Men's Hockey Set to Soar in 2000-01

After a disappointing first-round playoff exit at Cornell a year ago, Coach Mark Mazzoleni has one goal in mind for the Harvard men's hockey team entering the 2000-01 season.

"I want home-ice," Mazzoleni said. "That means someone's got to come in here and beat us which won't happen. Then we get to Lake Placid and anything can happen there. Anything."

Maybe Mazzoleni is hoping for a little 1980 magic to get the Crimson past the second-round of the playoffs, but an opening round win on home-ice isn't asking too much of a talented squad with a lot of scoring punch up front.

The Crimson, which posted an 11-15-2 (9-10-2 ECAC) record last season, only needed a win in its final game to secure a top-five finish and home-ice advantage. A 2-0 loss to RPI instead forced Harvard to travel to Cornell where it was swept in straight games in arguably the hardest rink for a visiting team to play in college hockey.

The Crimson hopes it will be different this year. All the top scorers from last season are back, while a year of seasoning and a couple young rookies should make this team more dangerous offensively than it was a year ago.

The problem is going to be on defense. It was the weak link on last year's team and situation isn't looking any better this season.

"I don't think scoring goals should be a problem for us," Mazzoleni said. "Our biggest challenge as a team, and I think it will be a real indication of how far we can go this year, will be the health of our blueline and our team's willingness to play good sound fundamental team defense."

The defensive core is young, but it's also hurting with injuries that will force the team to start the season with only five healthy defensemen.

"We only had seven defensemen going into the year and now were at five," Mazzoleni said. "So that's a concern, no doubt about it."

Freshman defenseman Kenny Smith and junior defenseman Graham Morrell are currently sidelined with injuries. Smith should return for the team's second regular season game, but the date of Morrell's return is not yet known.

The team also lost four-year starting goalie J.R. Prestifilippo '00, the 1997 ECAC Rookie of the Year. Senior Oliver Jonas will start the season as the team's No. 1 goaltender.

Jonas has played well when called upon the past three seasons, but his performance is another big question mark the team will need to answer on defense.

Harvard, the defending Ivy League Champion, opens its season on the road against Brown tonight before it hosts Vermont and Dartmouth at home next weekend.

The Crimson will face an early season test in late November when it travels back to Ithaca to face No. 15 Cornell before games against No. 11 Boston University and No. 3 Boston College, all within an eight-day span.

Forwards

The forwards are the heart and soul of this team and will need to score three or four times a game to give the Crimson a legitimate shot a winning on most nights.

Captain Steve Moore (10 g, 16 a) and assistant captain Chris Bala (10, 14) have been the core of the Crimson offense since their rookie seasons when they finished one-two on the team in scoring.

Last season, Moore once again led the team in scoring and became the first player to do so in three consecutive years since George Hughes '79.

"He's more of a low-key soft spoken guy who will lead by example," Mazzoleni said. "He's a very bright young man who articulates himself very well. When Steven says something the guys will listen."

The team needs Moore's leadership, but it also needs Moore and Bala to raise their level of performance on the ice another notch.

"Those two kids need to step forward and lead us," Mazzoleni said. "You don't win with freshman and sophomores. You've got to have juniors and seniors to be productive and we've got two of the best in our league in Stevie Moore and Chris Bala."

Both Moore and Bala are second-round NHL draft picks, and Mazzoleni knows he's lucky to have the duo back for their senior years.

"Steve turned down an opportunity to turn pro this summer," Mazzoleni said. "Colorado wanted to sign him but he wanted to come back this year and be the Captain of this team and get this thing on the right track. You got to tip your hat to him."

Although Moore and Bala enter the season as the teams one-two offensive punch, the supporting cast is as strong as it has ever been in recent years.

Sophomore centers Dominic Moore (12, 12) and Brett Nowak (6, 11) will look to improve even more after impressive rookie seasons.

Moore was the first freshman to lead the team in goal-scoring since Bala did it in his rookie season of 1997-98. He was the Ivy League Rookie of Year last season and was named to All-Ivy League second-team.

Nowak started the year strong, leading the team in scoring with four goals and six assists through the first 10 games before being hampered by a shoulder injury mid-season.

"He had major reconstructive shoulder surgery at the end of last year which is now allowing him to play healthy," Mazzoleni said. "For the first half of last year when he played very well, his shoulder was fine and then he hurt it and it really inhibited him the rest of the way. Know he's got a healthy wing again and he's been very impressive."

