Crimson Quick Hits - November 29 Edition

Our soccer/hockey doubleheader didn't go quite the way the Crimson faithful would have liked, as Maryland knocked Harvard out of the NCAA Tourney with a 2-0 victory at Ohiri Field and Dartmouth beat the hockey team in the Bright for the first time since 1996. I'm sure Tom and Brendan will be checking in soon enough with some more thoughts on the hockey team, but I thought I'd run through some quick announcements as well as post a couple videos that should serve as a nice tonic after a rough day for Harvard sports.

Harvard Soccer Takes on Defending National Champions

On Sunday afternoon at 1PM, the Harvard Crimson and Maryland Terrapins will face each other at Ohiri Field in the third round of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship in a game that can be heard on 95.3 FM WHRB in the Boston area and online at WHRB.org. After the jump, we'll take a look at both teams as they battle toward the Elite Eight.

View From the Booth: Harvard sputters at the end

Harvard and Boston University skated an exciting back-and-forth overtime game on Tuesday evening, and we've got our five thoughts from the booth after the jump. Also you'll find some news on Crimson NHL prospects courtesy of the Western College Hockey Blog.

Breaking Down the ECAC: Week 4- Turkey Edition

It's Thanksgiving week and the ECAC teams have a lot of non-conference games going on. But first, we'll take a look at last week- same format as usual.

1. Quinnipiac (10-1, 6-0) Last Week: 1st
Last weekend- Ok, I'll admit to some skepticism about Quinnipiac before this weekend. They were undefeated in ECAC play, sure, but they didn't really have a signature win yet. That changed last week and Quinnipiac proved that a name in net might not be needed in the 2009-10 ECAC season, as the Bobcats swept Colgate and Cornell on the road. On Friday night, they beat Colgate in a battle of previously unbeaten ECAC teams, 5-2, before skating into Lynah Rink on Saturday and grabbing a 3-0 lead on Cornell that eventually became a 3-2 final.
Key Player- Jeremy Langlois had two goals against Colgate for the Bobcats.
Up Next- Quinnipiac is involved in the only Wednesday game, hosting travel partner Princeton. They then take on Hockey East heavy UMASS at home on Saturday.

2. Union (5-3-3, 2-0-2) Last Week: 3rd
Last Weekend- The Dutchmen, the only other team besides the Bobcats undefeated in league play, get bumped up simply because of the Quinnipiac results. Union had no games at all last week.
Key Player- Hard to pick one when your team doesn't play a game. Sorry Union fans.
Up Next- Union is taking the not-too-long road trip down to Troy, NY for two games in the RPI Holiday Tournament. Union takes on Lake Superior State in the first round and then one of the teams in the Bentley/RPI game in the second round.

3. Cornell (5-2, 4-2) Last Week: 4th
Last Weekend- The Big Red started the weekend off strong by knocking around Ivy League rival Princeton 5-2. Then Cornell got off to a slow start against Quinnipiac on Saturday, falling behind 3-0, although the Big Red did cut into the lead to make the game 3-2.
Key Player- Brendon Nash had a goal and an assist in Cornell's win over Princeton.
Up Next- It is just a real rivalry week for the Big Red. On Tuesday night, the Big Red face their neighbors and travel partners the Colgate Raiders in a game that will likely see some toothpaste boxes loaded down with rocks make their way to the ice. Then Cornell travels to NYC on Saturday night, where they will face a former historic rival, the Boston U. Terriers, in front of a sold out Madison Square Garden crowd that will be evenly split, although no one will be able to tell because everyone will be wearing red and white.

4. Colgate (6-3-4, 4-1-1) Last Week: 2nd
Last Weekend- Colgate lost their first ECAC contest of the year, falling 5-3 to the Quinnipiac Bobcats. The Raiders then rebounded on Saturday night with a 5-4 OT victory over the Princeton Tigers. This was the eight contest decided by a goal or less for the Raiders this year, and their 5th OT contest. The Raiders are 4-0-4 in these eight contests.
Key Player- Francois Brisebois had two goals, including the game winner in OT, against Princeton.
Up Next- The Raiders travel down to face their biggest rivals and travel partner, the Cornell Big Red, on Tuesday. That is the only game of the week for Colgate.

