Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Jeez, I thought I was paying Harvard women's hockey a compliment by comparing them to Notre Dame. I'll use University of Texas-El Paso as my comparison school next time. Regardless, the point is still valid - you don't roll out unrecruited kids who haven't played serious competitive hockey in a year or more into D1 women's ice hockey unless you simply can't field a team otherwise. BTW - 1989 is a LONG way from 2014 in men's or women's hockey. Ask the 20 year old freshmen that regularly populate men's teams that largely didn't exist in 1989.

I looked in the ACHA league list and couldn't find a Harvard women's club team. I did just find their deeply buried webpage finally at Harvard recreation. They don't play in the ACHA and played 6 games this season. Not exactly fertile ground for rostering D1 qualified players. The three players listed (page claims 20 on the roster but no list was visible) were all MA Public HS players, not prep school, and I have seen them play (by all accounts all nice kids). Again, unlikely to be able to give the team some minutes unless you're looking to give up goals in those minutes.....

I don't disagree with your point except to say that if you have a short roster and start getting hit with injuries, you may not have a choice. And Harvard had to do it a few years ago when their goaltending situation got precarious after the injury to Christine Kessler. So it is not without precedent. Obviously, I'm not in favor of throwing kids out there without some form of preparation (practice although it isn't ideal, it's the next best thing) but you can't go through a season with a 14 person roster and expect to make it through March. Not going to happen. As you point out, the level of play is much more intense and that is the very reason why you need depth. Without it, you risk more injuries with players who are tired and playing heavy minutes. Can't avoid it.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Feels like a parent talking. Just saying. Players in female hockey don't have the same level of contact. Goalies have lots of rest. 2 games a week is nothing compared to Junior guys (4 games a week) and can be the same goalie for all (regardless of school). I have taken lots of female teams to tournaments with 10 skaters (lost some to injury) and still can have lots of success. Tired, too much, can't do it is all a frame of mind. I've coached a girl in which I had 3 D and kept her on the ice the whole game, she never complained (and now talks plenty about it - positively), she had 1 penalty (so 2 minutes of rest), but really, when it comes down to it, it's about who has the internal horses to get it done!!! As a coach, I've taken only 1 goalie into tournaments before and we ended up playing 7 full games in 3 days and won those tourney's. She never complained and in fact her parents and her both wanted the situation to play all. Kesler, Howe, Raty all have played entire seasons. What is this person talking about????

I would say that you are the exception, not the rule. 10 or 15 years ago, you could get away with short rosters at the D-1 level and enjoy success but the competition is so much more intense and the game is more physical. You obviously have not watched a great deal of Crimson hockey because you would see how the heavy minutes affects them down the stretch. It happens time and again so it isn't just a question of mental fortitude. These girls are as tough as they come mentally but if their bodies don't cooperate, it won't matter much at the end of the day.

I do think Crowell is angling for a D-1 job somewhere and a successful season will help get her noticed. But success at Harvard means going deep into March which we haven't done for several years so it remains to be seen if Crowell can get it done this season.

 

[ARM]

But success at Harvard means going deep into March which we haven't done for several years so it remains to be seen if Crowell can get it done this season.

I don't know that I'd hold Crowell to the same standard as Stone, because it isn't like she is the one who decided to create a thin roster. I think Crowell has done very well with the hand she's been dealt.

 

[D2D]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I don't know that I'd hold Crowell to the same standard as Stone, because it isn't like she is the one who decided to create a thin roster. I think Crowell has done very well with the hand she's been dealt.

