YOUNG AND HUNGRY

The puck ricocheted, then bounced forward off Rennselaer forward Jeff Gabriel's stick. It careened five feet ahead, across the chewed-up ice of Bright Arena, across the extended leg of Harvard goalie Allain Roy '92, and across the red line etched in the rink floor.

And as the heavy disc slid into the back of the net and as the goal light switched from off to bright red, the Harvard men's hockey team saw its 1992 season in a way no one had imagined.

A 4-3 overtime loss in the first-round of the ECAC playoffs. A loss to the 10th-seeded Engineers, a squad the top-seeded Crimson had clobbered 6-0 and 5-1 in its two earlier meetings.

For Harvard the memories of that abrupt, painful loss remain through this year. It ended what had been a dream season. In 1991-2, Harvard began with only hope on its side--an untested class of freshmen and an offense lacking a star.

It came out with more stars than it could handle and the newly-fashioned ECAC regular-season trophy to boot. An NCAA bid was all but assured, with a possible chance to do what it had done the three years before: win the national title.

Those hopes came to a shocking halt on that chilly March night in Bright. The Crimson continued to skate, like forlorn lovers, on Bright's empty ice for two more weeks, hoping desperately that the NCAA tournament committee still had the Christmas spirit. But the boys who dole out the tournament bids (including BU's Jack Parker) had about as much St. Nick in themselves as Michael Milken.

Harvard's season ended that Saturday in March. The team ended the season with the consolation cry of runners-ups, also-rans and losers everywhere: next year, next year, next year. Just wait till next year.

Now, seven months and one Presidential election later, it is next year. And the Crimson, ranked sixth in the country, looks ready to write history anew. No one wants to talk about the 1989 NCAA title. Heck, no one but Tomassoni was even there. No one wants to talk about the 1992 ECAC playoffs. It's just too painful.

Instead, Harvard--young but loaded with talent on both offense and defense--is setting its sights on a goal that, for the first time in years, seems realizable: the NCAA finals in Lake Placid, N.Y,. to be held at the end of March.

"Knowing how we performed last year, our goal is to win the ECAC's and, more importantly, win the NCAA championship," says sophomore forward Brad Konik, who will skate on Harvard's first line. "If we don't accomplish that goal, we'll be letting ourselves down. The season will be a failure."

Those are big words, especially considering Harvard lacks the star-power of Maine, the skill of Boston University or the size ofMichigan. But this team has the foundations thatwon Harvard a national title four yearsago--balance and speed--and with players bothyoung and intensely eager, Harvard has the chanceto fulfill any goal it wants.

Of course, everyone's keeping it all inperspective. Players dismiss the polls and suggestthat the competition around the league is as toughas ever. "You can be the most talented team in theworld, but it means nothing if you don't work. Ifyou're not the hardest working team, you're notgoing to win," says senior forward SteveFlomenhoft, perhaps the Crimson's most dedicatedand determined student of hockey (as well asresident thug).

What, then, is there to work on?

Offense

Tomassoni, following in the skates of formerCoach Bill Cleary '56, refuses to call his linesby number. To emphasize the need for a balancedattack--four "equal" lines--Tomassoni does notrefer to them as 1 or 2 or 3 or 4; just red, blue,gold and green. There's both an element of truthand fantasy in that tactic this year.

Harvard's biggest strength, no doubt, is whereit has always been: its forwards. This year's teamfeatures a bevy of speedy, skilled wings andcenters, with talented members on each of the fourlines. Even the fourth, err, green line featuressome potent scores: junior Chris Baird, a highlytouted recruit his freshman year who looksprepared to make his big break through; andfreshman Jason Karmonos, who tallied twice againstDalhousie in an exhibition game.

Then again, the pre-season pick for "Line ofFire" or "Superline" is clear: the "red" squad ofsophomores Cory Gustafson and Konik (who played onthe same line last year) andCaptain/Olympian/Hobey Baker-candidate Ted Drury.

These guys thrive off speed and finesse:passing, passing and more passing "We're not goingto be beating three guys between the legs. you'renot going to find a lot of individual skating upthe ice," Konik says. "Teddy's best aspect is hecan find openings. The way we play is quick. Thepuck moves fast. We're moving the puck a lot, soit sometimes seems we're moving a lot faster thanwe are."

