Fearsome Freshmen: Moore and Bala

They barely had time to get to know the rest of their teammates before they were paired together.

Now, more than three months later, Harvard freshman hockey players Steve Moore and Chris Bala are still skating on the same line and have become one of the most dangerous forward tandems in all of the ECAC.

At first glance, the blond, youthful-looking Bala contrasts sharply with the darker, more brooding Moore. Once the physical appearances are put aside and the masks are brought down over their faces, however, the differences begin to fade.

Both stand at a towering 6'2, with a mere 10 pounds separating the two. Their size and raw strength provide a presence in the corners, but their styles are better suited for the open ice. It is there where Bala and Moore can exploit the opposing defense with their quickness and deft stick-handling skills.

Normally a contrast in style is what creates harmony between linemates, but for the Harvard freshmen it is their similarities that have kept them together since the beginning.

"I think that we are just two similar players who have pretty good size between us," says Bala, a Pennsylvania native. "I don't think that it's because one does one thing particularly better than the other at all. It's more of a give and take between us."

Even though they are only freshmen, Bala and Moore have played every game together and most recently have been paired in the special team units.

Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni immediately noticed a chemistry between the two during preseason and thus placed Moore and Bala together on a line with junior Craig Adams in the team's exhibition game against McGill on Nov. 1. Adams' physical style, coupled with the play-making freshmen, made for a powerful first line--on paper. But the youth of the two first-years left overarching question marks.

Not surprisingly the results were slow in coming, as only Moore picked up as much as an assist in that exhibition game. The first four games further proved to be a training ground for the newly-constructed line, as they amassed only four points combined.

But patience paid off for Tomassoni.

Three weeks after the McGill christening, the line finally found its rhythm. Facing off against then-No. 8 Boston College, Bala, Moore and Adams spearheaded a Harvard attack which produced three goals en route to a 4-3 overtime win.

Bala and Moore have scored at least one point in each of the team's last five games.

"I think during the exhibition game [Coach Tomassoni] tried a few different line combinations throughout the game, and we seemed to work together really well from the start," Moore says. "[The chemistry] has always been there, but we have definitely gotten better since then."

The maturation of the freshmen occurred very quickly despite the mid-season loss of Adams, who has been side-lined with a shoulder injury since December. While his right-wing slot remains a revolving door of Crimson forwards, the chemistry between Bala and Moore has grown even stronger. They have become Harvard's main offensive threat, shouldering the burden of a team offense which mustered a dismal 2.63 goals-per-game average last season.

They have responded to the challenge in resounding fashion. Bala currently leads the team with six goals and 12 assists, while Moore is not far behind with three and 15 respectively.

"It's very easy to play with them because they are both such great players," Adams says. "It just makes things that much easier out on the ice."

Tomassoni's reliance upon Bala and Moore reached a new level in the Beanpot Championship game against No. 2 Boston University. Not only did Bala and Moore log more minutes than any other Crimson players, but Tomassoni made the conscious decision to match his freshman duo against the Terriers' top guns, which included Hobey Baker candidate Chris Drury.

What could have been a viewed as a rash decision proved to be one of the key tactics in allowing the Crimson to push the Terriers into overtime.

"I think that they did a great job on Drury," said B.U. Coach Jack Parker after the game. "Moore did a great job covering him and playing hard down low with him. We tried to switch lines up on them, but they were just as fresh, if not fresher than we were."

Besides trailing Drury and double-shifting frequently throughout the game, Bala and Moore faced the important task of playing on the special teams.

The Crimson power-play was dead last in the league last year, with a 10.8-percent success rate. This season, with Bala at the left point and Moore behind the net, Harvard has doubled that mark, clicking at an impressive 20-percent on the man advantage.

"We just do anything to win," explains Moore. "We have created a lot of the offense this year, but I wouldn't call it a burden at all. We look at it as an opportunity."

This is nothing new to Moore, a stranger to neither a scoring touch nor a constant linemate. While playing in the Canadian junior leagues, Moore found a similar chemistry with Mike Gellard, who now plays left wing for St. Lawrence.

This combination with his now-ECAC-foe helped propel Moore into the upper echelon of scorers in the metro Junior A League. College was an easy transition for Moore, as any separation anxiety was soon mollified once he stepped on the ice with Bala.

"It's a very similar kind of thing," says Moore, comparing his two linemates. "We are on the same wavelength and we know what the other is doing. It just makes the game more fun when you're on the same page."

Thus far, Bala and Moore have proven that their chemistry is strong enough for them to play with even the best forwards in the country. More importantly, longevity also appears to be a characteristic of this freshman duo.

"We have been together ever since almost the first practice," Bala says. "The lines have changed, but for some reason we keep plugging along and have been kept together. It's only going to grow and were just going to get better with each other."

With over three years left for both players, that notion should strike fear into the hearts of every opposing coach.