Bigger Fish to Fry

Fat Tuesday comes the day before Ash Wednesday on Christian calendars.

For the Harvard men's hockey team, it came yesterday after a rather Lean Monday. No celebrating on this Mardi Gras--just a day off from practice for the team to collect its wits and get ready for a weekend trip to Dartmouth and Vermont.

Oh, that the beans had been let out of the 'Pot a week ago, that Harvard could have basked in the glow of its 4-2 demolition of Boston University and spared Boston College the chance to humiliate the country's second-ranked team.

That was the word around the Yard today. "What happened?" asked a student body that was just getting used to Harvard's 10-game unbeaten streak. "How could we play so badly? And against B.C., of all teams--God, did we look bad."

The natural first reaction is to wonder why the Crimson lost, and there are a number of sound reasons. Some of them Harvard had no control of, like a three-games-in-four-nights schedule and the Eagles' inspired level of play.

Of course, Harvard didn't play particularly good defense, it again failed to dent the net away from its power play, and for all of the good things Aaron Israel did in goal, he picked a pretty terrible time to let in his softest goal of the year.

But one must move beyond the past and quickly analyze what this game will do to the Crimson's collective psyche. Will there be any longlasting damage from this loss?

Coach Ronn Tomassoni: "We'll bounce back."

Captain Sean McCann: "We'll turn this into a positive."

Well, what did you think they were going to say? "Actually, I expect us to go into the tank for the rest of the season--you can forget about us making it to the NCAAs."

But seriously, and from an objective viewpoint, what might happen? Can the Crimson keep rolling through the ECAC to the NCAA playoffs? And can they still qualify for a first-round NCAA bye as one of the top four teams in the country?

Does a bear relieve itself in the woods?

Actually, you can bet that such a loss will work in reverse. Keep the lions hungry, and their fury will continue to mount.

If (as one must assume) winning the NCAA title at the end of the year is Harvard's main goal, then losing two nights ago might have been just the tonic to keep its charge alive. Why allow any feelings of contentedness to creep into a mindset focused on the future?

A lot has been written about Harvard's late-season swoon from a year ago. After winning the Beanpot over second-ranked BU, the Crimson faded to a 6-4-2 finish; not bad, but after a 16-2-1 start, Harvard fans expected and deserved better.

Especially in the two tournaments that conclude the year, those run by the ECAC and the NCAA. And Tomassoni acknowledged the need at the start of the year to lend more focus towards winning at the end of the year rather than charging hard from the gate and wasting the emotional fires before March.

There is still plenty of emotion left in these Crimson skaters. And they are mature enough not to let one devastating loss snuff out that life. Surprisingly, after the Monday dust is polished away, Harvard finds itself poised perfectly for a stretch run for glory and--dare one even say it--a possible national championship.

Boston College made its season a success Monday night. With four wins against 10 losses in conference play, and Coach Steve Cedorchuk fighting to revive a dormant program, winning the Beanpot was worth expending every ounce of the Eagles' energy.

But Harvard has bigger fish to fry. And the skillet will be re-lit, starting this Friday night.