Harvard can safely expect to get scoring fromthe second line as well, which features Flomenhoft(the team's leading returning scorer), senior MattMallgrave and freshman Tom Holmes--a trio ofhard-hitting, high-shooting forwards. The thirdline of sophomore Perry Cohagen, sophomore BenCoughlin and junior Brian Farrell should alsoexperience some success through its forechecking.

From top to bottom, however, the key won't bescrappiness or hitting; it will be speed. "I thinkwe're a very quick team. Most of the bigger teamsout there are just a lot slower than us. If wekeep up with our speed and keep the pace of thegame up, we can wear them down," says freshmanJason Karmonos.

The only question on offense is sophomore SteveMartins, who will likely sit through Decemberbecause of an ankle injury. Next to Drury, Martinsis perhaps the Crimson's most talentedforward--he's pesky, speedy and strong. While hesits, Harvard's power-play and penaltykillingunits won't be nearly as strong as they could be,though Drury should keep them solid.

Defense

On the blue-line, Harvard has many morequestions to answer. The Crimson's strongestdefender, junior Derek Maguire, is taking the termoff because of family reasons; his absence hurtsthe team's stability on defense, not to mentionits physical game and power-play unit.

Thankfully for the Crimson, Maguire'sroommates, juniors Lou Body and Sean McCann,should provide stability. McCann, for one, is anaggressive defender around the crease, and hisbelligerence has made him the team's unlikelyenforcer (next to Flomenhoft of course).

Tomassoni plans to spread these two out,teaming McCann up with freshman Jeb Maret and Bodywith forward-turned-defender junior MichelBreistroff. The third defensive pairing is theCrimson's most untested: sophomore BryanLonsinger, who served as both a forward andblueliner last year, and freshman PeterMcLaughlin.

In goal, the Crimson will go to a rotation ittried successfully four years ago: two freshman.Aaron Israel (who played a fierce game in the 3-2victory over Brown last week) and Tripp Trace willbe the rotation, while Steve Hermsdorf, a toweringsophomore who continues to get rave reviews fromhis JV teammates, might get a shot at the bigleagues.

"On defense and particularly at goal, we havesome players who are untested. It's going to takea few games to get them some experience,"Flomenhoft says. "We're willing to live with anymistakes they may make now, because they're goodplayers and after some games, they'll be evenbetter ones."

The question, of course, is: how long will thattake? Last year, the fabulous freshmen forwardsmade their impact immediately, but as the seasonprogressed, it became all too apparent that theirinitial burst of goals couldn't last. Harvardstruggled later in the season to find a reliable,game winning finisher.

With the return of Drury from the Olympics andthe maturation of last year's frosh, thatshouldn't be a problem. But there's no doubt, whatglimmers now may not look much brighter than tarcome March. Will the goalies remain solidthroughout the season? Will the blue-line breakunder pressure? Will the Crimson's forwards gettossed around by their bigger opponents?

There's certainly cause for concern, reasons toexpect that last March's funeral at Bright--asymbol of expectations shattered--could repeatitself this year.

But, with so much talent and so much desire,the 1992 Harvard men's hockey team also has causefor hope. And confidence.Final Scoring Statistics, 1991-92

Overall  ECAC  Ivy League

Name  GP  G  A  Pts  G  A  Pts  PPG  SHG  GWGTim Burke  27  8  24  32  6  22  28  1  0  0S. Flomenhoft  27  14  17  31  14  14  28  8  0  3Steve Martins  20  13  14  27  9  12  21  6  0  2Matt Mallgrave  27  12  15  27  11  14  25  3  0  1Brad Konik  27  10  10  20  9  7  16  4  0  2Ben Coughlin  26  10  10  20  9  9  18  2  3  1Derek Maguire  25  1  16  17  1  15  16  0  0  0Sean McCann  27  4  10  14  2  10  12  0  0  0Cory Gustafson  27  3  10  13  3  9  12  2  0  1Jim Coady  25  7  4  11  6  4  10  0  0  2Perry Cohagan  27  5  6  11  5  3  8  0  0  1Lou Body  22  1  9  10  1  7  8  1  0  0Rich DeFreitas  27  1  8  9  0  8  8  0  0  0Brian Farrell  9  5  3  8  5  2  7  3  0  1Gus Gardner  26  3  3  6  3  3  6  0  0  0Bryan Lonsinger  19  1  5  6  1  5  6  0  0  0Chris Baird  21  3  2  5  3  1  4  1  0  0Kevin Sneddon  17  2  3  5  1  3  4  1  0  0B. McCormack  26  0  5  5  0  5  5  0  0  0Michel Breistroff  21  0  5  5  0  5  5  0  0  0David Kilpatrick  6  0  1  1  0  1  1  0  0  0Sean Wenham  4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0Greg Hess  2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0Brian Connolly  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0Goaltending Statistics, 1991-92