5. Yale (3-2-2, 2-1-2) Last Week: 5th
Last Week- Yale lost in OT against non-conference foe Massachusetts 4-3 in OT before going to OT against travel partner and Ivy League rival Brown, getting a 6-5 win. Yale lead 4-1 and 5-2 but allowed the Bears to force OT.
Key Player- Broc Little had two goals this weekend, including the OT winner against Brown.
Up Next- Yale hosts fellow Connecticut school Sacred Heart in non-league play on Tuesday night before traveling to face another AHA school, Holy Cross, on Saturday afternoon. Next Monday, Yale faces Vermont, also a non-conference game.

6. RPI (7-5-1, 3-1-0) Last Week: 6th
Last Week- Only one game for the Engineers last week, but it was one the 'Tute would like to forget. Facing the previously winless Niagara Purple Eagles in a midweek game, RPI fell 4-1 to their non-conference foe.
Key Player- Paul Kerrins had the lone RPI goal this week.
Up Next- RPI hosts their annual holiday tournament with Bentley, Union, and Lake Superior State joining RPI in Troy. RPI will host Bentley in the first round before facing one of the two teams, Union and Lake Superior State, in the second round.

After the jump, teams 7-12, the 3 stars, and 3 games to watch.

Men's Soccer Press Conference Now Available

 Andre Akpan celebrates his goal over the Monmouth Hawks in NCAA Tournament play. Photo courtesy Harvard Athletic Communications and GoCrimson.com.

Men's soccer coach Jaimie Clark, senior forward Andre Akpan and freshman defender Richard Smith discuss Harvard's 3-0 win over Monmouth in the 2nd round of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
Click here for audio.

Final Reactions: The 126th Game

If you're only going to show up for one quarter, make sure it's the fourth. That's the lesson I learned Saturday, although I suspect Yale head coach Tom Williams learned something else entirely. But more on that in a moment.

View From the Booth- Harvard Has a Tough Home Weekend

The Crimson only picked up one point as they opened up ECAC and regular season play at the Bright Hockey Center this past weekend facing St. Lawrence and Clarkson. After the jump, we will have our five thoughts on the game.

... Fair Harvard Holds Sway

I'll leave THE GAME to the football guys to actually describe once they recover from an amazing broadcast, but just wanted to put up this photo of the great crowd of Crimson Crazies that was out at the Yale Bowl to watch Harvard's 14-10 win over the hated Yale Bulldogs in the 126th playing of THE GAME, courtesy of the Harvard Department of Atheltics and GoCrimson.com.

For We Know That O'er Old Eli...

Today's Video: Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

Well, it's the end of the Ivy League football season, and this is it. It's the 126th playing of "THE GAME," one of the oldest rivalries in college football. There are plenty of storied traditions:

1875: Both teams met on the field for the first time, although the game was not football, but a rugby/soccer mix. Harvard grabbed 4 goals and 4 tries, while shutting the Elis out, to claim first blood.

1905: In what could be described as the first Game of the Century, undefeated Harvard and Yale clashed in what would be an 8-0 Yale victory. No touchdowns were scored. That edition of THE GAME was described as such: "It was the most magnificent sight ... every lineman's face was dripping with blood."

1916: Yale coach T.A.D. Jones tells the Elis “Gentlemen, you are now going to play football against Harvard. Never again in your whole life will you do anything so important," inspiring them to a 6-3 victory at the Yale Bowl.

1968: THE GAME to end all games. "Never in my lifetime will I ever see another ending like that one. It just doesn't happen." - John Yovicsin. Yale enters Cambridge on a 16 game winning streak, with a future NFL star at running back and Brian Dowling, who inspired a character in Doonesbury, at QB. The Crimson are down 16 in the waning minutes, but with 42 seconds left, the Crimson trailed 29-21. With no time remaining, Harvard would then make it 29-27 and need to go for two. And they got it, earning a share of the Ivy League title.

1983: THE GAME had its 100th playing. Much like the first game, it was Harvard that would claim the win 16-7 at the Yale Bowl.

