Icemen Split Weekend Jaunt: Dethrone RPI, Drop to UVM

BURLINGTON, Vt.--They came.

They saw.

But despite their national ranking and two first period goals from wing Tim Barakett, the Harvard men's hockey team could not conquer a scrappy Vermont club Saturday night at Gutterson Arena.

The Catamounts, behind the sterling play of goalie Tom Draper, held the Crimson (8-4-1 overall, 7-2 ECAC) scoreless for the last two stanzas of play while netting a goal in each period to win, 3-2, in front of 3335 frenetic spectators.

On Friday, however, Harvard did defeat defending national champion RPI, 4-2, in sold-out Houston Field House.

Had Julius Caesar faced as formidable an opponent as Draper (especially after battling a horde of brutal Engineers the previous day), he never would have crossed the Rubicon.

Draper stopped 37 Crimson shots--including a handful of power-play flurries at the beginning of the third period--to lift the Cats (12-3 overall) into first place in the ECAC with a 7-1 league ledger.

"Tom played on my team before I came to Harvard," Barakett said. "So I knew he'd be good. He definitely played well. But he didn't win it for them. Their hard work did."

The Cantabs--who had reigned over the ECAC since the beginning of December--seemed sluggish in the last 40 minutes of action while Vermont, with aggressive defense and short-handed breakaways by second-line center lan Boyce, slowly usurped the league lead.

"We just didn't have it tonight," Crimson Coach Bill Cleary said. "But take nothing away from them. They played well."

In the beginning of the contest, it looked like Harvard would hold onto first place.

With 10 minutes gone in the game, forward Allen Bourbeau smacked a shot from 15 feet that bounced off Draper's pads and dribbled to the right of the Cat net.

Barakett, hovering close to the crease on the power play, plucked the loose puck past his former teammate.

"I was just in the right place at the right time," Barakett said. "All I had to do was shoot it in."

Vermont retaliated three minutes later on Shannon Deegan's unassisted goal.

But four minutes after that, Barakett pumped in another shot from close range to send the visitors into the locker room with a seemingly solid 2-1 lead.

But from then on, Draper proved why the standing ovation he received during pre-game introductions was well deserved.

He shut down the Firing Line--minus sophomore forward Lane MacDonald who, with defender Chris Biotti, played for the U.S. Junior National team over the Christmas break--and limited the Killer B's (Bourbeau and Barakett) to the two early goals.

"Our forwards came back and took the pressure off our defenders," Catamount Coach Michael Gilligan said. "And Draper came up with the big saves."

While Draper had his day Saturday, Harvard goalie Grant Blair turned in a typically fine performance against RPI (11-3-1 overall, 5-2-1 ECAC) Friday.

Blair, apparently not rattled by the plastic Pepsi bottles--each containing a handful of popcorn kernels--that the 5000 fans shook throughout the game, recorded 27 saves while surrendering only a pair of second period goals to lead the Crimson.

The victory was especially sweet because in the last four meetings of the two clubs, the Engineers had come away victorious each time.

"They're one of the top teams in the league," Harvard Captain Scott Fusco said. "You've got to beat those kinds of teams, especially on the road."

Fusco's driving smash into the lefthand corner of the net with nine minutes gone in the game gave the Crimson a lead it would not relinquish.

The RPI band--huddled on a stage behind the Harvard net-- struck up a funeral march after Fusco's score.

But although the Engineers were indeed doomed (especially after forward Tim Smith and center Rob Ohno pumped in two goals to begin the second stanza), they gave the civil throng in Houston Field House a chance to unlcash some leftover New Year's cheers by scoring twice within two minutes late in the period.

RPI forward Neil Hernberg stole a Crimson clearing pass at the blue line, charged to within 10 feet of the Harvard cage and, one-on-one with Blair, smashed the puck by the senior netminder for the Engineers' second score.

With the Cantabs leading only 3-2 and the momentum apparently with RPI, Harvard found itself in a tight spot.

"We were controlling the game until that point," Fusco said. "And after their two goals, we didn't give up."

Bourbeau's scoop into the Engineer twines with six minutes left in the period gave Blair an insurance goal.

But he wouldn't need it.

The Harvard goalie blocked 13 RPI shots in the final period to preserve the win.

"Blair held his ground very well," Cleary said. "People were banging and swinging at him but he didn't let it bother him."

In the scoreless third stanza, the RPI band--apparently giving up on victory--urged its team to reap vengeance on the Ivy Leaguers by other means.

"One, two, three, four. What do you think those skates are for? Slice 'em, slice 'em, slice 'em," band members screamed.

But the Engineers couldn't even manage that, as the Crimson sliced through the RPI defense, outskating its highly-touted opponent.

Ohno's goal was particularly impressive.

With the second period just underway, Barakett shoved a pass to defender Ed Krayer behind the Engineer net. Krayer spotted RPI netminder Brian Jopling out of position and flicked a pass to Ohno who, from three feet, slammed the puck into the cage.

"Eddie and Tim did all the work," Ohno said. "I just had to shoot it in. I hadn't scored in awhile. It felt good."

While the entire Crimson squad must have felt good after the victory, the 5000 spectators certainly did not.

While the two teams were shaking hands at game's end, four dozen Pepsi bottles rained down upon the ice.

While the 1-1 weekend mark wasn't what the Crimson wanted, the team showed sparks of greatness--even in its losing cause at Vermont:

* Barakett had two fine games with two goals and three assists.

* Blair wound up with 50 saves.

* And defender Jerry Pawloski-- although scoreless--pumped a shot into the middle of the American flag hanging 10 feet behind and 25 feet above the back of the Vermont net.

With a tough weekend behind it, Harvard gears up for a four-game home stand beginning with a visit from Clarkson Friday.CrimsonJi H. MinVermont's MIKE MAHER (top left) pumps a shot past Harvard goalie GRANT BLAIR and defender MARK BENNING. The Catamounts upset the Crimson, 3-2.