Bulldogs search for consistency aainst Tigers

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Center Jay Quenville, SY '00, is one of the players who will be looked upon to provide a consistent effort on both sides of the puck.

The Yale men's hockey team is quickly discovering that being champions ain't easy.

After turning in dominating performances in defeating ECAC rivals Brown and Harvard, the Elis slipped, losing to Merrimack and Providence. While the losses were both non-conference, they sent a strong message to the team. "It was kind of an eye opener for us," captain Keith McCullough, BR '99, said.

Last year, the surprising Bulldogs raced to a first-place finish in the ECAC, winning six out of their first seven regular-season games. This season, however, has been a roller-coaster ride. McCullough summed up the team's ups-and-downs: "This season's a marathon, not a sprint," he said. "This year, we have to find ourselves. It's a different story."

At the beginning of the season, the team's defense was the big question mark, despite the presence of Alex Westlund, SM '99, in goal. Coach Tim Taylor counted on his offense, led by the prolific Jeff Hamilton, SM '00, to carry the team. In the first weekend's losses at Clarkson and St. Lawrence, the offense was anemic. The defense turned out to be the strength of the team, allowing just three goals in each contest.

Not so against Brown and Harvard. Behind 2-1 going into the third period, the offense exploded for three goals to beat Brown 5-3. The Elis spread the puck around, creating goals with solid, conservative play. Hamilton considers this offensive strategy a key to success, saying that Yale won't win games if they always "run-and-gun."

The following day, on Sat., Nov. 21, the much-anticipated Yale-Harvard game at Ingalls Rink resulted in a commanding victory over the Cantabs. Hamilton netted a hat trick and added two assists as the Bulldogs put the game away midway through the second period with three unanswered goals. "[The Harvard game] was the only game where we've put together 60 minutes of solid Yale hockey," McCullough said. The game was also a memorable one for Westlund, who won his 32nd game to set a new Yale record for goalies.

For a weekend, the Yale offense showed what it is capable of, while the defense continued to play extremely tough. The Bulldogs continued their streaky season, however, with the losses to Merrimack and Providence, who defeated Yale 6-3 and 5-3, respectively. Against Merrimack, the Yale defense surrendered three goals in the first eight minutes of the game, digging a hole from which the Bulldogs would never escape. The Providence loss was harder to swallow, since the game was played at home, where Yale has dominated as of late. McCullough expressed the team's complete and utter disappointment, saying, "We played awful. We just didn't show up to play. When that happens, no matter who you're playing, you're going to get your boots handed to you."

It is a time-tested axiom in sports that champions find the defense of their title more difficult than winning it the first time around. After just three weekends, the hockey team knows this to be true. Both the defense and the offense have alternated between stellar play and costly lapses. "The main thing we've tried to drive home in the locker room is that last year we tried to get used to success for the first time," McCullough explained. "This year we're dealing with the adversity of being champions."

For now, the only sure thing for the Elis is that the upcoming home-and-home series against Princeton on Fri., Dec. 4 and Sat., Dec. 5 is one of the most important weekends of the year. If Yale sweeps, they could find themselves back atop the ECAC. If they lose, they will be firmly entrenched in the middle of the pack. If that's not enough motivation, the team has the added incentive of revenge. Nine months ago, the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs in the semifinals of the ECAC tournament. The loss hurt the Bulldogs' position in the NCAA tournament, and Hamilton went down with a season-ending injury in the defeat. "That left a bitter taste in our mouths," McCullough said. "There'll be no love lost in those two games."

Which team will show up? The answer could mean the difference between a title repeat and an early Spring Break.

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