2005: After 122 meetings, Harvard-Yale finally had its first overtime game. And the overtime game did not disappoint. First though, it took an effort just to get to OT, as the Crimson trailed 21-3. But Harvard rallied, getting the game to 24-24. After the 1st OT, the score had not changed. Nor did it in the second. The sun was setting over New Haven, and the possibility that a tie would need to be called on account of darkness seemed possible in the light-less Yale Bowl. But then, Clifton Dawson would run from 2 yards out to give the Crimson the improbable and historic win.

2009: What lays in store for these two teams as they meet for the 126th time? Let's start with where they were last week.
Harvard (6-3, 5-1) was at home for Senior Day in Cambridge, facing fellow Ivy League leader Penn in a showdown for the Ivy League title during the pouring rain. Penn jumped out to a 17-0 lead. The Crimson cut into the deficit to make it 17-7, but they were battling the elements, the clock, and the stiff Penn defense, and a goal line stand by the Quakers left the Johnnies with a bitter taste in their mouth and little chance at an Ivy League title.
Yale (4-5, 2-4) will be looking to finish the year at .500, after being dropped last week on the road against Princeton. Princeton led 21-3 at one point, but Yale made a game out of it, falling 24-17. The Elis gave up 383 yards on the day, including 247 rushing yards, but their offense also put up 402 yards on the day.

Pregame coverage of the 126th Playing of THE GAME will begin at a special time, 10:45 AM. Here are some of the highlights:
- Baltimore Raven center, Pro-Bowler, and Harvard Crimson alum Matt Birk will be on the show to talk about Harvard-Yale and his current NFL career.
- Former writer of the Harvard Crimson and current writer for Sports Illustrated, Pablo Torre, joined us to chat as well.
- Tim Murphy, as always, talked with us a few minutes about Harvard going into THE GAME.
- We look at the five greatest Crimson victories in THE GAME, and talk with the players that made them special, along with guest analysis with John Powers of the Boston Globe.
- Some other Harvard athletes show their support for the Crimson on Harvard-Yale weekend as two Crimson hockey players, no strangers to the radio booth, stopped by to talk with Kicker Patrick Long, the host of our football halftime show, in a special segment we're calling "Kicking It Top Shelf".
- Of course, as always, James Yoon and Charlie Hobbs will give us the inside scoop on Harvard-Yale, and make their predictions for THE GAME.
- A special thanks to the seniors of the Harvard Crimson football team, who lent us their time and voices for a very special presentation which will bring us to our broadcast, where Alasdair Wilkins, Kara Hollis, and Scott Reed will have the call live from the Yale Bowl at 12 PM.
- And a second special thanks to the entirety of the WHRB Sports department, Alasdair Wilkins, Tom Brennan, Kara Hollis, James Yoon, Scott Reed, Brendan Roche, Tom McCarthy, Raafi Alidina, and Charlie Hobbs, who all put a ton of work into making this broadcast the best broadcast of THE GAME ever. So don't miss a minute, beginning with the pregame at 10:45 AM and kickoff at 12 PM on 95.3 FM WHRB, and streaming online at WHRB.org.

After the jump, we'll talk about the rest of the action in the final week of Ancient Eight play.

Breaking Down the ECAC: Week 3

The fourth week of the ECAC is off to an early start with some non-conference games, so before those happen, let's turn to last week in the ECAC. Same format- power rankings, recaps, upcoming schedule, key player, 3 Stars of the Week, and then the 3 Games to Watch.

Power Rankings

1. Quinnipiac (8-1, 4-0) Last Week: 2nd
Last Week- Quinnipiac started off the week strong with a 5-1 rout of the Harvard Crimson off an Eric Lampe hat trick, and then followed that up with a 4-2 win over Dartmouth.
Up Next- Quinnipiac faces a tough road trip as they take on Colgate Friday night before heading to Ithaca to take on Cornell on Saturday.
Key Player- Eric Lampe had a hat trick and an assist against Harvard on Friday night, giving him four points on the weekend.

2. Colgate (5-2-4, 3-0-1) Last Week: 4th
Last Week- The Raiders knocked off the Brown Bears on the road on Friday night by a score of 5-3, before tying the Yale Bulldogs 3-3 on Saturday.
Up Next- The Raiders are back at Starr Rink this week to face fellow undefeated team Quinnipiac, before taking on Princeton on Saturday.
Key Player- Robbie Bourdon scored a goal in each game for Colgate last weekend.

