Harvard vs. Merrimack, 11/30/10

Boston. No other place in the college hockey world is more important. Harvard.  No other place in the academic world is more important. What a great setting for a hockey game. And Merrimack coming in ranked 18th in the nation made it even better. 

After my late arrival to Yale, I made sure to leave extra time for Harvard. I got to Cambridge a few hours early and did some exploring. I was immediately immersed in all things Ivy. The Georgian style buildings, the numerous quads and all their gateways. The museum that is the library. Harvard has existed for over 400 years and the history is here to prove it. This place is truly special. 

After a walk past historic Harvard Stadium, I made my way to Bright Hockey Center. The rink was originally built in 1956. In 1978, the University renovated the arena to its present size. 2,850 seats and the building was enlarged. Renamed Bright Hockey Center after Alec Bright '19, the arena opened in time for the 1980 season. 

After seeing Harvard start 5 Canadians against Quinnipiac, I wondered if coach Ted Donato would use the same line up tonight. To my surprise, he started 5 Americans! Merrimack decided to make it an international affair and started 5 Canadians along with American goaltender Joe Cannata. 

Before the drop of the puck, Harvard had a nice intro on the jumbotron. It went through the history of the program, including the 1989 National Championship, up to present. It was a very compelling video and the inspirational music to go along with it made for a good atmosphere.

Merrimack opened the scoring 15 minutes into the 2nd on a nice Power Play goal by Brandon Brodhag who batted the puck in from the top of the crease. Although Harvard only had 11 shots through 2, Cannata stood on his head with many clutch saves. French-born Stephane Da Costa scored the eventual game winning goal to open the 3rd. 

For those of you who don't know Alex Killoran, he scored a b-e-a-utiful goal midway through the 3rd to put Harvard on the board. After cutting in from the blueline, he beat his man and put the puck through Cannata's legs. A great individual effort. 

After furious effort by the Crimson to tie it up, Karl Stollery put up a 185 foot pop fly into the empty net to seal it for the Warriors. 

Not the biggest crowd for this Tuesday night match up, however it was a good college hockey game to attend. If Merrimack continues its high shooting tempo and Cannata puts up some good goaltending, this team should be a one to fear. Next up Princeton/St. Lawrence this Friday from Hobey Baker Rink. 

CPF

Yale vs. Sacred Heart, 11/23/10

Whoever thinks the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is not the busiest travel day of the year is just not being realistic. After sitting in good deal of traffic, I finally arrived at The Whale or as it is also known, Ingalls Rink. 

I've been to over 65 games at the Whale, none since the renovation, and I must say Yale did a fantastic job. It was a little hard trying to view the building with an objective eye, yet it wasn't hard to marvel at what Yale had to offer. The school recently completed a $23 million renovation to the 52 year old structure. I found myself more times observing the building than the game. Renowned Finnish architect Eero Saarinen designed the rink and it has served as a model of architecture since its completion. The building looks great. 

The school has replaced the old banners that hang from the building's arched roof, each one representing each ECAC school. Also, a new banner hangs above the scoreboard denoting each of Yale's championships. A very nice touch. The snack bar and restrooms also were a nice upgrade from the previous ones.

Yale came into the game ranked 3 in the country facing a Sacred Heart team that has only 1 win this season. 10 minutes in, Yale's Chad Ziegler opened the scoring. The Bulldogs finished the period leading 3-0 and it looked as if this game's fate was sealed. 

However, Sacred Heart's Patrick Knowlton fluttered a puck past Yale's Ryan Rondeau about 5 minutes into the 2nd. The comeback would end there as Yale pumped in 2 more goals, the last one on a nifty backhand by Jimmy Martin. 

Because the rules of the game declare a 3rd period must be played, both teams traded a few scoring chances in the final frame but no goals were scored. Yale puts on a clinic 5-1. Special recognition to Pioneers goalie Steve Legatto who stopped 39 shots and had many spectacular saves. 

Yale clearly had the upper hand in this one. They dominated from the drop of the puck and came out with a nice win before the short Thanksgiving break. Next up is Harvard/Merrimack on 11/30 in Cambridge.

CPF

Quinnipiac vs. Harvard, 11/20/10

After a quick half-an-hour drive down the road from Wesleyan, I pulled into the TD Bank Sports Center for the Quinnipiac/Harvard game. The $52 million sports complex, home to both the basketball and hockey teams that represent Quinnipiac, was built in 2007 and has been the keystone of the school's expansion project.

After a short drive up the side of a mountain, I came face to face with this behemoth. "Wow," I said to myself, "This place is top notch." Worried about a potential Saturday night sellout, I walked up to the ticket window and asked if they had any seats left near center ice. Not only did they have a ticket, they had one 4 rows off the ice. I felt like Christmas had come early. 

Then I got into the arena. I had another "Wow" moment. Jumbo-tron, cops keeping an eye in every corner of the arena, press box, high-quality lighting, and seats with armrests (sorry Wesleyan). It reminded me a lot of Thompson Arena at Dartmouth.