If Nowak can return to the same form he displayed a year ago, the Crimson will be a very dangerous team will a lot of depth at the center position.

""We've moved Bret Nowak back to the middle," Mazzoleni said. "I mean, you go Steve Moore, Dom Moore, Brett Nowak that's pretty damn good."

Mazzoleni has also moved sophomore Aaron Kim (1, 3) up to the wing. Kim filled in admirably on the blueline for a depleted defensive core last year, but will relish the opportunity to return to his natural position at forward.

"He can skate, he's assertive, he plays an aggressive game, he got skill and speed," Mazzoleni said. "He's an ingredient that's a key asset to our forwards because he can play an up-tempo game and that's what we're trying to do."

Junior Jeff Stonehouse (4, 4) will also be expected to contribute offensively. A small hard-nosed attacker, Stonehouse plays the game as though he's much larger than his 5'9'' frame. He isn't afraid to take a run at the opposing team's biggest player and his 36 minutes in penalties testify to his aggressive style of play.

"Jeff's a young man who always plays the game with a lot of piss and vinegar," Mazzoleni said. "He's got a lot of spunk in him. He's shed a few pounds. You can see he's a step quicker and because of his competitive nature, he'll be in the midst of everything this year."

There are also five freshman who will be looking to join the mix up front and fight for ice-time.

Rob Fried and Tyler Kolarik, both graduates of Deerfield Academy, entered camp as potential pro prospects. Fried was selected in the third-round of the 2000 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers and Kolarik was a fifth-round pick of the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets.

"Kolarik just plays hard," Mazzoleni said. "You get him below the circles in the offensive zone and he has one thing in his mind, trying to score and he's strong and tough on the puck. When he wants to get it to the net, he gets it to the net."

Although Mazzoleni likes to work rookies into the lineup slowly, freshman Dennis Packard, Kenny Turano, and Tim Pettit will all likely see a good portion of ice-time.

"Timmy Pettit's been the biggest surprise; he's a player," Mazzoleni said. "He's a very solid two-way player. Plays good defense, can make a play. He's a tough player and can skate."

The offense is capped by returning veterans senior Harry Schwefel (5, 6), the team's most experienced player with 94 games under his belt, junior Derek Nowak (0, 3), junior Jared Cantanucci (0, 3), and junior Kyle Clark (0, 3).

Defense

Where do you want to start?

They're young, they're inexperienced, they'll likely cough the puck up in their own zone a few too many times, and one of the top two defensemen on the team is hurt.

And by the way, did I forget to mention this? How far the Crimson can go in the playoffs likely rests on these seven players shoulders.

"You have Leif Ericson in their who's a junior who hasn't played a lot to date and you have three freshman in Blair Barlow, David McCulloch, and Kenny Smith, who has yet to skate," Mazzoleni said. "That's our core right now."

Morrell, who missed all of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, will be expected to lead the young defensive squad.

"He's a very competitive individual and plays a good hard-nosed style of hockey," Mazzoleni said. "I think his competitive nature is contagious to the other members of the team. We not only need the skill level that Graham brings but we also need his presence."

Morrell injured himself in the preseason, however, and it's not known exactly when he will return.

That is going to put a lot of pressure on junior assistant captain Pete Capouch (5, 10) and senior Tim Stay (0, 3) to step up and carry this defensive core at least until Morrell returns and can help spread the load.

Capouch is easily the team's best offensive defenseman and should once again be a special-teams asset on the power-play and while penalty-killing. He led the Crimson last season with a +5 plus/minus rating and is talented a moving the puck out of the defensive zone.

"Hockey is one of those sports where you generate your offense off your defense by playing an aggressive assertive style of play away from the puck," Mazzoleni said. "We made a commitment when we came here to play a more up-tempo style. Your tempo initiates with your defensive core and they've got to be able to make the play."

That's a lot of pressure to be placing on a young group of players, but Mazzoleni's willing to give them the time they need to develop and improve.

"Any team is going to throw pressure at you but you got to make the play," Mazzoleni said. "I think we upgraded ourselves in that area, but three of our defenseman are first-year players and you've got to be patient. Some of them are going to make mistakes, but as long as they learn from their mistakes they'll improve and they've been productive on the previous teams they've come from."

The good news is the trio of Barlow, McCulloch and Smith will have a year of Division I hockey experience and seasoning before the team will need to really call upon their talent in the playoffs next spring.

Barlow plays a very offensive style of hockey and will be expected to quarterback the power-play as a rookie. McCulloch is more of a defensive defenseman and will provide the Crimson with a solid physical presence along the blueline.