3. Union (5-3-2, 2-0-2) Last Week: 6th
Last Week- Union had a convincing four point weekend in the North Country, defeating St. Lawrence 4-3 on Friday night before knocking off Clarkson 5-1 to remain undefeated in ECAC play.
Up Next- Union has no games this week.
Key Player- Kelly Zajac had two goals and an assist this weekend for the Dutchmen.

4. Cornell (4-1-0, 3-1-0) Last Week: 1st
Last Week- Cornell saw their winless streak against Ancient Eight rival Yale move to five games, as the Big Red again fell to the Elis, this time by a score of 4-2 at Ingalls Rink. Cornell bounced back in a big way by beating up hapless Brown to the tune of 6-0.
Up Next- Cornell begins a three game home stand this weekend, facing the Princeton Tigers on Friday night and then Quinnipiac on Saturday.
Key Player- Blake Gallagher netted two goals for the Big Red in their win over Brown.

5. Yale (2-1-2, 1-1-2) Last Week: 7th
Last Week- It was a three point weekend for the Bulldogs as they defeated Cornell on Friday night 4-2, before tying Colgate 3-3 on Saturday.
Up Next- Yale faces non-conference opponent UMASS on Wednesday night, before taking on their travel partner, the Bears from Brown, on Saturday in Providence.
Key Player- Brian O'Neill had two goals and an assist on the weekend.

6. RPI (7-4-1, 3-1-0) Last Week: 3rd
Last Week- RPI opened up with a convincing 5-2 road win at Cheel Arena against Clarkson, before faltering the next night in a close 2-1 game against St. Lawrence.
Up Next- RPI is off from conference play for the rest of the month. There only game this week is against winless Niagara on Nov. 18th.
Key Player- Chase Polacek continues to rack up RPI's key player award, this time for his two goal weekend, scoring an EN shorthander on Friday and then tallying a PP goal on Saturday.

After the jump, teams 7-12, our three stars, and the three games to watch.

Men's Soccer: NCAA Tournament Edition

It's been a long while since we did a men's soccer post, but tonight they were given the No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament, giving them a first round bye in the field of 48 and home field advantage for at least the second round.

After the jump, we will look at the two teams Harvard can end up facing in the second round.

THE HEAVE - ESPN Video

Alasdair titled this shot "THE HEAVE" and we're trying to get the name to stick.

Any way, here is the video of "THE HEAVE," yesterday's 3OT winning shot by Jeremy Lin against the William and Mary Tribe, courtesy of GoCrimson.com via ESPN, where it was the Top Play on Sportscenter Boston, as well as being a top play on the national edition (still waiting to see where it is ranked). No matter what, this is great publicity for the Harvard program similar to the attention Harvard received last year on ESPN and in the national media after their shocking upset over Boston College, who of course had just downed #1 North Carolina mere days before.

Reactions to Harvard Basketball's Triple OT Thriller

That was the greatest finish to a basketball game I have ever seen.

All right, now that I've begun my post with some utterly absurd hyperbole, let me attempt some reasoned analysis. But it's hard to overstate just how incredible senior guard Jeremy Lin's final shot was. With the Crimson down 1 to William & Mary and less than four seconds left in triple overtime, Lin rushed down the court past multiple Tribe defenders and, while being fouled from his left and falling down, heaved up a desperation three from thirty feet out. He had already missed far more makeable game-winners at the end of regulation and the first extra session. He had no business making such a shot. At best, he might have a chance to win it from the line, where he had been solid but inconsistent all night. But up the shot went, and the result was unreal.

Nothing but net. Harvard 87, William & Mary 85.

View From the Booth: Harvard men's hockey salvages weekend with tie against Princeton

Harvard men's ice hockey hit the road once again this weekend, traveling to Quinnipiac and Princeton for two ECAC tilts. The Crimson struggled Friday night and fell to #20 Quinnipiac 5-1, but came back on Saturday afternoon to earn a hard-fought 3-3 tie with #19 Princeton. Get our five thoughts on the weekend after the jump.

