M. Hockey Suffers From Youth Movement Again

1996

Sports Statistics

Record: 11-18-3, 9-11-2 ECAC

Ivy Finish: Eighth

Coach: Ronn Tomassoni

Key Players: Captain Ashlin Halfnight; Juniors Henry Higdon and Jeremiah McCarthy; Sophomores Rob Millar and Craig Adams

1997

As the final seconds ticked off of the clock, and as the rowdy Lynah Rink faithful began chanting, "End of season," the Harvard hockey team finally faced the bitter truth that dreams don't always come true. For in many ways, the season had been over for some time.

Last year, after capping off the regular season with a nine-game losing streak and managing only sixth place in the league, the Crimson sneaked into Lake Placid on its way to the ECAC finals.

And again this year, Harvard rode out a painful sub-.500 regular season, hoping for a Cinderella finish come March. But the magic, the fairy tale finish and the sweet redemption for a season gone awry was not meant to be. Youth and inexperience proved too much as it plagued and exhausted the Crimson ranks, leading to a quarterfinal playoff exit against the Big Red.

"I definitely think it had a lot to do with inexperience," said Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni about the disappointing finish. "We were the youngest team in college hockey. I'm not using that as an excuse, but with that youth we weren't as physically developed as other teams."

And to think it all started off so well.

The bus ride back from the first game at Brown on Nov. 2 was nothing short of sublime. Coaches and pundits had picked Harvard to finish third among the ECAC powerhouses, which included top ten teams such as Vermont, Cornell and Clarkson.

Any questions surrounding the nine freshman on the squad were temporarily answered as three of them nabbed points in their first official collegiate contest, and eventual ECAC Rookie of the Year J.R. Prestifilippo looked solid with 21 saves.

Sophomore Rob Millar, one of last year's surprise offensive weapons, continued his barrage with two high-light-worthy tallies, while the three seniors--captain Ashlin Halfnight, Joe Craigen and Marco Ferrari--were playing with an intensity and presence unseen before. Indeed, the team walked away from Meehan Auditorium that night not only with a punishing 5-3 win, but also with grand expectations for the next 22 league games.

"Everyone on our team can score and put the puck in the net," Craigen said after the game. "We've just got so much depth this year."

They would not be prepared, however, for what was to come in the next five months. A roller coaster simply could not describe the ride which the Crimson endured. For every step forward there would be a step back, and for every high there would be a devastating low. Still, with each setback the team remained hopeful, knowing that the postseason had the power to erase all regular-season lapses.

Look no further than the team's first and only set of consecutive wins. After posting solid victories against eventual ECAC regular-season champion Clarkson 5-4, and then the Skating Dutchmen of Union 3-0 in mid-December, Harvard was flying high.

Nine days later, the team flew to Duluth, Minnesota.

In a physical two-game series which included one contest in which the teams amassed over 52 minutes of penalties, the Crimson was unable to ward off the Bulldog attack and its modest winning streak came to an abrupt end.

And once again, the team suffered a blow after appearing consistent with a 5-1 loss at Vermont and a 7-1 embarrassment at the Beanpot against Boston University. In each case, Harvard played over two periods of even, competitive hockey only to fall apart at the end.

"Today I just don't know what happened. It just all of a sudden fell apart...It's a tough one because that was embarrassing," Craigen said after the B.U. disaster. "That wasn't just a loss, and everyone [in the locker-room] feels that. It's going to be a tough one to get over."

The Beanpot debacle was perhaps the most telling of the entire season. For 40 minutes, the FleetCenter crowd was stunned, almost silent as the Crimson manhandled the Terriers. Then, just three minutes into the third period, Mike Silvia dumped in B.U.'s second tally of the game and the six goal carnage began.

The rest of the season saw much of the same inconsistency. A solid 5-2 win on the road against Colgate was quickly followed by two disturbing losses against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Those late-season miscues officially knocked Harvard out of the top seven in the league and thus assured the team of a Tuesday preliminary round game--the first ever for the program.

When asked about looking past the final regular- season games, Craigen admitted, "Consciously, not at all. Subconsciously, maybe. Yeah. But we are really trying to focus on one game at a time."

