One Moore Time

“Zen Buddhism” is quite possibly the most unexpected phrase to roll off the tongue of any hockey player. But Harvard captain Dominic Moore, who looks to lead the Crimson deep into the NCAA tournament this year, describes his approach to hockey in terms of this serene philosophy.

In a sport that conjures up images of on-ice carnage, Moore has become a portrait of calm.

“I was definitely a perfectionist in my younger days,” Moore said. “[But] you learn a sort of Zen Buddhism-type thing that you should just be in the moment and you learn how to react to things going on in that moment.”

“Hockey’s a funny game,” he added. “The more you try to control it, the more it controls you.”

Needless to say, then, Moore hasn’t been overwhelmed by the preseason hype that has billed him as a strong contender for the Hobey Baker award. Moore was selected as one of the top ten candidates by Sports Illustrated this winter, despite a less-than-stellar season last year that began with similar Hobey buzz.

“Obviously it’s nice that they consider me a Hobey candidate, and I consider myself one,” Moore said. “But I don’t think I feel any more pressure.”

“I don’t like to have any specific, clear-cut goals,” Moore added.

Instead, Moore has replaced explicit expectations with his philosophy honed over the years as he discovered the mental side of hockey.

“Things out of your control are fine, and you learn how to relax and deal with those things in the moment,” said Moore who has posted 40 goals and 56 assists through his first three seasons. “The more spontaneous I can be, the better I play, and that’s what I plan to get back to this year.”

Band of Brothers

By now, Moore is used to shrugging off pressure.

Throughout the college application process four years ago, Moore was unfazed by any pressure to continue the family tradition of playing for the Crimson set by his two older brothers. The eldest Moore, Mark ’00, had paved the way for the brood from Ontario to Cambridge and middle brother Steve ’01 was the Crimson captain two years ago.

But what may have appeared to be a natural progression of brothers was actually far from guaranteed. The youngest Moore didn’t decide to attend Harvard until the last possible day because of the wide range of options for skilled players like himself.

“It was down to, I’d say, five schools, and Harvard obviously had something else to it because my brothers were both here and it’s the best university in the world,” Moore said.

In the end, Harvard history was made in the 1999-2000 season, when the Moores formed the first brother-trio to play together. Steve and Dominic are also the only brothers to captain the team.

“They’ve made things a lot easier for me,” Moore said of his brothers. “I sort of had the red carpet rolled out for me by them, especially with Mark having gone first and having plowed the way.”

Mark is now in the Phoenix system, while Steve is still with his original drafters, the Colorado Avalanche.

“With every Canadian kid, his dream is to play pro hockey,” Dominic said. “That’s what they love to do. They’re in no hurry to join corporate America.”

Moore himself is property of the New York Rangers and will pursue pro-hockey after graduation.

“[Dominic] has always had superior skill and talent, and over the last few years his size and strength have improved,” Mark Moore said. “I think that it would be foolish of anyone to put a limit on how good he might someday be.”

Back on Track

Fans that have followed Moore since his freshman days saw him explode onto the Harvard hockey scene with 12 goals in his first year. His monster rookie season earned him ECAC All-Rookie honors as well as the Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

Moore was even more dominant as a sophomore, racking up 43 points en route to Second-Team All-ECAC and First Team All-Ivy selections. Great things were expected of him last year, but Moore suffered a disappointing season that saw his point total drop to 29.

“I maybe got caught up in trying to get 60 points,” Moore said. “I felt I probably got caught up in that too much last year instead of focusing on being in the moment, which is sort of my key phrase. That’s what I’m going to try to do this year.”

During a particularly bad slide last season, Moore was benched for one game—a 6-0 thrashing of Vermont.

“[Harvard] coach [Mark Mazzoleni] felt that by sitting me down for a game, he might motivate me to play more up to his expectations,” Moore said.

Creative differences contributed to the player-coach conflict.

“I’m a creative player, and a lot of times I may have bucked the system [Mazzoleni] had been trying to enforce,” Moore said.

Moore began to refocus on playing hockey for the fun in it—not for the individual numbers—around playoff time. It showed during an amazing ECAC championship run, as Moore scored in all four tournament games.

The highlight came on his double-loop, double-overtime game-winning goal against Brown. The play, which punched Harvard’s ticket to Lake Placid, became an instant Crimson classic.

“There’s nothing more fun than the playoffs,” Moore said. “The more fun I have, the better I play, and I was just having fun out there.”

“That’s why people play the game,” Steve said. “The most important thing is to have fun, and everything else falls into place when you keep your priorities straight.”

Going Out With a Bang

After falling to Maine by the narrowest of margins, 4-3 in overtime, the Crimson returns this season with an ECAC championship ring and an NCAA experience to build on. Moore himself is excited for greater freedom on the ice and playing with a more free-form style than last year.

“This year [Mazzoleni] has more confidence in us,” Moore said. “He’s got a more talented group of players that he feels he can allow more liberty with.”

Mazzoleni concurred, citing the players’ familiarity with each other.

“We have a great sense of intuition in Brett Nowak and Dominic Moore, two forwards that will have been with us for four years,” Mazzoleni said. “And you do want to really play to certain people’s strengths.”

Included in Moore’s strengths are incredible stick handling and agility, qualities that make him a “master of deception,” said older brother Mark.

Dominic’s role models include Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, whom he cites for his “quiet leadership.” In fact, leading by example is a common trait among the Moore brothers. Dominic’s unanimous selection to the Harvard captaincy comes two years on the heels of his brother Steve’s.

“I think [Dominic] is someone who has paid close attention to the captains he’s played under in the past, both at Harvard and before,” Steve said. “He’s somebody who looks for leadership in other players and learns those types of attributes.”

“[Steve] is the best captain I’ve ever played for,” Dominic said. “I learned a lot from him, and hopefully I can apply some of what he’s taught me this year as I take that position.”

Being captain brings added pressure, but Moore dismisses the idea that it will interfere with his game. Both Mazzoleni and Moore agree that the nature of the team will lift some of the leadership load off of his shoulders.

“We have a very strong collective team leadership,” Mazzoleni said. “Dominic’s not going to [bear this burden] all by himself.”

That collective effort should put Harvard in the NCAA title hunt in Moore’s final season.

“Our feeling is that if we play our best and have fun,” Moore said, “we’ll be in the Frozen Four this year.”

And, most important, he’ll be in the moment.

—Staff writer Brenda E. Lee can be reached at belee@fas.harvard.edu.