Senior Day and a Battle for the Ivy League Title

Today's Video: Fair Harvard

It's the last home game of the 2009 Season for the Harvard Crimson (6-2, 5-0), the last chance for the seniors to play in front of their families and friends on Soldier's Field at Historic Harvard Stadium. Of course, it's also their last chance to walk off Soldier's Field after a win, and this is a big one as they face fellow Ivy League leader Penn (6-2, 5-0). The winner of this game is guaranteed a share of the Ivy League title. The loser needs help next week to get it. For all intents and purposes, this is an Ivy League Championship Game, and Harvard's seniors will be trying to end Senior Day on a high note, with the team's third straight Ancient Eight title and the chance to claim it all next week against Yale.

Looking back at last week for these two teams, we'll start with Harvard, who was on the road for the first time in awhile as they traveled to NYC to face the Columbia Lions. The Crimson lead the way throughout thanks to a balanced rushing attack that saw six Crimson rushers garner 151 yards and three touchdowns (2 for Gordon, 1 for Scales). QB Collier Winters also had an effective game throwing for 214 yards and a touchdown, but he also tossed two interceptions on the day. Still, the Crimson were comfortably up 34-0 in the fourth before conceding two consolation touchdowns to the Lions for the 34-14 victory.

Penn, meanwhile, faced their rival Princeton, and hopefully, the basketball rivalry will be more competitive than the football one was, as Penn ran away with a 42-7 victory. QB Kyle Olson had three touchdown passes and 238 yards, while Lyle Marsh fell just shy of the century mark on the ground as part of Penn's 215 yards rushing. After 21 straight points, Penn let up a Tigers touchdown, before putting up another 21 points in the second half. Princeton had only 25 rushing yards on the day, and gave up three turnovers while forcing none.

We'll have more on this match-up on Saturday morning at 11:30 AM as James Yoon and Charlie Hobbs will take over the pre-game coverage duties, before sending it out to Alasdair Wilkins, Kara Hollis, and Scott Reed over at Harvard Stadium.

Now let's go around the Ivy League, after the jump.

Non-Sports: Blog Related Difficulties

For whatever reason, the sidebar on our blog was disappearing on the front page of the blog- well, not disappearing, but relocating to the very bottom of the page. This was, as they say, problematic, because that's where we keep, among other things, our upcoming schedule of broadcasts- something I'm sure you want to see and something we'd certainly like you to be aware of.

So we've switched over to a new template for the time being, although that's caused a whole new set of problems, including having to reset all of the colors on the blog to make this look like a blog for Harvard and not Columbia, and causing our WHRB Sports Blog image to be very off-centered. The colors thing is a relatively easy fix, the header image being off-centered has not been so far, but hopefully will be resolved soon.

Just wanted to let our loyal readers know that we are
a) working on it
b) hopeful you keep with us as the blog gets its facelift, even if it means the blog changes colors while you are on it
c) very interested in your feedback- if there's a problem with the colors for you, let us know so we can keep the blog readable.

Thanks all,
WHRB Sports

Breaking Down the ECAC: Week 2

A full weekend of ECAC play has passed by, so it's time for another edition of WHRB's weekly power rankings. Same format as last time- this weekend's results, a key player, and what games are ahead. Then after that, we'll have our three stars and our three games to watch.

Power Rankings
1. #3 Cornell (3-0, 2-0) Last Week: 4th
Last Week- Two convincing home wins for the Big Red bring them to the top of the power rankings in week two. On Friday night, Cornell knocked off the Dartmouth Big Green 5-1, never giving the Hanover crew a sniff at victory. Then on Saturday night, Cornell trailed their biggest rival, Harvard, 3-1 in the second period, before rattling off five straight goals, including four in the third period, to win a 6-3 game in convincing fashion.
Key Player- Blake Gallagher had three goals and an assist on the weekend for the Big Red.
Up Next- Cornell will be looking to get a win against the only team that consistently had their number last year, as they face the Yale Bulldogs on Friday night in New Haven. Then, on Saturday night, it's Cornell's fourth straight Ivy, as they take on Brown in Providence.