Even when presented with a do-or-die situation, the Crimson displayed its most dismal performance in recent memory when it squeaked through the preliminary round with a 4-2 win over St. Lawrence and quickly packed its bags for the quarterfinals at Cornell. Once again Harvard was unfazed by its play, knowing full well that the playoffs are an entirely different game.

"Now it is a whole new season, and everyone starts off with a clean slate," Millar said after the Tuesday night win. "Right now we are one of only two teams that are 1-0, so we have the momentum."

With the quarterfinals on the horizon, it was like last season all over again, and the Harvard players knew that. In their minds, the stage was set for an upset.

And after playing the Big Red tough, the Crimson left Lynah Rink after the first night with a 2-2 tie and appeared ready to stun the ECAC for the second straight year.

Harvard, however, was too young and too tired to ward off the bigger Cornell squad. After 60 minutes of physical, emotional play, the Big Red walked away with a 4-2 victory the next night and a ticket to the ECAC semifinals in Lake Placid.

The Crimson was left wondering what went wrong, where had its season gone and why was there no tomorrow?

"When you have a season like we had, you try and put your focus on the playoffs," Tomassoni said. "I don't think that our mentality was fixed on the end, but as the season goes along, you have to shift your focus."

Anchored by its strong defense and goaltending, Harvard's pre-season focus was simple--control the score and hope that the young offense could come through.

Halfnight, Ferrari and captain-elect Jeremiah McCarthy patrolled the blue line, while Prestifilippo's 3.18 goals against average kept Harvard in games and on numerous occasions was the team's saving grace.

What proved to cause the Crimson's collapse was its lack of offensive production. Line changes became habit as Tomassoni desperately tried to find cohesive units. The power-play was nothing short of horrific with only a 10.8-percent success rate, at one point embarking on an historic 0-for-55 scoreless streak.

Only Millar (13 tallies) reached double digits in goal production, While no Harvard forwards were nominated for either the First or Second All-Ivy teams. How telling that the only Crimson representation came from Halfnight and Prestifilippo--both second teamers.

The senior leadership was perhaps the one welcome surprise of the year. Halfnight and Ferrari led one of the most solid defensive units in the league.

Craigen in his own right was one of the few offensive guns. After amassing only 19 goals and 30 assists through three years, he exploded for 21 points this past season.

"They were leaders both on and off the ice," Tomassoni said of his three seniors. "They showed a tremendous amount of courage, conviction and work ethic and they left everything on the ice."

But it was unfortunately not enough. The offensive woes and inconsistent play persisted as the team averaged 2.35 goals per game (compared to 3.56 by its opponents).

With only three seniors graduating, and a year of experience and physical growth for the underclassmen which include 17 freshman and sophomores, next season has the potential to be a break-out year for a struggling hockey program.

Unfortunately, however, this past season has proven that despite the underlying talent within the Crimson ranks, the team could still be a year away.

One thing is for sure: in order to break out of ECAC mediocrity and establish itself as a major contender on both the regional and national scale, the players must stop relying on post-season miracles.

Dreams just don't happen every day

The senior leadership was perhaps the one welcome surprise of the year. Halfnight and Ferrari led one of the most solid defensive units in the league.

Craigen in his own right was one of the few offensive guns. After amassing only 19 goals and 30 assists through three years, he exploded for 21 points this past season.

"They were leaders both on and off the ice," Tomassoni said of his three seniors. "They showed a tremendous amount of courage, conviction and work ethic and they left everything on the ice."

But it was unfortunately not enough. The offensive woes and inconsistent play persisted as the team averaged 2.35 goals per game (compared to 3.56 by its opponents).

With only three seniors graduating, and a year of experience and physical growth for the underclassmen which include 17 freshman and sophomores, next season has the potential to be a break-out year for a struggling hockey program.

Unfortunately, however, this past season has proven that despite the underlying talent within the Crimson ranks, the team could still be a year away.

One thing is for sure: in order to break out of ECAC mediocrity and establish itself as a major contender on both the regional and national scale, the players must stop relying on post-season miracles.

Dreams just don't happen every day