What began as a blowout and turned into a nailbiter, ended in a Crimson
runaway as Harvard stopped UAF 5-2 in front of 3,500 fans at the Carlson
Center.  In their first ever trip to Fairbanks, the Crimson put their
speed to work on the Olympic ice sheet, scoring 3 goals in a 4 minute span
of the third period to seal the victory.  The host Nanooks dominated play
for most of the first and second period, only to miss on several key
scoring opportunities.  Harvard goalie Steve Hermsdorf was solid, though
certainly not spectacular in net, using his size (6-3, 200 according to
the roster sheet) to keep UAF shooters honest.
 
Harvard struck quickly in the first period, with goals from Cory Gustafson
and Henry Higdon at 1:05 and 2:23, respectively.  Both were transition
goals coming off Nanook flurries in the Crimson zone.  In both instances,
Harvard skaters impressed onlookers with good speed toward UAF goaltender
Larry Moberg.  To his credit, Moberg pulled things together, stopping the
period's remaining 14 shots, most of which were from point blank range.
 
The Nanooks responded with a blue collar goal as time was expiring on a
Marco Ferrari penalty.  Greg Milles tipped in a rebound from the left
corner of the net as Hermsdorf had come out to face a shot from the slot
by Cody Bowtell.  For the remainder of the period and throughout the
second stanza, UAF and Harvard traded power play opportunities as the
Nanooks kept the puck in the Harvard zone most of the time.  Poor passing
and indecisive shooting prevented UAF from lighting the lamp, however.
 
Harvard seemed to fall victim to UAF's physical style of play until the
11:04 mark of period 3.  Kirk Nielsen threaded his way through two Nanook
defensemen to wrist a shot which trickled past Moberg.  Then, scarcely
2:30 later, Moberg mishandled a bouncing errant pass from the point,
coughing up a gift rebound to Perry Cohagan for the game breaking score.
Brad Konik rounded out the Crimson scoring with a shorthanded goal with
just under 7 minutes to play.  Again, Harvard's speed allowed them to
convert turnovers into breakaway scoring opportunities, a chronic
weakness for the Nanooks this season.
 
UAF finally mustered a well considered scoring play as time expired, with
everyone touching the puck prior to freshman Kyle McDonald's goal at
19:59.
 
Overall, the difference in the game was converting "quick" opportunities.
Harvard was able to score whenever given a run-and-shoot breakout, with
all five goals coming on one or two man rushes.  When forced to set up the
puck in the Nanook zone, they experienced the same bad bounces and sloppy
passing which plagued the Nanooks.  UAF, in turn, could never seem to get
the puck up to their forwards, missing many medium to long passes up ice.
Also, the Nanooks failed to seriously test Hermsdorf, who looked a bit
sluggish at times.
 
The win moves the Crimson to 6-5-1, while UAF drops to 5-11-1.  The series
concludes tomorrow night at 7:30 AST.  Post game wrap-up will follow
directly.