Name  GP  GS  MP  GA  Svs  GAA  Sv%  W  L  T  ShoAllain Roy  15  15  919  39  366  2.55  .904  9  4  2  1ECAC  12  12  732  28  292  2.30  .913  7  2  2  1Chuckie Hughes  12  12  739  38  269  3.09  .876  5  3  4  0ECAC  10  10  620  30  216  2.90  .878  5  1  4  0

Crimson File PhotoHarvard Players celebrate last year duringHarvard's Home victory over Union. It was the1000th team victory for the Crimson.

Of course, everyone's keeping it all inperspective. Players dismiss the polls and suggestthat the competition around the league is as toughas ever. "You can be the most talented team in theworld, but it means nothing if you don't work. Ifyou're not the hardest working team, you're notgoing to win," says senior forward SteveFlomenhoft, perhaps the Crimson's most dedicatedand determined student of hockey (as well asresident thug).

What, then, is there to work on?

Offense

Tomassoni, following in the skates of formerCoach Bill Cleary '56, refuses to call his linesby number. To emphasize the need for a balancedattack--four "equal" lines--Tomassoni does notrefer to them as 1 or 2 or 3 or 4; just red, blue,gold and green. There's both an element of truthand fantasy in that tactic this year.

Harvard's biggest strength, no doubt, is whereit has always been: its forwards. This year's teamfeatures a bevy of speedy, skilled wings andcenters, with talented members on each of the fourlines. Even the fourth, err, green line featuressome potent scores: junior Chris Baird, a highlytouted recruit his freshman year who looksprepared to make his big break through; andfreshman Jason Karmonos, who tallied twice againstDalhousie in an exhibition game.

Then again, the pre-season pick for "Line ofFire" or "Superline" is clear: the "red" squad ofsophomores Cory Gustafson and Konik (who played onthe same line last year) andCaptain/Olympian/Hobey Baker-candidate Ted Drury.

These guys thrive off speed and finesse:passing, passing and more passing "We're not goingto be beating three guys between the legs. you'renot going to find a lot of individual skating upthe ice," Konik says. "Teddy's best aspect is hecan find openings. The way we play is quick. Thepuck moves fast. We're moving the puck a lot, soit sometimes seems we're moving a lot faster thanwe are."

Harvard can safely expect to get scoring fromthe second line as well, which features Flomenhoft(the team's leading returning scorer), senior MattMallgrave and freshman Tom Holmes--a trio ofhard-hitting, high-shooting forwards. The thirdline of sophomore Perry Cohagen, sophomore BenCoughlin and junior Brian Farrell should alsoexperience some success through its forechecking.

From top to bottom, however, the key won't bescrappiness or hitting; it will be speed. "I thinkwe're a very quick team. Most of the bigger teamsout there are just a lot slower than us. If wekeep up with our speed and keep the pace of thegame up, we can wear them down," says freshmanJason Karmonos.

The only question on offense is sophomore SteveMartins, who will likely sit through Decemberbecause of an ankle injury. Next to Drury, Martinsis perhaps the Crimson's most talentedforward--he's pesky, speedy and strong. While hesits, Harvard's power-play and penaltykillingunits won't be nearly as strong as they could be,though Drury should keep them solid.

Defense

On the blue-line, Harvard has many morequestions to answer. The Crimson's strongestdefender, junior Derek Maguire, is taking the termoff because of family reasons; his absence hurtsthe team's stability on defense, not to mentionits physical game and power-play unit.

Thankfully for the Crimson, Maguire'sroommates, juniors Lou Body and Sean McCann,should provide stability. McCann, for one, is anaggressive defender around the crease, and hisbelligerence has made him the team's unlikelyenforcer (next to Flomenhoft of course).