Looking back at the first USCHO poll heading into the season, Harvard has certainly exceeded expectations:

USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll

September 23, 2013

1 Minnesota (14)
2 Boston College (1)
3 Clarkson
4 Cornell
5 Boston University
6 Wisconsin
7 Mercyhurst
8 North Dakota
9 Harvard
10 Northeastern

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

clarksoncluck, unfortunately for me no kids ("Just Saying"). Some nieces and nephews who might be so lucky to play at any D1 school, never mind Harvard. I don't disagree with you that maybe for the teams you have coached at a youth club level, with 10 or less players and just one goalie, might possibly do well in a tournament that has 7 games in 3 days and in which each of those games last at best 1 hour each. And out of those 7 games you play maybe 2/3 games against teams your 10 players and 1 goalie didn't even break a sweat against. Yes, very possible. But, this is not youth club hockey we are talking about, this is D1 college hockey (men or women). These athletes are on the go 7 days a week in season. These kids put in more hours each week then possibly the two of us combined at our jobs. These student athletes go to classes, do their homework, study for exams, go to practice, go to team meetings, weight train, and play in at least 2 games if not more a week and are traveling most of the time. I'm almost positive if you ask any player they will tell you they are tired long before game day comes. So is it my opinion that any D1 player that is on a team that skates 10 kids and 1 goalie throughout most of the season is tired regardless if it's the beginning, middle, end, or in the playoffs......YES! But again it's just my opinion, a former D1 player. Yes, I also was tired and we had 4 lines. That's what this person is talking about!

Well said. Agree 100%. !!

 

[Watson Rink]

News Flash

News Flash

News Flash....Miye D'Oench named ECAC Player of the Week....

Can this be the greatest accolade that a St. Ann's alumna has received since Jennifer Connelly won an Oscar?

 

[clarksoncluck]

Re: News Flash

Re: News Flash

Don't know where to put this so I'm sticking it here.

This is a huge weekend for the outcome of the ECAC standings!!!!

If Clarkson beats Cornell, Clarkson is right back in the mix and Cornell may need help from others to secure 1st place in the ECAC.

Clarkson probably has the upper hand against Cornell if they play their style of game at home.

A Clarkson win puts the control of the ECAC back in the hands of Clarkson, a loss and I have to believe that Cornell will host the ECAC Championships again.

If Clarkson wins, then the next biggest game is Clarkson vs Harvard later, unless Harvard dumps another game to that point.

So all in all, this may be the biggest game of the year within the ECAC to date.

With all that said, Clarkson has dumped a few games as well.

So far between the 3 teams (Clarkson/Cornell/Harvard) the record stands: Clarkson - 2 losses (Cornell/Harvard), Cornell - 1 win, 1 loss, 1 tie (Clarkson/Harvard/Harvard), Harvard - 2 wins, 1 tie (Clarkson/Cornell/Cornell)

This should be a close race, and Clarkson set their sights on winning the ECAC and it is totally within their control.

Dumped games (not to discredit the opposition):

Clarkson - Ties against both Brown and Yale and potentially the game vs Cornell since the shots were largely in favour of Clarkson

Cornell - Probably haven't dumped a game, but do have a tie vs Quinny (so not a dump)

Harvard - Loss to RPI and Yale (unexpected for both but deserved)

After going through all this, one has to look at Yale as the dark horse this year. They are getting results against the ranked teams and have to be considered an upset type team.

Big weekend they with lots of hockey to play.

 

[Watson Rink]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

There is a citizen x-c ski race in a little town in Vermont in which they have staggered starts and the racer whose elapsed time puts him/her precisely in the middle of the pack wins the race with the accolade of Our Town's Most Average Joe/Jill.

A fellow youth soccer coach and I once achieved absolute parity (won/lost, GF/GA) in a season-long series of intrasquad scrimmages by first artfully dividing the squad into two equally matched teams, then cleverly selecting who played which positions in each game and finally, in the final half of the final scrimmage, blatantly deciding who were going to be the respective goalkeepers. Don't think the U-10s ever caught on how we were messing with the results.

Last year (IIRC) Cornell, Clarkson and Harvard slightly messed up achieving mutual parity, finishing (IIRC) atop the conference one point apart in that order.

Think they can do better this year? Not just tied in total points but in all conceivable tie-breakers?

