Maine Attraction: NCAA Rematch

Having ably defended their home ice earlier this week, the Harvard men’s hockey team heads out on the road for yet another chance to make a major national statement—and this time, it’s personal.

Still feeding off the momentum gained in a well-played 2-2 tie with No. 6 Boston College on Wednesday, the No. 11 Crimson (9-3-1, 9-2-0 ECAC) will travel to Portland, Maine’s Cumberland County Civic Center on Sunday for a 2 p.m. rematch and showdown with top-ranked Maine.

Last March in Worcester, the Black Bears (11-1-2, 5-0-1 Hockey East) put an end to Harvard’s miraculous postseason run, dealing the Crimson a crushing 4-3 overtime loss in the NCAA East Regional.

“There’s definitely a little extra excitement in playing Maine since they ended our season last year,” said junior forward Tim Pettit, Harvard’s leading scorer with 21 points. “Maine is a very good team, but we need to approach this game like any other.”

In order to gain revenge, Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni and his troops will have to find a way to stop one of the hottest teams in the country. Barring a setback tonight at home against mediocre Iona, Maine will enter Sunday’s contest riding a 13-game unbeaten streak. The Black Bears have not lost since Oct. 18, when they dropped a 3-0 decision to Colorado College in Anchorage, Alaska.

Fortunately, the Crimson will enter Portland riding a five-game unbeaten streak of its own, carrying the knowledge that it can indeed play with the best in the nation. Following a string of somewhat disappointing performances in big non-conference games, Harvard put forth one of its best efforts of the season against BC, coming from behind twice to tie a talented Eagles squad.

Like BC, Maine has a potent up-tempo offense that moves the puck extremely well and spreads around its scoring. With 18 points entering the weekend, senior forward Martin Kariya—the third Kariya brother to star for the Black Bears—is currently the leading scorer on a team that has averaged 4.14 goals per game.

Needless to say, the Crimson defense will need to play tightly in order to limit the shots allowed on sophomore netminder Dov Grumet-Morris, who strengthened his position among the nation’s better goaltenders with his 38-save performance against the Eagles.

But Maine’s real strength, like last year, is its depth. Harvard had to find this out the hard way in the teams’ last meeting, as the goal which sent them packing was notched by then-freshman fourth-line forward John Ronan.

Still, the Crimson is confident.

“I think this year we have the depth to match them,” Pettit said. “Last year we could only play three lines, but this year our fourth line is very strong.”

Harvard’s newfound depth makes them all the more threatening to opponents. BC assistant coach Ron Rolston, a member of the Crimson coaching staff last year, noted that Harvard’s top three lines are by far the best the Eagles have faced this year. Add a capable fourth line, and the Crimson can lay legitimate claim to a spot among the nation’s best.

But in order to prevail in Portland, Harvard will need to convert on its scoring chances early and often. Despite playing well on Wednesday, the Crimson squandered several opportunities that may have secured them the victory. Harvard will not have the luxury of wasting many chances this weekend, as Maine’s superb goaltending will put finishing ability at a premium.

Freshman Jimmy Howard and junior Frank Doyle have shared the netminding duties admirably for the Black Bears. Despite seeing Howard garner most of the attention and playing time this season, Doyle put together an impressive 39-save effort against BC last weekend, earning Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors. Howard was also honored as both Hockey East Rookie of the Month and Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for his 5-0-0 record in November. His’s three shutouts have already tied the Black Bear single-season record.

The need to score early has not been lost on the Crimson. Harvard is 8-0 when notching the first goal.

“Especially in front of a large crowd in Maine, we need to play very hard and very smart from the drop of the puck to let them know early that they will be in for a long night,” junior defenseman Kenny Smith said. “The games where we have come out strong early have been our most effective.”

Should the Crimson succeed in settling an old score this weekend, the rest of the nation will be forced to recognize its prowess. Luckily, this year that realization has begun in December, rather than March.

“Most of our motivation for this game will come from our desire to prove to everyone that we are as good as any team in the nation,” said Smith. “We know that we have to win games like this to show that.”

For this year’s Crimson, a tie just isn’t enough.