M. Hockey Yields to No. 1 Maine in Rematch

PORTLAND, Maine—The Harvard men’s hockey team outplayed the No. 1 team in the country for 45 minutes yesterday.

For all of that span, though, it didn’t really matter.

Top-ranked Maine used an exceptional first period to jump all over No. 11 Harvard yesterday, taking a quick 3-0 lead en route to a 4-2 victory at a sold-out Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

“We came out with a little too much respect for this team,” said Harvard captain Dominic Moore. “They’re a great team and we know that, but so are we. In non-conference games we give these teams a little too much room, and we don’t play the attacking style that wins us games.”

Yesterday’s game was far different from last year’s NCAA Regional, which Maine won 4-3 in overtime. Harvard (9-4-1, 9-2-0 ECAC) jumped out in front in that contest, forcing Maine to play catch-up for half the game. This time, sloppy play and penalties put the Crimson in a huge hole early.

It took the Black Bears (13-1-2) only 45 seconds to set the tone for the game, as Maine forward Colin Shields crashed the net, creating a scramble for a loose puck which found its way past Harvard sophomore netminder Dov Grumet-Morris. That goal marked the start of 20 minutes of Black Bear domination during which the Maine forwards created scoring chances with ease.

It was one of the worst periods of the year for Harvard’s defense, which looked a step slow as the Black Bears skated circles in the Crimson zone, gaining prime position in front of Grumet-Morris with little resistance. Maine had 19 shots on goal in the period, most of those from close range.

Maine was helped by five Harvard penalties in the period, which led to two power-play goals. Martin Kariya scored for the Black Bears at the 9:31 mark, and a five-on-three Maine advantage five minutes later set the stage for one of the most bizarre power plays in college hockey this year.

While defending Maine’s two-man advantage, Moore broke his stick, and Grumet-Morris lost his after colliding with Kariya. Sophomore defenseman Ryan Lannon lent Grumet-Morris his own stick, leaving classmate Noah Welch as the only fully-equipped Harvard skater. The result was a 5-on-1 power play.

After nearly 30 seconds of near-comical hockey, Maine finally put a merciful end to the situation, scoring on Shields’ second goal of the game.

“The 5-on-3 was a crazy play,” Maine coach Tim Whitehead said. “I don’t know when you’re going to see that again.”

That goal marked the low point for the Crimson, who, trailing 3-0, finally began to settle down. Harvard killed off the remaining penalty and skated roughly even with the Black Bears the rest of the way, preventing Maine from recreating the offensive pressure it generated during the game’s first 15 minutes.

“It would have been easy just to cave in after that goal,” Grumet-Morris said. “We killed off the next [penalty] though, and that’s what helped turn it around.”

Harvard’s offense performed admirably, generating plenty of shots from the outset, although never quite matching Maine’s first-period offensive explosion.

The Crimson finished with 34 shots on goal, but few of those came off of quality scoring chances. Black Bears’ goaltender Jimmy Howard continued his superb freshman season (.942 save percentage), giving up few rebounds and limiting the Crimson to mostly long-range chances.

After the first intermission, Harvard’s defense adjusted well. Maine had no shots from the middle of the ice in the second period and did not generate nearly the offensive pressure it did in the first 20 minutes. Despite the Black Bears’ first-period onslaught, Maine only outshot the Crimson 36-34 for the game. But Harvard had fallen too far behind to pull one out against the nation’s top-ranked team.

“Obviously it’s a good sign that, when we do play our game, we can compete with the best teams in the country,” Moore said. “But it’s about time we started treating ourselves as one of the best teams in the country, too.”

Harvard helped itself after the opening period by staying out of the penalty box. Maine had just two power plays after the first 20 minutes.

But Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni said the difference was due more to inconsistent officiating than to any change made by either team.

“I thought the game was called differently after the first period,” Mazzoleni said. “I saw the same game for three periods. And yet all of a sudden there’s [seven] penalties called in the first period, two in the second and three in the third.”

Sophomore forward Kenny Turano gave the Crimson new life in the second period, scoring his first goal of the season on a shot from between the faceoff circles at 10:06. Turano’s happiness would be short-lived, however, as he later left the game with a broken finger.

Maine answered just four minutes after Turano’s tally to take a 4-1 lead, and despite its improved play, Harvard could never pull closer than two. Moore narrowed the gap to 4-2 at 5:23 of the third, and the Crimson almost scored again moments later, when Howard left a puck floating along the goal line. Maine cleared the puck, though, and effectively iced the game.

Harvard is idle for the next two weeks, playing again Dec. 29 when it meets Northern Michigan in the first round of the Badger Showdown.

—Staff writer Elijah M. Alper can be reached at alper@fas.harvard.edu.