CHEN MUSIC: Harvard Needs Passion Injection

There’s a saying I like: those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

Yes, it’s true that we all make mistakes. And in a perfect world, we promise ourselves that we will never repeat them. But let’s face it: both history and reality have proven that the same mistakes will be committed over and over again.

The Harvard men’s hockey team’s current season exemplifies this statement. Last year, the Crimson began its 2007-08 campaign with a strong start, much like this season. Last year, Harvard suffered through a long winless streak through the winter, much like this season. Last year, it was 10 games. This year, it’s six and counting.

Never again—such was the attitude of the team upon reflection of last year’s season.

But this year is already shaping up to look a lot like last year. After a 4-2-0 start to the season, the Crimson has now come away from six straight contests without a victory.

“Last year, right around this time, we went on a 10-game skid where we didn’t have any W’s but I don’t think anybody’s thinking about that this year,” co-captain Brian McCafferty said after Saturday night’s loss to the University of North Dakota. “Our focus is on getting better every day we step on the ice and hopefully this skid we’re on doesn’t continue.”

To be fair, the team’s attitude is a winning one—no one can deny the power of being optimistic in bleak situations. However, the idea that last year’s streak isn’t on anyone’s mind is somewhat more troubling.

Maybe it’s because the team made a fairy tale-like turnaround last year to make the title game of the ECAC Championship tournament that a certain passion to win each and every game is missing. Perhaps the belief that the team can rely on (and will pull out) a miraculous late-season turnaround is the explanation for the lack of desire needed for winning games now.

The Crimson has yet to win on the road this season, perhaps a symptom of a lack of toughness on the team. And though Harvard had previously been unbeaten at home, the Crimson was handed its biggest defeat last Friday night at the Bright Hockey Center when it was crushed, 10-1, by visiting North Dakota, followed by a 4-3 setback the following night.

Harvard wasn’t lacking offensive firepower in Saturday night’s gamed—it outshot the Sioux 36 to 26—nor was the team spending too much time in the penalty box (North Dakota committed nine penalties to the Crimson’s four). From what I could see, Harvard was simply unable to hold on to the win.

Though the two teams traded leads through the game, the Crimson only led for about a total of 10 minutes. Each time Harvard scored to take the lead, the Fighting Sioux responded with goals of its own to swing the momentum of the game back its way. Case in point: although the Crimson scored eight seconds into the third period, North Dakota struck just five minutes later to come back to win the match by scoring twice within 90 seconds.

What the Fighting Sioux had that night is exactly what Harvard lacks—the fire a team needs to win games before it’s too late. The teams that win are not always the biggest, strongest, or the most talented but they are often the teams that simply want to win more than the next team.

To the Harvard men’s hockey team: there’s no denying that you’re a talented and hard-working group. But remember last winter’s losses, and as a result, get angry. Listen to the complaints of doubters, and get angry. Read this column, and get angry. Let last season be on your minds. Try to prove the doubters wrong, and refuse to let history repeat itself. Remember this when you take on Lake Superior State in two weeks. Let the passion back into your game.

—Staff writer Lucy D. Chen can be reached at lucychen@fas.harvard.edu.