Extra Time No Charm For Icemen

BOSTON--For a brief but short-lived moment Monday night at the Fleet Center, the Harvard men's hockey team looked poised to repeat an improbable victory from yesteryear.

With less than a minute left to play in its first-round Beanpot match-up against Northeastern (9-13-3, 4-10-2 Hockey East), Harvard (8-10-1, 3-9-1 ECAC) found itself trailing, 3-2 Sensing the urgency of the situation, the Crimson attacked the Huskies' net with six men, sending a flurry of shots towards freshman goaltender Jason Braun. But nothing went through. Meanwhile, precious seconds ticked away.

With 20.5 seconds left on the clock and the face-off in their own zone, the Huskies called a timeout. Meanwhile, the Crimson discussed their game plan.

"We were trying to get it back to Ben," said Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni, referring to senior defenseman Ben Storey. In last year's first-round Beanpot victoryagainst Boston College, Storey scored thegame-tying goal in the last seconds of the thirdperiod to push the game into overtime. The Crimsoneventually won, 4-3.

And so, true to its game plan, Harvard set uptheir six-man face-off in the Northeastern Zone.Sophomore forward Steve Moore won the draw andsent it back to Storey on the right point. Storeywound up and let loose.

The shot was deflected out of play.

14.2 seconds left. Once again, the two teamslined up for the face-off in the Huskies' zone.This time, sophomore forward Harry Schwefel tookthe draw. And once again the puck was successfullybrought back to Storey, who squared up and slappedaway.

Glove save.

9.6 seconds left on the clock, and the tensionwas mounting. Moore went back into the circle totake the draw. Though Moore couldn't win theface-off cleanly, Schwefel skated in to knock thepuck back to Storey.

It was Storey's third chance to play the hero.But this time he didn't shoot. Instead, Storeyslid the puck across the ice to junior defensemanMatt Scorsune, who had moved out towards the leftside. Scorsune loaded the cannon and fired a blastthat completely blew past a screened Braun.

The clock stood still at 4.5 seconds.

"Ben gave me a great pass," Scorsune said. "Ijust saw an empty net."

No Happy Ending This Time

But despite the inevitable feelings of deja vu,Harvard couldn't finish the task.

"We felt good going into overtime," Tomassonisaid. "But it wasn't in the cards."

Although the Crimson came up with some qualityopportunities in front of the Huskies' net earlyin the overtime period, bad bounces and missedpasses made it impossible to convert.

Northeastern's game-winning goal came at 4:35.With the puck in his zone, a freshman defensemanJim Fahey flipped the puck into the air towardscenter ice. Freshman forward Ryan Zoller was ableto catch up with the bouncing puck ahead of theHarvard defense.

"It was a little alley-oop pass," Tomassonisaid. "You never know where the puck is going tobounce."

"I think everyone lost sight of it," Scorsunesaid.

Zoller closed in on junior goaltender J.R.Prestifilippo and sent a weak backhander on thegoalie's stick. But Prestifilippo, who was forcedto slide with the attack, couldn't control therebound. Hustling in on the Harvard goal andbeating the defense by a half-step was forwardBrian Cummings. Cummings knocked the puck into theopen net to snatch away the win.

Playing By the Book

Surprisingly, only four penalties were calledduring the whole game, and all of them were takenduring the second period. Furthermore, neitherteam's power play saw much success.

At 2:32, Harvard defenseman Peter Capouch wentinto the box for tripping. Although theNortheastern power play line entering the game wasoperating at a strong 23 percent--and over 30percent in the last eight games--Harvard onlyallowed one shot on goal.

The Harvard power play unit, which had fallenin a 6 for 61 slump in the last 11 games, sawthree straight chances during the period butcouldn't get more than three total shots on goal.

"I think we struggled more coming up the ice[on the power play]," Tomassoni said.

Coincidently, when Harvard and Northeasternplayed in last year's Beanpot consolation match,the teams combined to go 2 for 11 on power plays.

A Sluggish Start

The Crimson continued its habit of starting thegame slow and playing strong late in the game. Inthe first period, Harvard was out-drawn infaceoffs, 15-7.

"We were a little sluggish in the first andsecond periods," Tomassoni said.

However, the Crimson stepped up the action inthe third period, outshooting the Huskies 12-5.