2. #20 Quinnipiac (6-1, 2-0) Last Week: 2nd
Last week- Two weekends ago, the Bobcats had their one blemish on the schedule with a loss to Robert Morris, but they are back to their winning ways after a series sweep of the North Country teams in Connecticut. On Friday, the Bobcats skated away with a 4-2 win over Clarkson, and then added a 5-2 win over St. Lawrence on Saturday.
Key Player- Mike Atkinson thrived when his team was down a man, netting a hat trick for the Bobcats against Clarkson with two shorthanded goals and an empty netter.
Up Next- Quinnipiac welcomes the Harvard Crimson to the TD Banknorth Sports Center for a NESN-televised game that starts at 7:30 PM. Then on Saturday night, they take on the Dartmouth Big Green.

3. (ARV) RPI (6-3-1, 2-0) Last Week: 9th
Last week- RPI started off their ECAC campaign with their seventh annual Black Friday game, and they were looking to remain undefeated on the occasion. It seemed like it would be difficult to do that with the league favorites Yale coming into the building, but the 'Tute had no trouble at all, winning 5-2. The next night, RPI suffered no letdown after the big win, beating Brown 3-1.
Key Player- Chase Polacek had five points for RPI (3 G, 2 A) in the weekend series, including the game winner against Brown. This is Polacek's second straight week as the Key Player for RPI.
Up Next- RPI has the always difficult North Country trip this weekend, starting at Clarkson on Friday night before facing St. Lawrence on Saturday night.

4. Colgate (4-2-3, 2-0) Last Week: 8th
Last week- Colgate was able to get two wins at Starr Rink this weekend, but neither win was exactly pretty. On Friday night, Colgate was down 3-0 to the Harvard Crimson and Alex Evin had been chased from the net, showing how bad the Raiders can be at their worst, but a four goal third period saw them skate away with a 5-4 win, showing how good they could be at their best. Then the Raiders had a back and forth battle with a hungry Dartmouth team, and were able to gain a slim lead and hang on to it at the end.
Key Player- David McIntyre had two goals and two assists for the Raiders on the weekend.
Up Next- The Raiders will be looking to get their first win on the road as they face the Brown Bears on Friday night and then Yale on Saturday night.

5. (ARV) St. Lawrence (5-3-1, 1-1) Last Week: 7th
Last Week- St. Lawrence opened up their ECAC season strongly, earning a 5-2 win at Hobey Baker Arena against the Princeton Tigers, but on Saturday night, they lost to Quinnipiac by the same score line.
Key Player- Alex Curran was one of three Saints players to earn a goal and an assist this weekend.
Up Next- St. Lawrence have their league home opening weekend as they start off Friday night hosting Union, before playing RPI on Saturday.

6. Union (3-3-3, 0-0-2) Last Week: 10th
Last Week- Union had two identical score lines this weekend as they hosted Brown and Yale this past weekend in the ECAC Home Opener for the Dutchmen. Both games ended in 3-3 ties. On Friday, it was Union that needed to battle back to earn the tie, then on Saturday, the Dutchmen had a lead by a last second goal evened things up with the Bulldogs.
Key Player- Mike Schreiber tallied two goals and an assist on the weekend for the Dutchmen.
Up Next- Union will be seeking their first conference win of the season as they travel to the North Country to face St. Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday.

After the jump, we'll see how far last week's number one and number three teams have fallen, give our three stars of the week, and give our three games to watch.

Ivy League Champs to take on local foe in NCAA Playoffs

The women's soccer team, which claimed an outright Ivy League title on Saturday night with a 2-1 victory at Columbia, also earned the league's automatic berth into the Women's NCAA National Championship tournament. After the jump, we'll have the matchup, a look at some past results, and the rest of the bracket.

Top Shelf online from this past weekend

As we posted at the beginning of the season, "Top Shelf" will be posted online after it airs on WHRB during the first intermission of every game, and so now the first two episodes of the regular season are online and available for streaming on the Top Shelf website or as a free download from the iTunes store. In this week's episode, hear Alex Biega, Kyle Richter, and guest Ian Tallett discuss Halloween costumes, road trips, and the win against Dartmouth.

View From the Booth- Harvard Drops a Tough One to Biggest Rival

Coming off a tough loss on Friday night in Hamilton, the Crimson responded well through two periods against fierce rival the Cornell Big Red, who were ranked #5 in the country at the time. But another tough third period left the Crimson on the losing end of things once again. Now we present our five thoughts on the game after the jump.