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

There is a citizen x-c ski race in a little town in Vermont in which they have staggered starts and the racer whose elapsed time puts him/her precisely in the middle of the pack wins the race with the accolade of Our Town's Most Average Joe/Jill.

A fellow youth soccer coach and I once achieved absolute parity (won/lost, GF/GA) in a season-long series of intrasquad scrimmages by first artfully dividing the squad into two equally matched teams, then cleverly selecting who played which positions in each game and finally, in the final half of the final scrimmage, blatantly deciding who were going to be the respective goalkeepers. Don't think the U-10s ever caught on how we were messing with the results.

Last year (IIRC) Cornell, Clarkson and Harvard slightly messed up achieving mutual parity, finishing (IIRC) atop the conference one point apart in that order.

Think they can do better this year? Not just tied in total points but in all conceivable tie-breakers?

Personally I think their is very little delta between these teams. It often comes down to match-ups and who is on and who is not when they meet each other. Should be an interesting run to the end of the season. Clearly getting the number one spot will avoid an potential match-up with one of the other two in the Semi's. Having said that, Quinnipiac in the fourth spot can easily play spoiler in the ECAC tourney. (I cannot see any of the next four overtaking Quinnipiac for the fourth spot).

 

[D2D]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Congratulations to Katey Stone!

Katey Stone Named NCAA Silver Anniversary Award Winner

"The winningest coach in the history of Division I women's hockey, Stone has amassed 402 victories over the course of her storied career and is currently serving as head coach of the USA Women's Olympic Team at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochia, Russia. One of the most successful coaches in the history of the women's collegiate game, Stone has spent all 19 of her seasons as a head coach with the Crimson."

http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/wice/2013-14/releases/20131113sxr34y

Comment: You'd think the folks at Harvard would know how to spell "Sochi" by now.

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Comment: You'd think the folks at Harvard would know how to spell "Sochi" by now.

It is spelled with many permutations in various languages.

In my native tongue it is spelled "Sotsji". Spelling variations from other common languages are:

Sochi, Sotchi, Sotschi, Sotsji, Sotji, Sotxi, Sotsi, Soczi.

Most spell checkers probably don't recognize the right wording of this Town.

 

[Eeyore]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

The problem is that, unlike Chinese where the Hanyu Pinyin system has supplanted all others, there is no single standardized method for transliterating words from the Cyrilic alphabet to the Roman. So even aside from the issue of cities having different names in different languages (Germans, for instance, not actually having a city named Cologne), even going from Russian to just English will produce different results. "Tsar" and "czar" are both acceptable transliterations of the Russian word царь.

 

[D2D]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

It is spelled with many permutations in various languages.

In my native tongue it is spelled "Sotsji". Spelling variations from other common languages are:

Sochi, Sotchi, Sotschi, Sotsji, Sotji, Sotxi, Sotsi, Soczi.

Most spell checkers probably don't recognize the right wording of this Town.

You would think that with "Sochi" being in the news so much lately that a spell checker wouldn't be needed! In any case, Harvard's announcement was written in English and was intended for a predominately English-speaking audience. It was just a typo, and I was merely having a little fun with it.

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

You would think that with "Sochi" being in the news so much lately that a spell checker wouldn't be needed! In any case, Harvard's announcement was written in English and was intended for a predominately English-speaking audience. It was just a typo, and I was merely having a little fun with it.

I knew that. Just thought it would be fun to add to everyone's diversity skill set.

Actually, one thing the Olympics is all about as well is for various cultures and nations to come together, not only to compete, but also to share each others cultural background. At least that is how I see it.

I never forget the 10K final in Barcelona. White runner from South African wins silver. Black Runner from Kenia wins gold. They run around the track hand in hand celebrating. This was in 1992, when apartheid was still very much in the forefront.