Tomassoni plans to spread these two out,teaming McCann up with freshman Jeb Maret and Bodywith forward-turned-defender junior MichelBreistroff. The third defensive pairing is theCrimson's most untested: sophomore BryanLonsinger, who served as both a forward andblueliner last year, and freshman PeterMcLaughlin.

In goal, the Crimson will go to a rotation ittried successfully four years ago: two freshman.Aaron Israel (who played a fierce game in the 3-2victory over Brown last week) and Tripp Trace willbe the rotation, while Steve Hermsdorf, a toweringsophomore who continues to get rave reviews fromhis JV teammates, might get a shot at the bigleagues.

"On defense and particularly at goal, we havesome players who are untested. It's going to takea few games to get them some experience,"Flomenhoft says. "We're willing to live with anymistakes they may make now, because they're goodplayers and after some games, they'll be evenbetter ones."

The question, of course, is: how long will thattake? Last year, the fabulous freshmen forwardsmade their impact immediately, but as the seasonprogressed, it became all too apparent that theirinitial burst of goals couldn't last. Harvardstruggled later in the season to find a reliable,game winning finisher.

With the return of Drury from the Olympics andthe maturation of last year's frosh, thatshouldn't be a problem. But there's no doubt, whatglimmers now may not look much brighter than tarcome March. Will the goalies remain solidthroughout the season? Will the blue-line breakunder pressure? Will the Crimson's forwards gettossed around by their bigger opponents?

There's certainly cause for concern, reasons toexpect that last March's funeral at Bright--asymbol of expectations shattered--could repeatitself this year.

But, with so much talent and so much desire,the 1992 Harvard men's hockey team also has causefor hope. And confidence.Final Scoring Statistics, 1991-92

Overall  ECAC  Ivy League

Name  GP  G  A  Pts  G  A  Pts  PPG  SHG  GWGTim Burke  27  8  24  32  6  22  28  1  0  0S. Flomenhoft  27  14  17  31  14  14  28  8  0  3Steve Martins  20  13  14  27  9  12  21  6  0  2Matt Mallgrave  27  12  15  27  11  14  25  3  0  1Brad Konik  27  10  10  20  9  7  16  4  0  2Ben Coughlin  26  10  10  20  9  9  18  2  3  1Derek Maguire  25  1  16  17  1  15  16  0  0  0Sean McCann  27  4  10  14  2  10  12  0  0  0Cory Gustafson  27  3  10  13  3  9  12  2  0  1Jim Coady  25  7  4  11  6  4  10  0  0  2Perry Cohagan  27  5  6  11  5  3  8  0  0  1Lou Body  22  1  9  10  1  7  8  1  0  0Rich DeFreitas  27  1  8  9  0  8  8  0  0  0Brian Farrell  9  5  3  8  5  2  7  3  0  1Gus Gardner  26  3  3  6  3  3  6  0  0  0Bryan Lonsinger  19  1  5  6  1  5  6  0  0  0Chris Baird  21  3  2  5  3  1  4  1  0  0Kevin Sneddon  17  2  3  5  1  3  4  1  0  0B. McCormack  26  0  5  5  0  5  5  0  0  0Michel Breistroff  21  0  5  5  0  5  5  0  0  0David Kilpatrick  6  0  1  1  0  1  1  0  0  0Sean Wenham  4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0Greg Hess  2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0Brian Connolly  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0Goaltending Statistics, 1991-92

Name  GP  GS  MP  GA  Svs  GAA  Sv%  W  L  T  ShoAllain Roy  15  15  919  39  366  2.55  .904  9  4  2  1ECAC  12  12  732  28  292  2.30  .913  7  2  2  1Chuckie Hughes  12  12  739  38  269  3.09  .876  5  3  4  0ECAC  10  10  620  30  216  2.90  .878  5  1  4  0

Crimson File PhotoHarvard Players celebrate last year duringHarvard's Home victory over Union. It was the1000th team victory for the Crimson.

Name  GP  GS  MP  GA  Svs  GAA  Sv%  W  L  T  ShoAllain Roy  15  15  919  39  366  2.55  .904  9  4  2  1ECAC  12  12  732  28  292  2.30  .913  7  2  2  1Chuckie Hughes  12  12  739  38  269  3.09  .876  5  3  4  0ECAC  10  10  620  30  216  2.90  .878  5  1  4  0

Crimson File PhotoHarvard Players celebrate last year duringHarvard's Home victory over Union. It was the1000th team victory for the Crimson.