Reminder: Sportstalk Today at 1PM

Another Sunday afternoon means it is time for another Crimson Sportstalk on 95.3 FM and WHRB.

We'll have recaps of all the week's action with our Harvard Headlines, including a look at the women's soccer game that gave them the outright Ivy League Title, and the women's hockey team, which earned its 500th win in program history this weekend.

Scott Reed will stop by to talk with us and give us a season preview of the men's basketball season which gets underway next week. We'll also have an interview with Coach Tommy Amaker.

Scott will also be there to talk with us about the Harvard-Columbia football game, and give us a look ahead to next week's de facto championship game versus Penn.

And Tom Brennan will be there as well to talk about the men's hockey team's weekend at Colgate and Cornell.

It can all be heard live on 95.3 FM and online at WHRB.org starrting at 1PM.

View From the Booth: Can the Crimson bounce back tonight against Cornell?

Harvard led Colgate 4-1 after two periods, but the Raiders roared back with four straight goals in the third frame to take the win 5-4 at Starr Rink. Now the Crimson skate into Lynah Rink, where last night Cornell dumped Dartmouth 5-1 with four power play goals. Get our five thoughts on this weekend thus far for the Crimson after the jump.

If Harvard Can Make It Here...

This week's video: 2008 Harvard-Columbia Halftime Show

After a three game home stand, the Harvard Crimson (5-2, 4-0) take to the road again, this time traveling down to New York City to face the Columbia Lions (2-5, 1-3) in Ivy League play.

Last week on Halloween, it was all a treat for the Crimson as they faced the Dartmouth Big Green, particularly in the backfield. Gino Gordon became the first Crimson player to gain over a 100 yards on the ground and 100 yards in the air for the Crimson. Counterpart Treavor Scales added another 120 yards, and the two combined for five touchdowns as the Crimson ran away with the score 42-21.

The Lions, meanwhile, lost their fourth straight, after giving up a 22-10 lead against the Yale Bulldogs. Yale scored with 58 seconds left to win 23-22. Columbia was lead by freshman Sean Brackett, who passed for 180 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception in his first start. Brackett was starting for sophomore M.A. Olawale, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury.

After the jump, we'll look at the rest of the Ivy League. For more on the Harvard-Columbia game, tune into our pregame show at 12:00 PM with James Yoon and Charlie Hobbs, and of course, the game at 12:30 PM with Alasdair Wilkins and Scott Reed.

New York State of Mind for Harvard Crimson

This weekend, it's all about New York for Harvard as a bunch of sports are in action against New York area opponents.

On Friday afternoon, the women's field hockey team closes out their season on the road against Columbia in New York

On Friday night, in a game that can be heard on WHRB, the men's hockey team travels up to Hamilton, NY to face the Colgate Raiders, before a Saturday road game in Ithaca, NY against arch-rival #5 Cornell, which can also be heard on WHRB.

The #10 women's hockey team is also in action against New York teams, this time at the Bright Hockey Center, as they face the #2 Clarkson Golden Knights on Friday and the #7 St. Lawrence Saints on Saturday. A win this weekend will give the Crimson their 500th in program history.

On Saturday, it will be Harvard vs. Columbia down in New York City in a variety of sports. The first game on Saturday can be heard here on WHRB, as the football team looks to remain unbeaten in Ivy League play. Then at 4 PM, the #11 men's soccer team will look to add to their Ivy League record with their last road constest of the regular season. Then at 7 PM, The women's soccer team will be looking to clinch sole possession of the Ivy League title after clinching a share of the title last week against Dartmouth.

Of course, we'll have a recap of this New York heavy weekend on Sunday on Crimson Sportstalk.

Breaking Down the ECAC: Week 1

It's that time of the week where we at WHRB look around the ECAC to get a sense of what's going on around the league. Last week we went through the teams alphabetically, this time we'll attempt a "power rankings." The rest is the same format as last time, with a key player for each team, and then a league-wide three stars.

1. Yale (1-0)
Last Time Out- Yale finally got their season underway this week, and a big win vaulted them to the top of the power rankings. The first win didn't have as much as an effect on that, an 8-0 exhibition pasting of the Ontario Institute of Technology, but the big win was when Yale skated into Princeton the next night and won 5-2, after a four goal third period.
Key Player- Denny Kearney had two PP tallies against OIT, before grabbing two assists against Princeton, one on the PP, one on the SH GWG.
Up Next- Yale travels to the Capital District to face RPI on Friday and Union on Saturday in ECAC play.

