M. Hockey Hits the Holidays

For many of us, the holiday season is a time of renewal, a period when we step back from the daily grind and wonder how we can improve ourselves.

The Harvard men's hockey team faces a similar task this year, as it uses an eleven-day respite to regain its focus and correct the problems that have produced a somewhat inconsistent season.

Although the Crimson (5-5-1, 5-3-1 ECAC) has looked impressive at times, such as in a dramatic 3-2 win at Colgate on December 10, for the most part it has not shown the form of last year's ECAC championship squad.

But, according to junior forward Brad Konik, the Crimson's early problems are more mental than physical in origin.

"Our reaction to other teams' goals has not been good," he says. "We tend to get really down rather than pumped up. We also don't seem to have that killer instinct that lets us blow the score of games wide open."

The team's weaknesses all seemed to surface in what both Konik and senior captain Ben Coughlin term the season's low point, a 6-1 humiliation November 22 at the hands of then-number-one-ranked Boston University.

Coughlin feels the loss was especially painful, "not because the score was 6-1, but because mentally we completely collapsed and lost any intensity."

Konik concurs. "We came into the game really fired up and excited, but we just did not react well to them scoring goals," he says.

But it appears that the B.U. game served as something of a slap in the face to most Crimson players, a game that "we knew we could learn something from," says Coughlin.

Since that loss, Harvard has played some of its best hockey of the season, recording tough wins over Union, Brown and Colgate and playing fairly well in losses to RPI and New Hampshire.

Coughlin attributes the team's improvement to renewed defensive and mental efforts.

"Our defense has done a great job recently," he says. "They need to continue to play strong--it's a big area for our team.

"We also just need to maintain our positive attitude. I think we lost our confidence early in the season, and now that we have it back we have to keep it."

The Colgate game exemplified all the characteristics the Crimson would love to display on a daily basis. Harvard trailed by scores of 1-0 and 2-1, but tied the game each time on a goal by Konik and got the game-winner in the third period from junior forward Jason Karmanos.

And all this was done without the services of Steve Martins, kicked out of the game early in the second period after committing seven minutes worth of penalties in addition to a game misconduct.

"The Colgate game was when we really came together," Coughlin says. "It might not have been so exciting, but in the third period we really pulled together and showed a lot of character."

Konik goes even farther in illustrating how the game represented a new beginning for the Crimson.

"We see our season as divided into three parts," he says. "First was all the games before Colgate. Second is from Colgate to the Beanpot, and third is after the Beanpot. We're now 1-0 in our second season."

Some might say that the Crimson's break comes at the worst possible time, when the team was just starting to perform to its capabilities. The team does not play again unitl a pair of games December 21 and 22 against Alaska-Fairbanks, and then has a light schedule through the end of exam period.

Additionally, although Harvard currently ranks second in the ECAC behind Brown, the Crimson has played more games than most teams, and consequently could see its standing drop in the near future.

These details do not bother Konik and Coughlin, however, who feel the break will be well used.

"Guys have been getting too stressed out trying to get a record like last year's," Konik says. "We need to remember that we're playing because its fun. It'll be good to get home for the holidays and return all fired up."

"The time off is helpful because it lets our guys rest some injuries," Coughlin adds. "We've had a good week of practice--the time off allows guys to come back more focused."

In fact, at this point, the Crimson have not even begun to focus on the Nanooks.

"We haven't really discussed them at all," Coughlin says. "Our focus is more on how we play the game. If we show consistent, good team play, there's no reason we can't finish at the top of the ECAC. If we play well, everything should take care of itself."

Konik also agrees that the team should set its sights high.

"We want to repeat as [ECAC] champs, and everyone would love to get to the Final Four," he says. "Right now that might not be a realistic goal, but its a definite possibility if we continue to make a good amount of progress."