Revival On Ice

CANTON, NY--It's true; they weren't lying to us! For nine straight games, the Harvard coaches and players have been lamenting that even though the team can't seem to win, it has been playing great hockey--it just doesn't get the breaks.

That was fine for the first five games or so, but after that, skepticism started to arise. Harvard heading to third-place St. Lawrence for the playoffs didn't help matters much at all either.

Finally, like a shaft of lightning or a sign from the heavens, the Harvard men's hockey team won--and won decisively too.

"Our record does not in my opinion indicate what type of team we really are," Harvard head coach Ronn Tomassoni said. "We played well in that [nine game losing] streak and the puck would not, did not, go in for us at the right times."

There is just no better time to break the dreadful streak than the ECAC quarterfinal round.

In the first period, however, it looked like the same old story. Harvard completely dominated and created numerous scoring opportunities but just couldn't break into the scoring column. Then, like it always seems to happen, St. Lawrence stole the momentum off a power play and scored the game's first tally. Talk about bad breaks.

The Crimson fought back and kept the game deadlocked until the decisive third period.

The last 20 minutes are where the tide finally turned. It was really Henry Higdon's goal--the third Harvard goal in the period--with only six minutes left which showed that Harvard finally met up with Mr. Good Luck.

After driving down the right side of the ice, Higdon let loose a wild shot that sailed wide and high. Like a gift from above, the puck found a silver of metal on the boards and bounced right back to Higdon all alone in front of the net. Higdon didn't even know what happened until his teammates yelled at him from the bench to turn around. He then picked up the gift and put it away for the final goal of the game.

And what a fitting end it was.

"Finally the puck bounces our way," Higdon said. "It was a lucky goal, and it is nice to get one of those once and a while because it sure hasn't been happening to us very often."

As the final seconds ticked down on the game clock, I glanced down at the Harvard bench. There was a brief stoppage of play, and the sound system blared a cheerful tune over the intercom. Sitting along side his teammates, Harvard defenseman Pete McLaughlin was tapping out the tune against the boards.

It's been a long time since the players have had something to smile about.

"This is a whole new season," Tomassoni said. "We have a lot to show for it."

They have always believed the tide would turn, and after drilling St. Lawrence 5-2 in the Tournament, a lot more people are starting to believe, too.