Jonnie on the Spot: Harvard Returns to Form

Tap, Tap, Tap.

With that noise, the Harvard men’s hockey team broke out of its post-exam funk.

Sure, it’s a routine sound during most hockey games—the result of a player hitting his stick on the ice. Three times, to be exact.

But it meant more on Friday night.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

I don’t remember hearing it during Harvard’s 6-3 loss to Cornell on Feb. 1. Nor the day after that at Colgate. Certainly not against Northeastern in the Beanpot.

But I heard it during the Crimson’s 6-0 rout of Vermont. It told me something: the boys are back.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

The first time I noticed the sound was about 13 minutes into the game. Sophomore wingers Tyler Kolarik and Rob Fried had just scored back-to-back goals to put Harvard firmly in control of the game. All of a sudden, the Crimson was a different team. It was truly amazing—a complete metamorphosis.

This was not the Harvard team who mustered only 16 shots on goal during the Colgate loss. On this night, the Crimson totaled that many in the first period alone.

This was not the same Harvard team that was beaten in its three previous games. And I use the word “beaten” because there’s a difference between losing and being beaten. You can lose and not be beaten: sometimes you just don’t catch the breaks.

Well, Harvard was beaten three times in a row.

But that’s ancient history now. This was a new team, but at the same time the “Cardiac Crimson” of old. The team who thrilled the Bright Hockey Center faithful with three late-game comebacks early in the season. The one who beat No. 8 Cornell and tied No. 11 Michigan.

The boys are back.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

And then the noise came. Not from just one Harvard player. It came from everyone, and from everywhere, because the way the Crimson was playing, everyone was everywhere.

The Bash Brothers themselves, Ryan Lannon and Kenny Smith, were doing it. As soon as he stepped onto the ice, fifth-year senior Liam McCarthy did the same.

Kolarik, Tim Pettit and Andrew Lederman were also flying around, anxious to get the puck. They were all tapping their sticks. They all wanted the puck.

But the best part about it was that it wasn’t in a selfish way at all. Harvard was dominating again, and they each just wanted a touch to become part of it.

At long last, the Crimson was playing Harvard hockey again. It did the things it had to do in order to succeed. It dictated the tempo. It was in control.

But most importantly, the Harvard players were having fun again. The cages and ITECH shields covering their faces couldn’t keep the sellout crowd of 2,776 at Bright from seeing their wide smiles after each of the six goals.

Harvard was skating freely, checking hard and carrying the play at almost all times. And when a hockey team is executing as well as the Crimson did on Friday night, there are few things in sport that are more beautiful to watch.

As Kolarik pointed out after the game, the team was only able to do that because it was playing together.

“We played as a team tonight, bottom line,” he said. “At times, we’ve shown that we can be a team out there, but at other times we don’t play as a unit of five and that kills us. We just have to keep playing as a unit of five. That’s something special.”