get the puck out to his mates.  Chris
Barber broke up numerous attacks with his heads-up play.  Jackson Hegland
seemed to always be in the right place when he was on the ice.  Overall I was
very impressed with the Princeton passing game and I expect them to be one of
the top ECAC teams this season.
 
Harvard did very well to hang in there and come from behind to tie the match.
The Crimson determination brought them back.  I have to wonder if Harvard has
invested heavily in Western Union, as they telegraphed so many of their plays.
On the other hand, the attack is so flat, it doesn't take a lot of thinking to
figure out what the Crimson is up it.  The Harvard man of the match was
defender Hyland.  He made a number of dishes that setup scoring chances for
his mates.  Hyland also was a tower of strength in his own zone as he finished
his checks.  Liam McCarthy also had some big hits for Harvard last night.
Storey and Mark Moore were the best defensive pair for the Crimson.  When they
are on song they can really move and push the team forward.  However, like all
the blue liners, they can also get caught watching the puck too much.  Steve
Moore and Chris Bala form an interesting partnership up front.  They seem to
have a confidence that let's them create attacks.  It will be very important
to see how these two first-years develop as they could become major scorers.
Brett Chodorow was the other standout for Harvard.  He hustled all over the
ice last night.  Chodorow did a lot of the little things that helped his team
immensely.  Overall, the Crimson have to be delighted that they were able to
storm back and get the draw late in the match.
 
 
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 good shooting
 hungerf
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