"McCulloch is a hard-nosed tough kid who is a very competitive individual, ferocious hitter," Mazzoleni said. "He's one of those kids that when you see him play can really pop people. It's a skill and to date he's really awoken a few guys on our team."

When Smith returns, likely in the second week of the season, it will add another big 6'2 defenseman to the Crimson blueline, and the trio should be a solid core to build around this year and in the future.

"When you have a David McCulloch, a Graham Morrell, and a Kenny Smith it brings a physical element that you got to have," Mazzoleni said. "All three of them can make a play. You put that in with Blair Barlow, Peter Capouch, Graham Morrell, and Timmy Stay and it gives you good balance, which is one of things were trying to build here."

Goal

When the puck drops tonight against Brown, Jonas will start in net as the No. 1 goalie for the first time in his four-year career.

"So far Oliver Jonas has been good and we expect that," Mazzoleni said. "We need that. He's a man who we all know has patiently waited for this opportunity to come and he has to seize it. We're giving him that opportunity to seize it and go with it."

Jonas recorded a 3-2-0 with a 3.66 GAA and a .886 save percentage in five starts last year. Through 25 starts in his Harvard career, he has posted a very respectable 12-10-1 record, but he's never been the top netminder.

When Mazzoleni came last year, he wouldn't originally commit to one goalie and gave Jonas a good look. In the end, however, he turned to Prestifilippo and Jonas has sat behind him for the third straight year.

It's now Jonas' chance to emerge from Prestifilippo's long shadow and Mazzoleni said that he will give him every chance to succeed.

"Oliver just needs to get in their and play and know there's no J.R. Prestifilippo staring over his shoulder," Mazzoleni said. "That's tough because you always know if you have an off night they're going to go back to that kid. If we're going to be successful, Oliver has to carry the brunt of the load."

Jonas has shown flashes of brilliance in the past. His freshman year, he made 26 saves in an overtime win against B.C. in the Beanpot semi-finals and earned an earned Honorable Mention ECAC Rookie Team honors that season.

Replacing an injured Prestifilippo again his sophomore year, Jonas started all three ECAC quarterfinal games against RPI and was spectacular, leading the Crimson to a 2-1 victory in Game One and almost upsetting RPI in Game Three with another great performance.

If the same Jonas shows up this year, the Crimson will be lucky, but Jonas is also known to give up the long goal every once in a while and could try fans patience on occasion. Mazzoleni believes, however, that Jonas' new role as starter will help alleviate some of those past problems.

"Oliver just has to relax and let things happen," Mazzoleni said. "It's been a component of always having to impress instead of just realizing and taking a deep breath and knowing the coaches have confidence in you."

For this season, the balls in Jonas' court, but next season the Crimson will turn to their goalie of the future, freshman Will Crothers.

"He's a big kid," Mazzoleni said. "He's competitive. We definitely recruited Will as the goaltender of the future here. He wasn't done anything to date to question that but he's a freshman right now. We're a fortunate that he has a senior to work with a watch and we don't have to thrust him in their right away and have him be the guy. It's a great situation for Will because we can bring him along slowly and play him against the right teams and let him gain his confidence."

Overall

This is a good hockey team, but it's either young or inexperienced in a lot of key areas.

Beyond Steve Moore and Bala, there is not a lot of proven senior talent, and three of them are all forwards.

Jonas is also a senior, but he doesn't have any experience as the team's starting goaltender and it will be interesting to see how he responds to the pressure now that he knows he's the man between the posts.

The strength of this team is clearly the forwards. There's enough talent their to fill three lines and still score often.

"We're not a first line team," Mazzoleni said. "We've got three balanced lines. If you were to ask me what is my first line, I couldn't tell you. I've got three lines that can play. We've four lines that can play."

The defense is talented, and maybe an improvement over last year, but it's also very young. There isn't much depth to the defensive core either, and injuries have already meant trouble.

Regardless of the talent up front, however, this team is going to live or die on the strength of its goaltending.

There's enough talent at forward for a couple of players to have of years and for this team to still score a lot of goals.

Harvard could also probably survive an injury or two on defense. Kim could probably move back and stabilize the blueline at least temporarily and life would go on.

Life, at least past the first-round of the playoffs, probably won't go on if Jonas doesn't respond in goal.

With a freshman on the bench, there's not much depth if he doesn't perform up to his potential, and with a young defense, Jonas will have to be at his best most nights.

Sorry Oli. You got what you wanted. Welcome to the Majors.