 

[D2D]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

I never forget the 10K final in Barcelona. White runner from South African wins silver. Black Runner from Kenia wins gold. They run around the track hand in hand celebrating. This was in 1992, when apartheid was still very much in the forefront.

One of the all-time greatest moments in Olympic history, to be sure. The two lowest that immediately come to mind: 1936 in Berlin when Hitler wanted to showcase the Aryan "master race" and of course the 1972 Munich tragedy.

 

[Watson Rink]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

One of the all-time greatest moments in Olympic history, to be sure. The two lowest that immediately come to mind: 1936 in Berlin when Hitler wanted to showcase the Aryan "master race" and of course the 1972 Munich tragedy.

And also in '36 the Japanese forcing Korean and Manchurian athletes to adopt Japanese names under which to compete for Japan

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

Re: Perfect Parity the Goal THIS YEAR, okay?

And also in '36 the Japanese forcing Korean and Manchurian athletes to adopt Japanese names under which to compete for Japan

One of those Korean guys ended up Winning Gold in the Marathon for Japan. Said runner would coach several of his runners to victories at the Boston Marathon years later. Not only that, many years later he would be one of the final torch bearers at the Seoul Olympics.

(Have a track background and met Ms Meyer, the White Runner from South Africa that won the silver in Barcelona, several times. I can actually speak Afrikaans. Once met Mark Plaatjes, a black runner from South Africa who would eventually win a World Championship Gold medal for USA. He was shocked when I addressed him in Afrikaans when introducing myself at the Finish line in the Boston Marathon. )

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I don't know that I'd hold Crowell to the same standard as Stone, because it isn't like she is the one who decided to create a thin roster. I think Crowell has done very well with the hand she's been dealt.

I'm not holding her to the same standard. I'm just saying that going deep into March will really help solidify her case for D-1 jobs. Although after tonight's game, I'm not so sure.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Not to depart from the ongoing Olympic history lesson but tonight's game was a bust. If I paid to watch on the Ivy network, I'd demand my money back. Seriously. I've never seen two teams have so much trouble trying to complete passes and set a play. Harvard fought the puck all night and never got any flow going to create chances. It really looked like both teams had learned to play hockey last week and decided to try to play each other and see what happens. Ouch. UGGGLEEE!

It took until the third period for Harvard to get some semblance of offense. Hillary Crowe got the Crimson on the board with a power play goal stationed in front of the Union goalie and knocking in a rebound of a Marissa Gedman shot. Harvard's second goal came on a wrist shot from the point by Sarah Edney that was partially screened. That was it with Union offering little in the way of offense. Their best player was #10 who has size and some skill.

As a whole, the Dutchwomen are better than previous editions. They can skate now at a D-1 level and positionally, they are much improved. But they have zero offensive skill and do a poor job of setting up a play or forechecking. Harvard wasn't pushed that much in their D zone.

Once again, Crowell decided to go with two lines about three quarters of the way through the second period and pretty much the entire third period. Can't believe that against a team like Union, she decided to pull back the third line which wasn't half bad. Dylan Crugnale and Gina MacDonald got shifts in the third period when Jessica Harvey got hurt but that was it until Union pulled their goalie with two minutes left. Then Crowell got the bright idea to put Hannah Zarzecki out there after she had sat for half the second and most of the third period. Yup, that made a lot of sense.

 

[HockeyEast33]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

So, Harvard lost a 2014-2015 recruit to Cornell:

http://www.cyahockey.com/news_article/show/343365?referrer_id=96603

Interesting that Harvard asked her to do a PG year - someone woke up and counted the D for next season I guess (even though they are only playing 4 this year apparently). I would say she made the right decision ... who knows if the Harvard "commitment" would have been honored next year - interesting to read between the lines - there is definitely some passive aggressive negativity towards Harvard in this announcement on the part of teh player and the program. This kind of stuff is eventually going to start impacting their ability to get kids - they are betting that the Harvard allure is great enough to attract recruits in the face of repeated commit/decommits every year...maybe they are right!