“We don’t try and draw on it too much,” Smith said of the miraculous run during his sophomore season. “This is a different team. We have our own experiences. But for the guys who weren’t here, I do like to reference it a little bit so they know [that it’s possible].”
Similarly, Mazzoleni refuses to place too much emphasis on Harvard’s quarterfinal series with Vermont last season.
The Crimson took the first game, 4-1, on Dennis Packard’s first collegiate hat trick, then earned a ticket to Albany with a 5-1 win in Game 2. Harvard’s power play—5-13 over the two games—was the difference.
To Mazzoleni, though, that history means very little.
“These are two totally different teams,” he said. “It’s just going to come down to which team has more opportunities to play its style of game.”
Catamounts coach Kevin Sneddon ’92 agreed.
“Both teams are considerably different,” he said. “Every year is a new year. There won’t be a lot of emphasis placed on what happened last year, more on what happened last week.”
Although Vermont left Bright triumphant last weekend, the team suffered a 6-0 loss to Brown in its next outing. Sneddon called it an “emotional and physical letdown.”
Still, the Catamounts have won five of their last six—a startling turnaround after an 0-11-2 start—and the Crimson knows it can’t take careless penalties. UVM is 6-13 on the power play against Harvard this season.
“We need to do a better job of controlling our emotions and staying out of the box, and we need to make better decisions with the puck,” Mazzoleni said. “We played right into [Vermont’s] trap and fueled their transition game.”
“I don’t think it’s going to get too chippy,” Smith said, “because neither team can afford [to get] penalties. But I think you’ll see a lot of heavy hitting. Any time a guy’s along the wall, he’s going to get popped.”
Two Crimson losses this weekend will mark the end of nine senior skaters’ careers. But this is not the time to be sentimental.
“When we get to the banquet, we’ll talk about how meaningful it was and how great the relationships were,” said senior winger Rob Fried. “But right now, we’ve just got to focus.”
When asked about ending his final season on his terms, Smith agreed with Fried.
“We just want to win,” he said.
BRIEFLY
The All-Ivy selections for men’s hockey were announced this week. The Crimson did not have a player named to the first team, but junior defenseman Noah Welch was a second team All-Ivy choice. Cavanagh and Pettit received honorable mention.