One of Dooley's main concerns is the team'ssize. With only 19 players on his roster, Dooleycan barely put three different lines on the ice.
"Coach has really emphasized fitness andconditioning this year," says Alissi. "We aregoing to have to exhibit a lot of teamdetermination if we are going to finish gamesoff."
Dooley does believe that his team possesses thekind of winning spirit that is neccesary to copewith the potential fitness problem. "The mostimportant thing about this team is it's attitude.Combine that with our rapidly-developingchemistry, and we have the kind of team that mightsurprise some people this year."
The top teams in the ECAC that Harvard looks tosurprise are Providence, New Hampshire andNortheastern, teams that went a combined 4-0against the Crimson last year, outscoring them bya combined 20-6 margin. And the team opens itsregular season at Providence on November 22, agame that should answer a lot of the questionsraised about the team's potential.
Pre-Season Trip
Unlike in past years, the Crimson has arigorous pre-conference schedule, travelling forthe first time ever to Canada over Thanksgivingbreak. There, Harvard will pay powerhouses McGilland St. Laurent.
Harvard certainly needs this trip to begindeveloping its freshmen. Right now, the team isstill feeling itself out, but hopes are high.
Villiotte characterizes it as "a darkhorse teamthat may surprise a few people." Dooley believesthat winning the Ivy League is a manageable goal.
But so much will depend on how well thefreshmen develop, and the potential success of theteam rests largely upon their shoulders.Final scoring Statistics, 1991-92
Overall ECAC Ivy League
Name GP G A Pts G A Pts G A PtsSandra Whyte 18 21 18 39 19 13 32 12 9 21Jenn Minkus 20 8 14 22 7 12 19 4 4 8Joanne Alissi 20 11 8 19 7 6 13 4 6 10Beverly Stickles 20 3 11 14 3 9 12 2 7 9Ginny Simonds 20 7 5 12 6 4 10 2 3 5Kim Landry 20 3 9 12 2 8 10 0 5 5L. Messmore 20 5 4 9 4 4 8 3 2 5Winkie Mleczko 20 1 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3Courtney Hurley 20 1 3 4 1 3 4 0 1 1Sara Simmons 20 3 0 3 3 0 3 2 0 2Francie Walton 20 1 2 6 1 2 3 1 1 2Laurie White 20 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 1 1Diana Clark 18 0 3 3 0 2 2 0 0 0Emily Buxton 19 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0Allson Lozner 20 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0Beth Messmore 20 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0Kelly Flynn 20 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0Sharon Johnston 18 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0Erin Viollettes 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Lexie Shear 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Name GP GS MP GA Svs GAA Sv% W L T ShoErin Viollette 17 17 903 53 491 3.52 .903 8 10 0 6ECAC 15 15 801 47 443 3.52 .904 7 9 0 5Ivy 9 9 499 27 191 3.25 .876 5 5 0 4Lexi Shear 6 2 178 6 43 2.02 .878 2 0 0 0ECAC 3 1 115 2 28 1.04 .933 1 0 0 0Ivy 1 0 45 0 3 0.00 1.000 0 0 0 0