HARVARD SUCKS

[stereax]

I'm sure I'm forgetting something but it sure feels that for the last 30 years Harvard, one of the stronger teams intra-conference-wise, has done nothing to elevate the conference's profile. For much of the late 90s/early 00s it was pretty much just Cornell tamping down "EZAC" jabs and Cornell has continued to represent well. More recently Q has also brought a lot of victories for the league and Yale and Union had their glorious runs to NCAA championships. Harvard, zilch.

In fairness, as much as it pains me to admit it, Harvard has a Frozen Four appearance more recent than us (2017). It's not a national championship this millennium like Q, Union, and Yale get to brag about, but it's not nothing either.

Yup, I was gonna say... that was at the tail end of an almost absurd run of one-and-dones for Harvard, but they did end the run. In the meantime, we have an even more absurd run of two-and-dones, and that's almost more painful because of what's on the other side of it.

I'm glad you said almost.

I'd rather go and lose, compared to not going. Last year beating MSU, losing to BU is better than not getting to play BU.

I know people complain about always not making the FF. But I'd take what we've done over any of the ECAC schools that did eventualy win it all. Never Q and would anybody want to be Yale or Union now?

I don't disagree generally, but last year is also a unique example. Given where we were at the end of the regular season, nobody truly thought we'd make that kind of run, even if we desperately hoped for it. Even to get to MSU in the first place required us beating Yale, upsetting Colgate best two of three away from home, upsetting Q in utterly absurd fashion, and upsetting Clarkson. Then MSU was the biggest upset of them all.  At a certain point we were well past cake and everything else was icing.

Mmm. Icing.

But no, I genuinely remember walking home after a shitty loss in mid February and consoling myself by repeating "this is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper".

Which... hi, I'm a nerd, but also... that was a magical miracle run we had. The only people that put us to win over MSU were the Very Unbiased Reporters at the Sun.

I don't know how much of it was simply getting healthy, but there was a dose of the hockey gods' luck in there, too.

[RichH]

People people, I know it's fun to celebrate the 100th page of this thread (at least on mobile) but this is A WENDYS the HARVARD SUCKS thread.

Please return to the low-brow nature as god intended.

[Chris '03]

People people, I know it's fun to celebrate the 100th page of this thread (at least on mobile) but this is A WENDYS the HARVARD SUCKS thread.

Please return to the low-brow nature as god intended.

Yes. We must all rest up for Harvard's annual matinee on the second Monday in February.

[Iceberg]

I find it hard to believe that Donato is one of the longer tenured coaches in the league and has even more wins than Cleary now. Aside from the FF year when they had one of the best defensemen the league has ever seen in the past 25 years, it's been mostly a record of impressive underachievement

[pjd8]

I find it hard to believe that Donato is one of the longer tenured coaches in the league and has even more wins than Cleary now. Aside from the FF year when they had one of the best defensemen the league has ever seen in the past 25 years, it's been mostly a record of impressive underachievement

A great example of how persistence can win out over better qualities.

[BearLover]

I'm sure I'm forgetting something but it sure feels that for the last 30 years Harvard, one of the stronger teams intra-conference-wise, has done nothing to elevate the conference's profile. For much of the late 90s/early 00s it was pretty much just Cornell tamping down "EZAC" jabs and Cornell has continued to represent well. More recently Q has also brought a lot of victories for the league and Yale and Union had their glorious runs to NCAA championships. Harvard, zilch.

In fairness, as much as it pains me to admit it, Harvard has a Frozen Four appearance more recent than us (2017). It's not a national championship this millennium like Q, Union, and Yale get to brag about, but it's not nothing either.

Yup, I was gonna say... that was at the tail end of an almost absurd run of one-and-dones for Harvard, but they did end the run. In the meantime, we have an even more absurd run of two-and-dones, and that's almost more painful because of what's on the other side of it.

I'm glad you said almost.

I'd rather go and lose, compared to not going. Last year beating MSU, losing to BU is better than not getting to play BU.

I know people complain about always not making the FF. But I'd take what we've done over any of the ECAC schools that did eventualy win it all. Never Q and would anybody want to be Yale or Union now?

I don't disagree generally, but last year is also a unique example. Given where we were at the end of the regular season, nobody truly thought we'd make that kind of run, even if we desperately hoped for it. Even to get to MSU in the first place required us beating Yale, upsetting Colgate best two of three away from home, upsetting Q in utterly absurd fashion, and upsetting Clarkson. Then MSU was the biggest upset of them all.  At a certain point we were well past cake and everything else was icing.

Any fan would prefer we make it as far as possible before our season ends. But the circumstances that preceded it don't change the fact that last year's loss vs BU was the most crushing loss I have ever witnessed as a fan of any sports team. (I was a relatively casual observer of the 2009 lacrosse national championship game, though that was certainly worse if you were a big fan at the time.)

We lost on a flukish goal, in OT, in Schafer's last season, failing for like the ninth time in a row to make it out of the regional final, something we had not done in 22 years.

It can be true both that we had an amazing run to get that far, and also that the loss was as horrific as a loss can be. To be clear, we are fortunate any time we get the regional final. And we are rarely going to have more than 45% odds of winning that game. But 45% odds means you should win that game almost half the time. When you're like 1-11 in that game in the time you've been a fan, it doesn't matter how great the rest of the playoff run was. This program is going to be haunted by this recurring failure until we finally get over the hump.

As to the other discussion, Yale and Union are bizarre cases where they've been largely shit since their miracle championships runs. Honestly, if we had won the title while I was in school, and then largely stunk after that, I'd probably have taken that deal. The farther away we get from 2013 (Yale) and 2014 (Union), the more I'd rather be us. As for Quinnipiac, they've clearly surpassed us and that's one of the more distressing aspects of our failure to get out of the regional final.

