Men's Hockey Upsets No. 6 B.C.

Last season, after splitting a weekend against RPI and Union, few gave the Harvard men's hockey team a chance at defeating then-No. 8 Boston College in the first round of the Beanpot. But the Crimson, of course, won 5-4 in OT.

This year, after splitting a weekend against RPI and Union, few gave the Crimson a chance against now-No. 6 B.C. in a non-conference home game. The notion was downright comical a month ago when Harvard languished in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference basement.

Funny thing about history; it tends to repeat itself.

A feisty and aggressive Harvard (8-9-1, 3-9-1 ECAC) once again executed a stunning upset of Boston College (12-7-2, 7-4 Hockey East). In a potential preview of the Beanpot final round, the Crimson silenced the Eagles' big guns on its way to a 3-1 victory Wednesday night at Bright Hockey Center.

"It was a great feeling out there tonight," said junior forward Trevor Allman, "We worked hard throughout the game and never stopped skating, a big win."

Harvard took control of the game late in the second period in an end-to-end sequence that resulted in a breakaway goal by captain Craig Adams.

As the final seconds ticked down on Adams's charging penalty, the Eagles led a furious rush down the ice, pinning Harvard in its own zone. Junior goaltender J.R. Prestifilippo robbed sophomore forward Mike Lephart's rebound attempt and instead of blindly icing the puck, senior defenseman Ben Storey chipped it to senior forward Rob Millar.

Millar fed Adams, who had just exited the penalty box, with a diagonal pass through the neutral zone. The captain raced in alone and pinpointed the shot in the top right corner past goaltender Scott Clemmensen with just 23 seconds left in the frame.

"I just got my arm on the rebound and knocked it away," Prestifilippo said. "Then they guys turned it up ice and gotthe goal. It was the turning point of the game."

Up to that point, the Eagles had dominated thesecond period, out-shooting Harvard 14-6. TheCrimson spent most of the period desperatelytrying to clear the zone and several pucks sat inthe goal crease, including one stuck in juniordefenseman Matt Scorsune's skates, that werebatted away in the nick of time.

BOSTON COLLEGE  1HARVARD  3

Prestifilippo kept the Eagles off thescoreboard, making a diving stop on Eaglesfreshman forward Ales Dolinar with 8:02 remaining.The goaltender made 28 saves for the night.

"Presto played very well tonight," HarvardCoach Ronn Tomassoni said. "He kept us in the gamein the second while we watched a bit on defense."

B.C. began to lose momentum at 19:02 of theperiod when Eagle junior forward BlakeBellefeuille drilled sophomore forward Steve Mooreinto the boards from behind to earn him afive-minute major and a game misconduct.

Adams returned the breakaway favor to Millar at7:35 of the final period with a well-timed passthrough the neutral zone. Millar darted past hisdefender and flipped the puck over a lungingClemmensen to give Harvard a little cushion.

Since Tomassoni united Millar and Adams withfreshman Jeff Stonehouse on the Nebraska trip,Millar has been one of Harvard's hottest offensiveplayers, moving past Steve Moore for the team leadin points with six goals and 13 assists.

"It's been a matter of biding your time,"Millar said. "I was a little snakebitten before,but I've worked hard and it's coming together."

Harvard tightened the screws defensively in thethird period, allowing only six B.C. shots, noneof them particularly dangerous.

The Crimson opened the scoring of the game at2:13 when junior forward Trevor Allman deflectedfreshman defenseman Leif Ericson's shot from theright point that just trickled past Clemmensen.

In addition to scoring the goal, All-man playedan excellent defensive game, grinding along theboards and killing the three B.C. second-periodpower plays.

Lephart scored the Eagles' lone goal of thegame at 4:38 on the power play on a pass fromBellefeuille.

Harvard played a passionate, aggressive,physical game throughout and once again shockedone of the finest teams in college hockey. The winvalidates the Crimson's recent hot streak andshould boost its confidence for the second half ofthe season. Harvard now takes a two-week break forexams.

"Tonight was a huge win," Tomassoni said. "Weproved that we can not just play with one of thebest team's in hockey, but beat them. It's too badwe have to stop playing."

When the Crimson start playing again, it willhave a quick tune-up against New Brunswick in anexhibition game and then it's Beanpot time. There,these two teams could meet again in thechampionship game.

Nobody would discount Harvard's chances ofwinning now.

Notes

With 30 seconds left in the game, a fightnearly broke out involving Adams and Steve Moore.B.C. defenseman Bobby Allen kept shoving Mooreafter the whistle in an attempt to provoke him,but Moore wisely kept his temper and only shoved alittle back. All players involved received minorpenalties.

Harvard received its best home fan support ofthe season Wednesday night, drawing 2,327. Thebuilding erupted after Adams's goal. As of late,cheers for the visiting team had greatly drownedout the Harvard faithful.

Ericson notched his first career point with hisassist on Harvard's first goal. Storey played inhis 100th career game.

HARVARD, 3-1at Bright Hockey CenterB.C.  1  0  0  --  1Harvard  1  1  1  --  3

First PeriodHar--Allman (Ericson, Turco) 2:13.B.C.--Lephart (Bellefeuille) 4:38. (PPG)

Second PeriodHar--Adams (Storey, Millar) 19:37. (PPG)

Third periodHar--Millar (Adams) 7:35.Saves: B.C.--Clemmensen 10-5-7 22;Har--Prestifilippo 8-14-6 28.Power Play: B.C.--1/4; Har--1/7.Attendance: 2,327

CrimsonSeth H. PerlmanWHO'S THE MAN? Junior forward TREVORALLMAN, who scored the Crimson's first goalagainst B.C., controls the puck in earlieraction.

