Athlete of the Week: Dominic Moore '03

Two loops, one for each overtime.

That’s how Harvard junior center Dominic Moore described his game-winning goal in a 2-1, double-overtime victory over Brown to end the longest hockey game in Harvard history.

Moore’s tally— four hours after Game 2 began at 14:41 of the second extra session—completed the Crimson’s first-round sweep and propelled Harvard to the ECAC Championships at Lake Placid, N.Y. for the second year in a row.

This game, though, seemed like it would never end. The Crimson was wearing the Bears down, and freshman goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris denied them on the few “Grade-A” chances they had. But on the other end of the ice, Brown sophomore Yann Danis was making history, turning away 66 Harvard shots, an all-time record for a Crimson opponent.

Harvard had dominated the game from the second period on—especially the third frame and first overtime, during which the Crimson held a 35-7 advantage in shots on goal—but it simply wasn’t able to solve Danis, save for junior Brett Nowak’s game-tying goal early in the third.

That was until Moore—The Crimson’s Athlete of the Week—decided he had seen enough.

Harvard’s biggest goal of the year didn’t come easily. It took Moore three shots and two trips around the Brown goal to do it.

The sequence began when Moore brought the puck into the slot and wristed it toward the net. Danis surprised no one at Bright Hockey Center by turning it aside. But he wasn’t able to cover the puck up, and it trickled away to his left.

Moore chased after the rebound and followed his momentum around the back of the goal before coming back in front and trying to put a backhander by Danis. Again, Danis came up with the save but couldn’t control the puck.

But then time stood still, as well as the eleven other players on the ice. It was almost as if they all knew what was going to happen. Moore hustled after the rebound a second time, and again carried it counterclockwise around the cage. He popped back out in front, released, and this time found the back of the net.

Second loop, second goal of the game, second trip in a row to Placid.

But on this night, Moore was second to none.

It was almost as if Moore’s willpower, as much as his stick, was behind his goal. Frustrated at times this year by defenses designed to stop him, Moore remained confident throughout Harvard’s 2-8-1 stretch to conclude the regular season. While his numbers might not put him at the top of the ECAC’s offensive statistics, any coach around the league will tell you that Moore is one of a select few players in the league who can change the complexion of a game by himself.

After all, he certainly did that Saturday.