Right before puck drop, the lights were brought down and spotlights circled the arena. A nice touch, however, a little too hollywood for me. Harvard's starting lineup was announced first. They were sporting 5 Canadians out of the 6 possible starters. Quinnipiac on the other hand tried to match the diversity with Tempe, AZ native Jeremy Langlois. Looks like Bettman's Sunbelt experiment is finally paying dividends...

The Bobcats opened the scoring with John Dunbar scoring from the slot at 10:21 of the 1st. Only 40 seconds later, Yuri Bouharevich put Q up by 2 on a nice Mark Messier-type snap shot from the right circle. 

Quinnipiac jumped out to a 4-1 lead by midway through the 2nd before Harvard put up its comeback. The Crimson scored 3 unanswered goals and the 2 teams went into the locker room at intermission tied at 4. Only 5 minutes into the 3rd period, Quinnipiac's Ben Arnt put the Bobcats up for good. 

Harvard coach Ted Donato reacts to Arnt's game winner.

A comeback would have been nice, yet Quinnipiac deserved to win this game. They simply played a better game. When the scoreboard showed 0:00 and a 5-4 Q win, I headed home a very tired hockey fan. Yale/Sacred Heart up next on 11/23.

CPF

Wesleyan vs. Hamilton, 11/20/10

When I woke up this morning, I expected to watch the Northwestern/Illinois football game at Wrigley Field. However, when I saw that Wesleyan and Hamilton were facing off a little over an hour up the road, I decided to add it to my hockey docket for the day and let TiVo take care of the football game. 

I arrived at the Spurrier-Snyder Rink about 20 minutes before game time. After walking into the rink, I looked to the front desk to ask where I could find a ticket to the game. The student volunteer replied that the game was free admission and pointed to the door behind him.

When I walked into the rink, I immediately felt like I was back in time. The rink had the old rounded roof and wood paneling on the walls. It was built in 1970, cold as an arctic night (makes for really good, fast ice), and holds 1,500 spectators. The sight lines were good, along with the seamless glass the school installed in 2004. 

I found a program, also free of charge, and scanned the rosters. Almost every player was from a New England prep school. Both teams were evenly matched up size-wise, only four players over 6 feet on both squads. A couple Canadians, but mostly Americans from New England, a few Mid-Westerners. 

Before the drop of the puck, another thing I noticed was the lack of corporate sponsorships. The boards were bare, the program was bare, and the scoreboard wasn't brought to you by anybody. This was a simple hockey game between two New England colleges.

After a competitive 1st period that included a shot off the post by Anthony Scarpino of Hamilton, the teams picked up where they left off in the 2nd. Only 1:07 into the frame, Nik Tasiopoulous opened the scoring for Wesleyan with his first career goal. Captain Todd Keats quickly retrieved the puck and returned it to its new owner. 

Midway through the period, I saw that Wesleyan students were running the game operations. They kept score, wound the clock, and worked the penalty boxes. The crowd was slow to file in, however by the end of the 2nd, I would say there were a good 800+ people in the stands. 

After trading a couple goals, the last few minutes of the game came down to Hamilton trying desperately to tie it at 3. Their effort was in vain however, falling 3-2 to the Cardinals. 

I left the game with a nice reminder of what a simple college hockey game is like. No big corporate sponsors, no TV cameras or laser lights. Just a sheet of ice, two teams, and some frostbitten toes.

CPF

Army vs. American International College, 11/19/2010

On this brisk afternoon, I decided that a hockey game at West Point would be a good way to spend a Friday night. A little over an hour away from my home in Connecticut, I got in the car and headed north.

After my car was searched for contraband, I arrived at Tate Rink on the West Point campus. It was built in 1985, holds over 2,500 spectators, and has excellent sight lines. It reminded me of Lynah Rink at Cornell, with no chairbacks and benches as seats. I managed to get a center ice seat about 5 rows up, perfect as such the glass was not in the way of my view of the nets. 

I noticed that Army was uniform in every way. They all had the same helmet, the same gloves, the same sticks, the same skates. They wore their jerseys untucked and their shinpads over their skates - each and every player. It makes me believe this is done not only because of a sponsorship deal with Bauer, but also because of a soldier's uniformity. One thing that was for sure due to these players being United States Cadets was...they all had the same haircut.

I scanned the AIC roster and noticed 9 Canadians, 2 Slovakians, and the remainder being Americans. Pretty standard for a D1 team. (Except the Slovakians) Army on the other hand was 100% pure bred Americana. If you don't live under a rock, you know the reason why...

The game started off with a fast pace. Army had the first few scoring chances with Danny Colvin banking the first goal in off an AIC player. It was all downhill from there, Army rolled out to a 4-0 lead by the end of the 2nd period.

The 3rd quickly started off with another Army goal, a nice shorthander from Bill Day. AIC had some good scoring chances, yet never managed to finish on them due to their inability to hit the premium ones. They finally did get on the board with a goal from Blake Peake at 6:05 of the 3rd frame. Army scored 36 seconds later and put the game on ice. AIC managed two more goals, but the result was all but set in stone. 

In the end, Army came away with a 9-3 victory. With my college hockey craving for the night fulfilled and knowing my tax dollars were well spent in the Black Knight victory, I headed home looking forward to the Harvard/Quinnipiac game on Saturday night.

CPF