M. Hockey Blanks Bears in Opener

PROVIDENCE--For the second straight year, the Harvard men's hockey team opened its season with a shutout at Brown.

Senior goaltender Oli Jonas, given his first opportunity to start with the graduation of J.R. Prestifilippo '00, parlayed any opening night jitters into flawless net-minding as Harvard (1-0, 1-0 ECAC) blanked Brown (1-1, 0-1 ECAC).

The Bears never generated much offense as the Crimson defense--which started only five due to injuries to freshman Kenny Smith and junior Graham Morrell--more than held its own.

"Our defense deserves most of the credit," Jonas said. "All the shots were from the perimeter."

Freshman winger and 2000 NHL draftee Tyler Kolarik, who registered his first point here, said he was nervous in his first collegiate game but was impressed with the team's effort.

"We showed a lot of guts in the third period," Kolarik said. "The seniors really led us out there."

Sophomore center Dominic Moore opened the scoring at 10:14 of the first period on the power play. Junior assistant captain Peter Capouch fed the puck up ice to Kolarik, who beat a Brown defenseman around the outside and fired a backhand on net.

Moore knocked in the rebound.

"I knew we could turn their [defense]," Kolarik said. "They were big and slow. I knew Dom would be there."

Moore's goal held up until the Crimson struck again late in the third period, at 15:41. Assistant captain Chris Bala lifted sophomore center Brett Nowak's rebound over the left shoulder of Brown goaltender Brian Eklund. Sophomore Aaron Kim also registered an assist on Bala's goal.

The nail in the coffin came just a few minutes later, when the brother-brother tandem of captain Steve Moore and Dominic caught the Bears off guard. Shorthanded, Dominic forced a turnover in the Bears' zone and Steve fired a slapshot past the surprised Eklund.

The two goals were a culmination of the third period in which Harvard held the edge with tight, aggressive play. Harvard outshot Brown 18-11 in the third.

"We took over in the third," Harvard Coach Mark Mazzoleni said. "We closed the door on them."

Overall there was little offense in the game as Brown settled down after Dominic Moore's first period goal. The Bears were particularly strong in a rough second period, in which seven penalties were called.

"We played okay," Brown Coach Roger Grillo said. "We just didn't create enough scoring chances."

Jonas made 28 saves on the evening and was rarely tested. His best stop of the night came about six minutes into the third period, with the Crimson still ahead just, 1-0.

Bear sophomore Chris Legg blasted a rebound from the slot that caught Jonas out of position, but the goalie recovered just in time to kick the puck away.

On the Harvard side, Mazzoleni said he was pleased with the Crimson's third period play, but said he felt the overall game was "sloppy."

While the chemistry may not have been there among linemates, the Crimson did impress with its overall team speed.

"We have a major improvement over last year with our speed up front," he said.

Mazzoleni also said that he is allowing his offensive players more creativity due to their speed and talent.

"We don't have as much structure as last year, but we still need them to be responsible," he said.

Dominic Moore said he was impressed with the play of the Crimson freshman but credited the win to Jonas' play.

"Oli Jonas played an unbelievable game," he said. "There's not much more to say."