[Trotsky]

I find it hard to believe that Donato is one of the longer tenured coaches in the league and has even more wins than Cleary now. Aside from the FF year when they had one of the best defensemen the league has ever seen in the past 25 years, it's been mostly a record of impressive underachievement

As long as Bill Cleary walks this earth Teddy is safe.

[Robb]

I find it hard to believe that Donato is one of the longer tenured coaches in the league and has even more wins than Cleary now. Aside from the FF year when they had one of the best defensemen the league has ever seen in the past 25 years, it's been mostly a record of impressive underachievement

As long as Bill Cleary walks this earth Teddy is safe.

Iceman to Donato's Maverick?

[Trotsky]

When you're like 1-11 in that game in the time you've been a fan, it doesn't matter how great the rest of the playoff run was. This program is going to be haunted by this recurring failure until we finally get over the hump.

You state these opinions like they are categorical truths.  But they're just in your head.  I do not feel that way at all.  So stop saying these things are facts.  They are your projections of whatever biographical nicks and cuts the razor blade of life has left on you.

Yes, it always sucks to lose, but to get that far has been for me an unmitigated positive and a blessing.

[Trotsky]

I find it hard to believe that Donato is one of the longer tenured coaches in the league and has even more wins than Cleary now. Aside from the FF year when they had one of the best defensemen the league has ever seen in the past 25 years, it's been mostly a record of impressive underachievement

As long as Bill Cleary walks this earth Teddy is safe.

Iceman to Donato's Maverick?

More Vito to Donato's Fredo.

[TimV]

Wow.  Posting at 0353 Arizona time. I was questioning myself for being on at 0645 Eastern.

[Trotsky]

Wow.  Posting at 0353 Arizona time. I was questioning myself for being on at 0645 Eastern.

Star gazing = fun sleep patterns.

[BearLover]

When you're like 1-11 in that game in the time you've been a fan, it doesn't matter how great the rest of the playoff run was. This program is going to be haunted by this recurring failure until we finally get over the hump.

You state these opinions like they are categorical truths.  But they're just in your head.  I do not feel that way at all.  So stop saying these things are facts.  They are your projections of whatever biographical nicks and cuts the razor blade of life has left on you.

Yes, it always sucks to lose, but to get that far has been for me an unmitigated positive and a blessing.

Please read your own posts and tell me how many you qualify with "I think..." and "in my opinion..." The answer is zero. You never do that. It's clear from reading interviews with Schafer and the players that they're incredibly frustrated with losing in the same round every year. Schafer said it after that loss, Stanley and Wallace have said it in interviews. It's not a stretch to say the program is haunted by repeated failure in the same game every season.

Also I don't even know what part of my post you're replying to. I obviously agree that to get that far it is an "unmitigated positive," as I said at the outset of my post. Once again, that does not change how horrible of a loss it was.

[stereax]

People people, I know it's fun to celebrate the 100th page of this thread (at least on mobile) but this is A WENDYS the HARVARD SUCKS thread.

Please return to the low-brow nature as god intended.

Yes. We must all rest up for Harvard's annual matinee on the second Monday in February.

I'd bet money those players have their absence requests filed for their afternoon classes by the time the New Year rolls around.

[Beeeej]

I don't disagree generally, but last year is also a unique example. Given where we were at the end of the regular season, nobody truly thought we'd make that kind of run, even if we desperately hoped for it. Even to get to MSU in the first place required us beating Yale, upsetting Colgate best two of three away from home, upsetting Q in utterly absurd fashion, and upsetting Clarkson. Then MSU was the biggest upset of them all.  At a certain point we were well past cake and everything else was icing.

Any fan would prefer we make it as far as possible before our season ends. But the circumstances that preceded it don't change the fact that last year's loss vs BU was the most crushing loss I have ever witnessed as a fan of any sports team. (I was a relatively casual observer of the 2009 lacrosse national championship game, though that was certainly worse if you were a big fan at the time.)

We lost on a flukish goal, in OT, in Schafer's last season, failing for like the ninth time in a row to make it out of the regional final, something we had not done in 22 years.

It can be true both that we had an amazing run to get that far, and also that the loss was as horrific as a loss can be. To be clear, we are fortunate any time we get the regional final. And we are rarely going to have more than 45% odds of winning that game. But 45% odds means you should win that game almost half the time. When you're like 1-11 in that game in the time you've been a fan, it doesn't matter how great the rest of the playoff run was. This program is going to be haunted by this recurring failure until we finally get over the hump.

I've been following the team for close to forty years, so in addition to our single Frozen Four appearance during that time I've seen five first-round exits from the NCAA tournament and ten second-round exits. All of them have hurt, even when we weren't expected to go further, even when we lost to the eventual national champion. This last time around, my father had died a few days before Lake Placid, a week before my son's second birthday, and I was taking literally everything in my life harder as a result. Yet I felt at the time, and still feel to this day, given how shitty the regular season had been and how unlikely almost all of our post-season wins were, one minor miracle after another, that this was overall the least painful of fifteen exits from the NCAA tournament I'd ever seen us have. Losing to a rested eventual-champion NoDak in 1997 when it was still a 12-team field and we'd beaten Miami the day before (after losing to them in the regular season) might be a close second.

(Edit to add: As devastating as the triple-OT loss to Wisconsin was in 2006, the love and goodwill we Cornell fans received about that game from most Wisco fans at the Frozen Four in Milwaukee made it a hell of a lot easier to take.)