"Our third period was the best period allyear," Tomassoni said.

On the year, Harvard has outscored itsopponents 23-11 in the third period.

It's Been a Long Time

The last time the Crimson won a Beanpot titlewas 1993.

Monday's loss extends Northeastern's Beanpotwinning streak against Harvard to four games.Prestifilippo's career record at the Beanpot isnow 0-4.CrimsonPaul S. GutmanHEART OF STONE: Husky BOBBY DAVIS(10) rides freshman forward JEFF STONEHOUSE (14)around the boards.

And so, true to its game plan, Harvard set uptheir six-man face-off in the Northeastern Zone.Sophomore forward Steve Moore won the draw andsent it back to Storey on the right point. Storeywound up and let loose.

The shot was deflected out of play.

14.2 seconds left. Once again, the two teamslined up for the face-off in the Huskies' zone.This time, sophomore forward Harry Schwefel tookthe draw. And once again the puck was successfullybrought back to Storey, who squared up and slappedaway.

Glove save.

9.6 seconds left on the clock, and the tensionwas mounting. Moore went back into the circle totake the draw. Though Moore couldn't win theface-off cleanly, Schwefel skated in to knock thepuck back to Storey.

It was Storey's third chance to play the hero.But this time he didn't shoot. Instead, Storeyslid the puck across the ice to junior defensemanMatt Scorsune, who had moved out towards the leftside. Scorsune loaded the cannon and fired a blastthat completely blew past a screened Braun.

The clock stood still at 4.5 seconds.

"Ben gave me a great pass," Scorsune said. "Ijust saw an empty net."

No Happy Ending This Time

But despite the inevitable feelings of deja vu,Harvard couldn't finish the task.

"We felt good going into overtime," Tomassonisaid. "But it wasn't in the cards."

Although the Crimson came up with some qualityopportunities in front of the Huskies' net earlyin the overtime period, bad bounces and missedpasses made it impossible to convert.

Northeastern's game-winning goal came at 4:35.With the puck in his zone, a freshman defensemanJim Fahey flipped the puck into the air towardscenter ice. Freshman forward Ryan Zoller was ableto catch up with the bouncing puck ahead of theHarvard defense.

"It was a little alley-oop pass," Tomassonisaid. "You never know where the puck is going tobounce."

"I think everyone lost sight of it," Scorsunesaid.

Zoller closed in on junior goaltender J.R.Prestifilippo and sent a weak backhander on thegoalie's stick. But Prestifilippo, who was forcedto slide with the attack, couldn't control therebound. Hustling in on the Harvard goal andbeating the defense by a half-step was forwardBrian Cummings. Cummings knocked the puck into theopen net to snatch away the win.

Playing By the Book

Surprisingly, only four penalties were calledduring the whole game, and all of them were takenduring the second period. Furthermore, neitherteam's power play saw much success.

At 2:32, Harvard defenseman Peter Capouch wentinto the box for tripping. Although theNortheastern power play line entering the game wasoperating at a strong 23 percent--and over 30percent in the last eight games--Harvard onlyallowed one shot on goal.

The Harvard power play unit, which had fallenin a 6 for 61 slump in the last 11 games, sawthree straight chances during the period butcouldn't get more than three total shots on goal.

"I think we struggled more coming up the ice[on the power play]," Tomassoni said.

Coincidently, when Harvard and Northeasternplayed in last year's Beanpot consolation match,the teams combined to go 2 for 11 on power plays.

A Sluggish Start

The Crimson continued its habit of starting thegame slow and playing strong late in the game. Inthe first period, Harvard was out-drawn infaceoffs, 15-7.

"We were a little sluggish in the first andsecond periods," Tomassoni said.

However, the Crimson stepped up the action inthe third period, outshooting the Huskies 12-5.

"Our third period was the best period allyear," Tomassoni said.

On the year, Harvard has outscored itsopponents 23-11 in the third period.

It's Been a Long Time

The last time the Crimson won a Beanpot titlewas 1993.

Monday's loss extends Northeastern's Beanpotwinning streak against Harvard to four games.Prestifilippo's career record at the Beanpot isnow 0-4.CrimsonPaul S. GutmanHEART OF STONE: Husky BOBBY DAVIS(10) rides freshman forward JEFF STONEHOUSE (14)around the boards.