M. Hockey Notebook

With two more impressive wins to start off the season this weekend, the Harvard men's hockey team looks like a different team from recent years.

Winning 7-2 against Dartmouth (1-1-0, 1-1-0 ECAC) on Friday and 6-3 over Vermont (2-4-0, 1-1-0) on Saturday, Harvard (3-0-0, 3-0-0)had a new spirit on the ice, and the home crowd at Bright Center caught onto that enthusiasm.

Mark Mazzoleni, who is beginning his first year as Harvard's coach, showed confidence in both his goaltenders, playing senior J.R. Prestifilippo Friday and junior Oliver Jonas Saturday. The Crimson received strong goaltending each night and it bounced back from a 3-2 deficit at the end of two periods to be Vermont, 6-3. Prestifilippo shut down Dartmouth Friday, 7-2.

The Harvard Crowd

With the Harvard band playing loudly behind them, the Crimson seemed to have an easy time finding the back of the net on Friday. Twelve Crimson players earned at least one point.

The fans loved the flashy moves of freshmen phenoms center Dominic Moore and winger Brett Nowak. Both scored their first collegiate goals in the first period and added another in the second. Nowak also had two assists on the night, as well.

Moore, who has two older brothers on the team, and Nowak, who has one brother, seem to be having no problem making their own places on the Crimson.

"We have a lot of confidence in all of our freshmen," Mazzoleni said. "They will play a significant role on the team this year."

When Harvard went up 4-1 at 16:48 of the second period, the crowd went crazy. The band chanted its nasty "Sieve" jeer at Dartmouth goaltender Eric Almon, who was then removed in the third period for Robert Delwo.

An excited Harvard crowd of 2,449 made even more noise on Saturday as Harvard came from behind in the third period to win. The home-team fans proved that they not only could make up for the band's absence--they were away at the football game--but also down out the Vermont alumni who made the trip for the game.

Down 3-2 to begin the third period, Harvard came out composed and confident in the new system Mazzoleni has been teaching them in the past weeks. When sophomore Peter Capouch sailed a slap shot from the right point by Vermont goaltender Andrew Allen for a power play goal at 6:56, the Harvard fans erupted.

"The power play goal was huge," Mazzoleni said. "It gave us a jump start."

Minutes later, Moore scored his third goal of the weekend, and the arena went nuts again.

"We like the new system and it's great to see fans in the stands," captain Trevor Allman said. "It picks us up, as it did in the third period [against Vermont]."

Strong fan support has been a rare sight at Bright and the players recognized that, raising their sticks to the crowd after each game.

Two Goalies

Harvard showcased its strength in the net this weekend, as Prestifilippo stopped 31 shots Friday and Jonas made 28 saves the next night.

Prestifilippo was a big factor in maintaining the Crimson lead from midway through the first to the end of the game. He held off heavy pressure from Dartmouth in the third period of the game and made 17 saves.

Jonas, who played twelve games last year, proved that he can be a reliable goaltender when called upon. Despite allowing two goals on long-range shots at the end of the first period and another close range shot went through the five-hole in the second, Jonas recovered and looked strong in the third.

"After the second period, Jonas said to [Assistant Coach] Chuck Hughes '92 'I'm back,' referring to the tough time he had had in the first two periods," Mazzoleni said. "Our kids like playing in front of him."

"Jonas is a tremendous goaltender," Moore added. "And he showed it again tonight. He made key saves at key times during the game."

Penalties

Despite the 7-2 blowout of Dartmouth on Friday, Harvard was unhappy with the amount if penalties it committed. With 11 penalties for 22 minutes, Harvard played a third of the game shorthanded.

Reducing penalties has been one of Mazzoleni's major goals in revamping the Crimson teams of recent years, which have been plagued by penalties.

"I was pleased with the overall play tonight," Mazzoleni said. "But I was not happy with the penalties."

The Crimson responded and after holding team meetings Saturday afternoon to curtail the infractions, it only committed two against Vermont.