Rivalry Renewed as Big Red Comes to Town

Love may be in the air for Valentine’s Day this weekend, but there certainly will not be warm feelings in the Bright Hockey Center. Tonight, the Harvard men’s ice hockey team will look to avoid a slip-up against Colgate (8-15-5, 3-10-3 ECAC). Tomorrow the Crimson (5-14-4, 5-7-4) will play one of its most anticipated games of the season as it faces off against bitter and historic rival Cornell (15-4-4, 10-3-3) in what is sure to be an intense and physical battle.

In November, the Big Red escaped with a narrow 2-1 win over Harvard in Ithaca, N.Y. Tomorrow Harvard will look to avenge this loss on its home ice.

A lot has changed since the previous matchup of the two. No. 6 Cornell climbed the national rankings and became one of the country’s elite teams, while Harvard hit a bit of a rough patch.

Since the Cornell game, Harvard compiled a record of 1-11-3. The Beanpot, however, showed signs of resurgence and the Crimson’s ability to rise in rivalry games. In two thrilling contests, Harvard barely fell to No. 1 Boston University and No. 15 Boston College.

Despite Harvard’s record, juniors Alex Biega and Doug Rogers has led their team with a positive attitude.

“The team has to focus on the rest of the season and move on,” Biega said. “The league is so tight. Every win matters and every period matters.”

“We have a positive mindset and were able to regroup after Monday’s loss to [Boston College],” Rogers said. “[We] are pretty confident going into the game.”

A win against Cornell may give the Crimson the extra motivation and confidence they need for a successful end to its season. Last year, after losing to Boston College in the Beanpot, Harvard went on a seven-game unbeaten streak. The Crimson looks for a similar boost against the Big Red this season.

However, Cornell will be a formidable challenge to the Crimson. Not only does the defensive Cornell team have an impressive record, but also a highly skilled goaltender in Ben Scrivens who is ranked first nationally in save percentage and shutouts. He is also second in the country with a 1.42 goals against average. With good reason, Cornell relies heavily on Scrivens’ ability to protect the net, and the team has gone 8-2 in games decided by two goals or less.

The Crimson’s solution to Scrivens is simple.

“[We plan to] play our game and get a lot of traffic in front of him,” Rogers said.

Home-ice advantage should work in favor of Harvard and boost the Crimson’s confidence. The atmosphere surrounding the game is tremendous and intense, and tickets sold out early this week.

Harvard’s big game against Cornell is definitely the anticipated contest of the weekend, but the Crimson must make sure they do not overlook tonight’s game against Colgate. Even though Cornell may be the game the fans are preparing for, the Crimson has prepared sufficiently to tackle Colgate, the first obstacle this weekend.

“Our immediate focus is on Friday’s night game to make a step in the right direction,” Rogers said.

The Raiders have not experienced an ideal season, but the Crimson is not taking them for granted.

“Any team can come out and beat a team on a given night,” Biega said.

To prepare for the quickness and speed of transition the Raiders possess, Harvard has put a real focus on the power play during practices.

“Special teams are a make-or-break part of the game,” Biega said.

While the rivalry between Harvard and Colgate is not at the same level as the one with Cornell, the game is still enormously important. It sets the tone for the rest of the weekend as well as the rest of the season.

The Crimson, taking each game at a time, has a focused goal for the remainder of the season: “to be the best team we can be and roll into league playoffs playing the best hockey we can,” Rogers said.