Another Tuesday night game at Bright, and this time the Crimson of Harvard
beat the Brown Bears 5-2.  Harvard came out with enough determination to
get the two points.  Brown at times looked good, but they made some
critical mistakes at the start of the third that put the game away for the
Crimson.
 
The match opened with Harvard pouring on a ton of energy.  The Bear
defense looked a tad loose which resulted in Harvard getting 6 or 7 whacks
at the puck.  Craig Adams (Chris Bala, Steve Moore) got the final touch to
make it 1-0 Crimson.  Brown tied the match when a Crimson defender knocked
down a long ball pass from the Bruno blue line.  Damian Prescott (Mike
Pratt) grabbed the puck, went in on net and chipped high into the net.
 
As the second started, Harvard was off the boil, but Brown seemed to be
picking up steam.  However after a poor passing show by both sides, Rob
Millar (Brice Conklin) went in on a solo run for Harvard and tucked the
puck low.  Finally during a Bruno 4 on 3 power play we got some excellent
passing.  Brown's puck movement had been superb when Prescott (Jimmy
Andersson, Bob Quinnell) was left unmarked at the backdoor, and received
the killer pass.  Lovely goal!
 
As the final frame started, the Crimson struck for three goals as the Bear
defense was at sixes and sevens.  First S Moore (Adams, Bala) shot high
with the blue liners backing in on their own keeper.  Then Matt Macleod
(Clayton Rodgers, Harry Schwefel) nailed home a loose puck.  Finally Henry
Higdon (Adams, Millar) finished off a nice pass from Adams at the side of
the net.
 
Brown looks like a team rebuilding for the future.  There were times when
a few individuals or pairs started to make some interesting moves, but
overall team play was lacking.  Bruno's one series of power plays in the
second looked sharp.  It was easily the best passing of the night.  The
Brown man of the match was defender Ryan Longfield.  He moves real slick
and plays an intelligent heads-up game.  He's good now, but he could be
great.  Andersson was the other blue liner who made some excellent passes.
Up front Prescott, John DiRenzo and Brent Hoiness looked pretty good
together.  Prescott was the danger man for the Bears.  He can really
motor.  Overall a team in development.
 
I want all the good Minnesota fans to know, that the man who didn't want
the Gopher skating cheerleaders on the ice at the 1989 NC$$ final, because
he wanted the best possible surface, now has a skating Pilgrim on the
newly resurfaced ice at Bright.  Ah, the state of Harvard Hockey - not a
good topic to get me going on!
 
Harvard won this match because of its attitude.  The players are not
making great passes or flying up the ice, but they are playing with some
confidence and having a go.  It was good to have captain Jeremiah McCarthy
back at Bright.  He was a power out there, and if his mates had any
perceptive passing ability, he would have scored a nice goal on his
return.  Ben Story was again a tower of strength on the blue line and
pushed his team forward.  The Harvard man of the match was Adams.  He made
a number of fine rushes and was the Crimson's spark.  I would have to
wonder if he needs a new rocker, as he seemed to be having trouble
controlling his new found speed last night.  His linemates Bala and S
Moore formed Harvard's best line.  They don't act that well as a unit
still, but they are getting the job done.  Overall an important league win
for the team before the winter break.
 
 
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 good shooting
 hungerf
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