December
9, 2004
Exam Time
Harvard gets a pre-finals test this weekend
against Colgate and Cornell
By
Joe Gladziszewski
It’s
not hard to figure out that Harvard’s got a lot on its plate
this weekend, when Colgate and Cornell visit the Bright Hockey
Center. Check the national rankings, where all three teams are
in the top-15. Examine the ECACHL standings, where the Central
New York-based schools are chasing Harvard with four games in
hand. Or look at the early-season results, when Cornell and Colgate
convincingly sent Harvard home without a point in early-November.
The importance
of the series isn’t lost on coach Ted Donato and his players
who know that a strong performance now is vital to the team’s
future aspirations.
“If
you look at the standings, these games are extremely important
because we’re going into a long period of time when we’re
not able to accumulate points in the conference. We’re playing
the No. 9 and No. 13 ranked teams in the country that we lost
to earlier in the year,” he said.
This weekend’s
games mark Harvard’s first since a fourth-place showing
at Minnesota’s Dodge Holiday Classic before Christmas, and
the last games until the final weekend of the month due to the
university’s exam break. Not including the trip to Mariucci,
Harvard is a much better team than it showed in the first go-around
against Cornell and Colgate.
“We’re
a much different team. We’re more cohesive. We have a better
sense of purpose and understanding of what we need to do to be
successful,” Donato said. “With a new coaching staff
and some new guys in the lineup we weren’t on the same page
then like we are now.”
That doesn’t
necessarily make Harvard the favorite to grab four points as Cornell
and Colgate have also improved over the last two months. But the
Crimson are feeling healthier than they were in Minnesota and
playing on a home-ice surface that suits their strengths. Harvard
is 7-0-0 at Bright this season.
“We
try to encourage that (home-ice dominance). Our ice surface is
very quick and we like to play a fast, up-tempo game. I think
the guys feel comfortable here. We want to be very good at home
and secure home ice in the playoffs,” Donato said.
SEEN
AND HEARD IN THE ECACHL
On
a Roll– Things just keep getting better for the
Union Dutchmen. By now, you probably read
the reports on coach Nate Leaman’s phone call to a recruit’s
home that woke the residents just minutes before the house caught
fire. Future Dutchman Augie DiMarzo, and his father Augie Sr.,
escaped the home with minor injuries. Augie currently plays for
Avon Old Farms.
Later that
week, in a 4-0 win at Connecticut, Dutchmen senior Jordan Webb
became the all-time leading scorer in Union’s Division I
history. His teammates saluted the achievement in the locker room
after the game to recognize the accomplishment of the popular
captain.
Looking out
for teammates has been something that Leaman has placed particular
emphasis on this year. Another noteworthy event from that UConn
win saw goaltender Kris Mayotte encourage his team to ice the
puck with 1:16 remaining so that sophomore goaltender Dan Tatar
could get some playing time. Mayotte sacrificed a likely shutout
for Tatar, who toils as the No. 3 man behind Mayotte and Justin
Mrazek in the Union nets.
This weekend
Union looks to stay near the top of the ECACHL standings with
a difficult home series against Vermont and Dartmouth. With a
continued unselfish mindset, second-half success for the Dutchmen
will likely follow.
FRIES
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG
|
Great Weekend Getaway |
 |
| Cornell/Colgate
at Brown/Harvard (Fri.-Sat.)
Choose
any of these four games in Cambridge and Providence and
you can’t go wrong. Colgate is in the process of defending
its regular-season championship and is within striking distance
of league-leading Harvard. Brown is the hottest team in
the ECACHL with the hottest goaltender in Adam D’Alba.
Cornell sits just four points out of first despite having
played four fewer games than Harvard. Add the Cornell-Harvard
rivalry into the mix and it’ll be a special weekend.
While
You're in Boston: Find a local place of worship and join
hundreds of the Red Sox Nation in lighting a candle and
saying a prayer for baseball hero David Ortiz, who had minor
shoulder surgery this week.
|
Stick
Salute |
| Clarkson’s
Shawn Weller was the lone ECACHL representative
on the United States World Junior Championship team and
represented himself and the Golden Knights very nicely in
a checking role for the American team.
|
| Bench
Minor |
| By
now you’ve heard plenty of chatter about Boston University’s
fabulous Agganis Arena, which is the latest in a nationwide
trend of college hockey facility constructions and renovations.
When private and public investors put that much money into
buildings, they want home dates, and ECACHL teams traveled
all over the country to take part in assorted holiday
tournaments. The only ECACHL teams to host an on-campus
holiday tournament are RPI, which has had to change the
date and attracts a weaker field each year, and Dartmouth/Vermont's
every-other-year event. |
• Don’t
look now, but all of a sudden Dartmouth is coming
to life. The pre-season choice by the media to win the ECACHL
fought injuries throughout the first half of the season. The Big
Green won the Ledyard Bank Classic on home ice and star player
Lee Stempniak is starting to put up the point numbers that were
expected.
• Another
player that’s come on in recent games is Rensselaer
freshman goaltender Jordan Alford. He stopped 62 of the 65 shots
he faced in a split at Notre Dame. Coach Dan Fridgen has alternated
goalies Alford and Andrew Martin and it looks like the highly
touted freshman may be staking his claim to the number-one spot.
• It’s
hard to believe that it would take Colgate’s
Steve Silverthorn, selected to the pre-season All-ECACHL team
by league coaches, until the turn of the New Year to record his
first shutout. He stopped all 13 shots he faced in Colgate’s
3-0 win over Air Force on Jan. 2.
• Saturday’s
Harvard-Cornell game will be broadcast live on
Sirius Satellite Radio channel 133.
• When
Harvard traveled to the Dodge Holiday Classic
at Minnesota's Mariucci Arena, the Crimson played on an Olympic-sized
ice sheet, which is rare for the Ivy League and ECACHL school.
Harvard senior Andrew Lederman hit the post twice during the semifinal
game against Northern Michigan and remarked. “They didn't
tell us the posts were bigger out here too.”
• Princeton
snapped a six-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over American
International on Tuesday. The Tigers are 3-2-1 on home ice this
season and play five straight games at Baker Rink starting with
this weekend’s series.
• Vermont’s
fund-raising efforts continued with a “Skate with the Cats”
event on New Year’s Eve at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Hundreds
of local fans joined the team and the event raised $850 for the
Colchester/Milton Rotary Club’s Holiday Basket Project.
• St.
Lawrence has played just two games in the last month,
a non-conference sweep of Lake Superior State in Appleton on Dec.
18 and 19. The Saints return to the ice at Yale
and Princeton this weekend.
A variety
of sources were utilized in the compilation of this report.