Up to that point, the Eagles had dominated thesecond period, out-shooting Harvard 14-6. TheCrimson spent most of the period desperatelytrying to clear the zone and several pucks sat inthe goal crease, including one stuck in juniordefenseman Matt Scorsune's skates, that werebatted away in the nick of time.

BOSTON COLLEGE  1HARVARD  3

Prestifilippo kept the Eagles off thescoreboard, making a diving stop on Eaglesfreshman forward Ales Dolinar with 8:02 remaining.The goaltender made 28 saves for the night.

"Presto played very well tonight," HarvardCoach Ronn Tomassoni said. "He kept us in the gamein the second while we watched a bit on defense."

B.C. began to lose momentum at 19:02 of theperiod when Eagle junior forward BlakeBellefeuille drilled sophomore forward Steve Mooreinto the boards from behind to earn him afive-minute major and a game misconduct.

Adams returned the breakaway favor to Millar at7:35 of the final period with a well-timed passthrough the neutral zone. Millar darted past hisdefender and flipped the puck over a lungingClemmensen to give Harvard a little cushion.

Since Tomassoni united Millar and Adams withfreshman Jeff Stonehouse on the Nebraska trip,Millar has been one of Harvard's hottest offensiveplayers, moving past Steve Moore for the team leadin points with six goals and 13 assists.

"It's been a matter of biding your time,"Millar said. "I was a little snakebitten before,but I've worked hard and it's coming together."

Harvard tightened the screws defensively in thethird period, allowing only six B.C. shots, noneof them particularly dangerous.

The Crimson opened the scoring of the game at2:13 when junior forward Trevor Allman deflectedfreshman defenseman Leif Ericson's shot from theright point that just trickled past Clemmensen.

In addition to scoring the goal, All-man playedan excellent defensive game, grinding along theboards and killing the three B.C. second-periodpower plays.

Lephart scored the Eagles' lone goal of thegame at 4:38 on the power play on a pass fromBellefeuille.

Harvard played a passionate, aggressive,physical game throughout and once again shockedone of the finest teams in college hockey. The winvalidates the Crimson's recent hot streak andshould boost its confidence for the second half ofthe season. Harvard now takes a two-week break forexams.

"Tonight was a huge win," Tomassoni said. "Weproved that we can not just play with one of thebest team's in hockey, but beat them. It's too badwe have to stop playing."

When the Crimson start playing again, it willhave a quick tune-up against New Brunswick in anexhibition game and then it's Beanpot time. There,these two teams could meet again in thechampionship game.

Nobody would discount Harvard's chances ofwinning now.

Notes

With 30 seconds left in the game, a fightnearly broke out involving Adams and Steve Moore.B.C. defenseman Bobby Allen kept shoving Mooreafter the whistle in an attempt to provoke him,but Moore wisely kept his temper and only shoved alittle back. All players involved received minorpenalties.

Harvard received its best home fan support ofthe season Wednesday night, drawing 2,327. Thebuilding erupted after Adams's goal. As of late,cheers for the visiting team had greatly drownedout the Harvard faithful.

Ericson notched his first career point with hisassist on Harvard's first goal. Storey played inhis 100th career game.

HARVARD, 3-1at Bright Hockey CenterB.C.  1  0  0  --  1Harvard  1  1  1  --  3

First PeriodHar--Allman (Ericson, Turco) 2:13.B.C.--Lephart (Bellefeuille) 4:38. (PPG)

Second PeriodHar--Adams (Storey, Millar) 19:37. (PPG)

Third periodHar--Millar (Adams) 7:35.Saves: B.C.--Clemmensen 10-5-7 22;Har--Prestifilippo 8-14-6 28.Power Play: B.C.--1/4; Har--1/7.Attendance: 2,327

CrimsonSeth H. PerlmanWHO'S THE MAN? Junior forward TREVORALLMAN, who scored the Crimson's first goalagainst B.C., controls the puck in earlieraction.

First PeriodHar--Allman (Ericson, Turco) 2:13.B.C.--Lephart (Bellefeuille) 4:38. (PPG)

Second PeriodHar--Adams (Storey, Millar) 19:37. (PPG)

Third periodHar--Millar (Adams) 7:35.Saves: B.C.--Clemmensen 10-5-7 22;Har--Prestifilippo 8-14-6 28.Power Play: B.C.--1/4; Har--1/7.Attendance: 2,327

CrimsonSeth H. PerlmanWHO'S THE MAN? Junior forward TREVORALLMAN, who scored the Crimson's first goalagainst B.C., controls the puck in earlieraction.

Second PeriodHar--Adams (Storey, Millar) 19:37. (PPG)

Third periodHar--Millar (Adams) 7:35.Saves: B.C.--Clemmensen 10-5-7 22;Har--Prestifilippo 8-14-6 28.Power Play: B.C.--1/4; Har--1/7.Attendance: 2,327

CrimsonSeth H. PerlmanWHO'S THE MAN? Junior forward TREVORALLMAN, who scored the Crimson's first goalagainst B.C., controls the puck in earlieraction.

Third periodHar--Millar (Adams) 7:35.Saves: B.C.--Clemmensen 10-5-7 22;Har--Prestifilippo 8-14-6 28.Power Play: B.C.--1/4; Har--1/7.Attendance: 2,327

CrimsonSeth H. PerlmanWHO'S THE MAN? Junior forward TREVORALLMAN, who scored the Crimson's first goalagainst B.C., controls the puck in earlieraction.

CrimsonSeth H. PerlmanWHO'S THE MAN? Junior forward TREVORALLMAN, who scored the Crimson's first goalagainst B.C., controls the puck in earlieraction.