Icemen Defeat Vermont, 5-3, Looking to ECAC Tourney

BURLINGTON, VT.--Last year it was Tripp Tracy, turning around behind his net to face the vocal Vermont student section and raising his arms in defiance after a well-played 3-1 win.

This time Aaron Israel got the call, but by game's end he needn't have bothered with such gestures; many of the home folks already had trickled out of Gutterson Fieldhouse like the melting snow, dirty in hits retreat down the hill from the arena towards Lake Champlain, after another two-goal Harvard victory.

Israel had done his job, stopping 19 shots, and although the game was still tied halfway through the third period, decisive goals from senior Brian Farrell and junior Ben Coughlin sealed a 5-3 Crimson victory that coach Ron Tomassoni was much happier with than he had been one night before.

"A real solid effort--three real strong periods, and everyone played well" Tomassoni said, one night after a 5-4 overtime win at Dartmouth had evoked his wrath rather than the praises of victory.

"Right from the first line to the fourth, and all six defensemen, we got some real consistent hockey, and that's what we were looking for," he said on this night. "And [Israel] was outstanding in goal. The intensity and tenacity was there all night."

With Brown's surprising loss to Dartmouth Saturday night, Harvard (17-4-2, 14-2-2 ECAC) saw its conference lead expand to five points with four games to play. Vermont (11-9-6, 7-5-6 ECAC) slipped into a tie for fifth with slumping Colgate.

"Our goal going into this past weekend was to play six solid games," Tomassoni said. "We're not worried about standings or anything--we just want to get ready for the ECAC tournament."

Games One of that span duly tossed in the toilet (but not without grabbing the two points that came with it), Tomassoni surprisingly turned to the Crimson's in-form third line of center Kirk Nielsen and wingers Ben Coughlin and Jason Karmanos to start the game.

"We knew tonight that we'd have to come out much more aggressively in the first period after a lackluster effort last night," Coughlin said. "Coach got it in our head that we had to come out playing as hard as we can, and I think we did that."

Indeed, it was only 3:41 into the game when the Crimson power play recharged its batteries for the 46th time on the year. But for the first time, the goal fell to defenseman Lou Body, who knuckled his point shot through heavy traffic in the crease past Catamount goalie Tim Thomas.

"Finally got the goose-egg off my back," Body said. "I thought I got good wood on the shot, but whatever, it went in--I don't care how."

That was how the score stood through one period, as strong forechecking pressure helped hold Vermont to four shots on net. But the Cats struck early in the second, as Dominique Ducharme struck for his first of two on the night with a wraparound goal at the :27 mark.

It took the Crimson almost 10 minutes to regain its senses, but when vengeance was taken it came in a hurry. Junior Steve Martins was in the middle of both goals, scoring his 17th of the year at 10:38 and then unleashing a vicious check that sprung Cory Gustafson to find Thomas' five-hole only 11 seconds later.

"A lot of frustration in this game for me," Martins said of his big hit on the Cats' Eric Perrin. "With all the dumb penalties I'd been taking, I figured maybe one hit could take it all out of me, and fortunately the puck went to [Gustafson] and he scored."

Vermont coach Mike Gilligan immediately called time-out, but just when it looked like this "three-hour tour" through the ECAC's top team was headed for disaster, the Cats rallied.

"This is one of the most difficult places to play [in the ECAC], no question about it," Tomassoni said. "They were on a roll coming in--give them credit for battling back from 3-1 down. You knew they weren't going to give up, and they sucked it up."

After Ducharme scored again 2:19 from the end of the second, Nicholas Perreault got his 16th goal of the year early in the final frame to tie the game, and Harvard looked to be reeling.

But in a game where momentum was the determining factor, the referee's whistle helped decide the outcome. Eric Hallman was whistled for the third period's first penalty, a slash at 11:10, and Harvard's five-on-four once again sprang into action; Farrell got his stick on a Derek Maguire shot for a tip-in goal at 11:31, and the Crimson were never seriously threatened again.

Especially after Coughlin's goal, the one which ultimately emptied the building. Described by him as follows, it reflected the teamwork shown by the Crimson (to the delight of Tomassoni):

"I didn't do anything--Karmanos made the whole play with a nifty little behind-the-back pass, and then [Sean] McCann found me in front. To be honest, I didn't think Sean was going to find me, but my stick was on the ice, and all I had to do was tap it in the net."