M. Hockey Notebook: Last Year's "D" Means 2002 Loss

BOSTON— One had to wonder if the Harvard men’s hockey team brought last year’s defense to the Fleet Center last night.

Harvard has looked like an improved defensive team for much of the season. Last year, however, a thin Crimson defensive corps would routinely allow more than 30 shots a game.

Harvard held BC to a respectable 26 shots on goal, but suffered several defensive breakdowns—three of which resulted in BC goals.

“We talked all week about how good of a team they were in transition, and all three goals were transition goals,” Harvard captain Peter Capouch said.

Sophomore goaltender Will Crothers played well when he had defensive help. But any goaltender would have tremendous difficulty stopping two of the nation’s best offensive players one-on-one.

Yet that’s how BC scored its first two goals—transition opportunities by its two best players, Ben Eaves and forward Tony Voce.

The Eagles’ third goal came when Harvard neglected to cover forward Anthony D’Arpino less than ten feet from the net. The junior would have been hard-pressed to have an easier scenario for his first-ever goal.

“[Those chances] were exactly what we couldn’t afford to give up and we did,” Capouch said.

Eaves-Rising

The recent return of 5’8 forward Eaves from a rib injury has re-energized what had been a struggling BC squad.

After playing a significant role as a freshman on last year’s national championship team, Eaves was prepared to dominate this year, but injuries got in the way.

The diminutive forward has missed 15 games this season, including last November’s 1-0 win over Harvard. Eaves was out ten straight games before BC’s win over Maine last Friday—a stretch during which the Eagles were just 3-7.

“Those five weeks were my toughest at school,” Eaves said.

Yet when healthy, Eaves is as dangerous as any player in the country, totaling 29 points in only 15 games.

“We know what a dynamic player he is and what a tremendous impact he has on their team,” Harvard Coach Mazzoleni said.

It didn’t take long for Harvard to realize Eaves’ impact on the ice. The speedy forward took advantage of a mistake by an over-aggressive Capouch to breeze in unimpeded towards the Harvard net. Crothers could do little as Eaves scored at point-blank range.

The Crimson held Eaves in check the rest of the game, allowing him only one more shot on goal, but the damage had been done.

“He’s one of the few players that can really make a difference at this level,” BC coach Jerry York said.

Moore of the Same?

Mazzoleni benched junior forward Dom Moore in last Friday’s game against Vermont for failure to play within the team’s system. Mazzoleni said Moore unintentionally tried to create too much by himself.

The tactic worked well in December, when Moore returned from a demotion off the specialty-teams units with a string of strong performances.

This time, however, it is unclear how much the star forward’s play has changed.

Mazzoleni seemed satisfied with the play of Moore, noting that he had the most scoring chances of any Crimson skater.

“I thought he was our best player offensively,” Mazzoleni said.

Yet Moore typically creates the most scoring chances of any Crimson player. What is more important is whether he does so while cooperating with his linemates.

On more than one occasion Moore’s offensive output consisted of his skating alone in the zone and firing a shot or turning the puck over instead of passing it. Moore also took two unnecessary penalties in the game.

As the season enters its stretch run, Harvard’s best offensive player still has not found his niche in Harvard’s offense.

“We’re trying to get the right pieces to play with him, and we haven’t done it yet,” Mazzoleni said.

Harvard has six regular season games left to figure it out.