2. Quinnipiac (4-1)
Last Time Out- The Bobcats get into the top part of our power rankings despite a loss this weekend because of their four game winning streak to start the year. This weekend Quinnipiac split with Robert Morris (2-4-0), winning the first game 5-0, before losing 8-5 in the second game.
Key Player- Greg Holt had three goals this weekend for Quinnipiac, one in the Friday night game and two in the Saturday game.
Up Next- Quinnipiac opens up its ECAC season at home with a Friday night game against Clarkson and then a Saturday afternoon game against St. Lawrence.

3. Harvard (1-0, 1-0 ECAC)
Last Time Out- The Crimson kicked off ECAC play for the whole league as they opened the year on the road at Dartmouth, grabbing their first win away from the Bright Hockey Center since the 2008 ECAC Semifinals with a 5-3 scoreline. The Crimson were up 5-1 in the third and let the Big Green back into the game.
Key Player- Alex Killorn netted two goals and added an assist to lead the Crimson to victory.
Next Up- Harvard travels to upstate New York to take on the Colgate Raiders at Starr Rink before heading to Ithaca in one of the best ECAC rivalry games, as they skate into Lynah to take on Cornell.

4. Cornell (1-0)
Last Time Out- Cornell also opened up their season with a win, but it was a 3-2 OT victory against a now 0-5-1 Niagara team, and it was at Lynah. Certainly Cornell will always be tough to beat at home, but it is interesting that they needed an extra few minutes to put away a winless team.
Key Player- Colin Greening had a goal and an assist to lead the Big Red to victory.
Next Up- Cornell opens up their ECAC season at home, with a Friday night game against Dartmouth before facing big Ivy League rival Harvard on Saturday night.

5. Princeton (1-1)
Split weekend for the Tigers, although the results leave plenty of question marks. On Friday night, the Tigers opened up the season in the non-conference Ivy Showdown by facing the Brown Bears at Hobey Baker- and they required an extra session to put away Bruno with a 1-0 scoreline. Then on Saturday night, a 2-1 lead over Yale skating into the third period turned into a 5-2 victory for the Elis. Not how the Tigers envisioned their opening games at Hobey Baker.
Key Player- Marc Hagel had the OT game winner against Brown on Friday night and an assist against Yale on Saturday.
Next Up- Princeton faces St. Lawrence on Friday night at home and then Saturday afternoon they take on Clarkson, also at Princeton.

6. Clarkson (3-4)
Last Time Out- It's hard to judge what is a sub-.500 team at the moment, because Clarkson has played two very tough road trips, including last weekend at Minnesota-Duluth (5-2-1), where they lost 4-1 and 4-2 in the two game series. Clarkson is perfect so far at home however.
Key Player- Mark Borowiecki had a goal and an assist this week against UMD.
Next Up- Clarkson travels down to face Quinnipiac on Friday night, before taking on Princeton on Saturday afternoon.

After the jump, we'll have teams 7-12, as well as out three stars of the week and a new feature, our three games to watch this week.

View from the Booth: Harvard 5, Dartmouth 3

With the Harvard hockey season now officially underway, we'll be bringing you expanded coverage of the Crimson here on the WHRB Sports Blog. We'll have a preview of every weekend posted by Friday afternoon, as well as a recap and analysis of the weekend's results for Harvard on Sunday evening.

Click through to see my five thoughts on the Crimson's winning performance against the Big Green up in Hanover, N.H.

Reminder- First November Sportstalk Today at 1pm

It was a busy weekend for Harvard athletics and we'll have a recap of it all on 95.3 FM WHRB and WHRB.org this afternoon at 1pm.

Highlights include-
Discussion of the Crimson's first win away from the Bright Hockey Center since the 2008 ECAC Tournament.
A recap of Harvard's big win over Dartmouth on the gridiron.
A continuation of our interview with John Powers.
An interview with TNT analyst and former NBA coach Doug Collins.
And of course, Harvard Headlines, with a recap of all this week's action.

So tune in at 1pm on WHRB.