M. Hockey Finds Missing Offense in Exhibition Against U.S. U-18

After fighting to 2-2 stalemates in an exhibition against the University of Windsor and Friday’s season opener with Brown, Harvard had seen enough missed passes and off-the-post shots to frustrate even the most patient skaters. And so, as the Crimson (0-0-1, 0-0-1 ECAC) took the ice in Saturday night’s exhibition against the U.S. National Under-18 team, all hopes rested on an offensive breakthrough.

In the first minutes of Saturday’s game in the Bright Hockey Center, the prospect of another tie was not altogether unreasonable.

The U.S. Under-18 team struck first, just 5:02 into the game, when Peter Mueller—a sixteen year-old listed at 6’2 and 200 pounds—beat Crimson goaltender Justin Tobe from just outside the crease.

The early play proved physical, offering no shortage of booming checks and peripheral skirmishes, and the U.S. Under-18 showed no signs of backing down from the older, more experienced Harvard skaters.

Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91 described the contest as “a tough game to try to get a good focus, because it is an exhibition game, and you’re supposed to win.

“We kind of let them [dictate] play to us,” he said. “I’d say more physically than anything else.”

Harvard took a 2-1 advantage 1:53 into the second frame with a tally by freshman Jon Pelle, but the U.S. Under-18 team knotted the score less than two minutes later.

And then the Crimson bore down.

“As soon as we started putting some bodies on some people, we saw how it helped us,” explained Pelle. “We were able to generate a lot offensively from just throwing the body down low and putting a lot of pressure on them.”

Indeed, Harvard scored the next three goals, and with just 2:30 remaining in the final period, the team held a comfortable 6-3 advantage. A late tally brought the U.S. Under-18 team to within two and gave Mueller his third point on the night. But with just 22 seconds remaining on the night, freshman Dave Watters capped the 7-4 win with an empty-netter from near the left point.

“Anytime you put up that many goals it’s nice,” Watters said. “It gives you confidence.”

FAMILIAR FOE

The red and blue jerseys the Under-18 squad sported on Saturday were in no way foreign to many of the Crimson skaters. Assistant captain Ryan Lannon and classmate Rob Flynn honed their skills under the guidance of the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., as did sophomores Steve Mandes and Ryan Maki and recent graduates Kenny Smith ’04 and Dennis Packard ’04.

“I’ve seen a couple of the staff members,” admitted Lannon—who spent a year with the program—with a grin. “One of the academic liaisons—we were reminiscing about my academics.

“It’s a very exciting game,” he added. “They’re playing physical, and if they can help us get more prepared for going into Cornell next weekend, which is going to be a dogfight, then you can’t ask for too much more than that.”

FRESH LEGS

Last year, Brendan Bernakevitch centered the most potent line of the season’s second half, skating between sizeable wingers Packard and current sophomore Ryan Maki.

On Saturday, Bernakevitch found himself centering a slightly less balanced line—the 6’1 senior now had 5’8 Pelle on his right and the 6’4 Watters on his left. Their results, though, weren’t any less impressive.

Watters, who according to Donato “gives [the team] a dimension of size and strength that looks good in our lineup,” accumulated a pair of goals and a pair of assists on the night.

Meanwhile, Pelle, whom the coach called “a smart, little guy,” notched a goal and an assist.

“It’s fun to watch him play,” Donato said of the speedy freshman. “He seems to find the right spots and somehow defy the odds...He’s a talented young kid.”

POWER SURGE

After going 0-for-7 and 1-for-7 on power plays against Windsor and Brown, respectively, Harvard finally thrived with the man advantage against the Under-18 team, striking three times in seven chances.

With the slew of penalties springing from the NCAA’s officiating crackdown, this is surely a good sign for the Crimson.

And, said Donato, “the better our special teams become, the more that will open up the ice 5-on-5 for us.”

Harvard’s three power play strikes—one in each period—were team efforts, earning six different skaters a point. None of the three was particularly flashy.

But, said Donato, the less showy strikes are “the type of goals we need to get us going. Hopefully, if we can score some more ugly ones, than the pretty ones will follow.”

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Seesel can be reached at seesel@fas.harvard.edu.