M. Hockey Notebook: Grumet-Morris, Cavanagh Line Prove Key for Harvard

The Harvard men’s hockey team snapped a recent 2-8-1 skid with its most inspired hockey of the season. The Crimson dominated Brown in all facets of Friday’s one-sided affair, and hung on against a tough team and an even peskier goaltender on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals of the ECAC tournament in Lake Placid, N. Y.

Minding the Store

Freshman goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris, named the starter against Brown by Harvard Coach Mark Mazzoleni last week, came up big in both games over the weekend. On Friday night, Grumet-Morris gave up one goal on 23 shots, and gave the Crimson consistent play and sometimes, spectacular saves.

The only goal Grumet-Morris allowed came at 10:26 of the third period after he stopped a tough shot but was knocked prone in the process. Brown sophomore center Shane Mudryk won the race to the puck and potted it in front of the net for the Bears’ only goal.

On Saturday, Grumet-Morris was even more spectacular. He stopped 30 of 31 shots, and played the full 94:41, a record for a Harvard goaltender. The only goal he allowed came with time expired in the second period.

With the clock ticking down at the end of the second period, Crimson captain Peter Capouch was called for tripping Brown sophomore winger Brent Robinson on a breakaway, setting up a penalty shot with no time left. Robinson converted the opportunity into a 1-0 Brown lead. At the time, it seemed like it could be a crippling blow.

But Grumet-Morris, like the rest of the Crimson team, did not dwell on the penalty shot and was at his most effective in the overtime sessions.

“He made some very, very key saves for us,” Mazzoleni said. “His concentration level and focus was outstanding.”

Outshining his counterpart from Harvard, despite the pair of losses, was Brown sophomore goalie Yann Danis. Danis rebounded from a weaker performance on Friday night in which he surrendered rebounds on most Harvard shots, allowing four goals on 35 shots. On Saturday, however, Danis stopped an incredible 66 shots—a Harvard record by an opposing goaltender—in the decisive game of the series.

“He’s one heck of a goaltender,” Mazzoleni said. “He’s as good as I’ve seen. I wouldn’t be surprised next week if he’s on the All-ECAC First Team. He deserves that.”

Danis, was a first team all Ivy League selection, and led the league with a .929 save percentage. Just a sophomore, he will likely be a source of irritation for the next few years.

Cavanagh and Company

One of the major contributors in Friday night’s game was freshman Tom Cavanagh, who recorded a goal and a pair of assists while centering Harvard’s third line.

That line, which includes fellow freshman Brendan Bernakevitch and sophomore Tim Pettit seemed to be everywhere both nights, with very aggressive forechecking and strong puck presence and offensive pressure. Bernakevitch tallied an assist and Pettit added a goal in the game.

“They were great, they were tenacious,” Mazzoleni siad. “It was a very, very good line for us tonight.”

Mazzoleni, who called Friday’s game Bernakevitch’s best of the year, said he thought the third line’s production on Friday was a good example of the Crimson’s team balance.

“We had tremendous balance from all four of our lines,” Mazzolnei said. “I thought our defense menplayed very assertively, and [we had] very strong goaltending.”

Getting Back to What Works

Two of the pillars of the Crimson offense, junior forwards Dominic Moore and Brett Nowak, were highly visible in Saturday’s win, tallying Harvard’s game-winning and tying goals respectively.

Moore’s game winner on Saturday night was highlight reel material, and a testament to his will and conditioning.

In circling the net quickly and controlling the puck in and out of traffic, Moore looked like he was moving at twice the speed of the Brown defense. His goal was a rarity in hockey—one of those watershed events where a single player takes over a game so completely.

Nowak’s game-tying goal at 5:30 of the third period greatly impressed Brown coach Roger Grillo, who called Nowak one of the best low post players he has seen in the last seven years. Mazzoleni attributed Nowak’s success in that area to his hard work and training at Harvard.

“He’s worked incredibly hard the past two years on his shot,” Mazzoleni said. “He gets the puck on net. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s starting to score goals now.”

X Factors

The Harvard special teams units were one of the keys to Friday night’s win, as the Crimson killed off all four of Brown’s power plays. With the man advantage, Harvard was able to score on two of three chances.

“One of the biggest factors, as we all know, was the difference in special teams,” Mazzoleni said. “We had two power play [goals] to their none. They were 0-4, I think we were 2-3.”

Another large factor in the Crimson’s win was its advantage in faceoffs. Harvard had Brown’s number in that department all weekend, especially on Friday, when a win off a draw led directly to one goal.

Eight seconds into a power play, freshman defenseman Noah Welch collected the puck at the blueline and fired a slap shot from the point for Harvard’s second goal.

Harvard just missed another score off a faceoff Friday, when another Welch slapper clanged off the post.

Besides special teams play and its dominance on faceoffs, the Crimson had one more advantage when Saturday’s game stretched into overtime. Mazzoleni said he thought that Brown was starting to get tired in the extra frames. He attributed the Bears’ tiring, in part, to Harvard’s hard-hitting tactics all weekend.

“We’re about a 40-hit per game team,” he said. “We had 76 [Friday] night. And over the long haul, when you continually play through the body, it wears their defensemen down.”

Hooked On a (Sore) Feeling

The Crimson will need to take the next five days to rest, with sophomore Dennis Packard and Kenny Turano both on the sidelines for Saturday’s game. Packard has been hospitalized with pneumonia, while Turano suffered back problems after sustaining a hard hit Friday.

Welch had a bothersome knee that he played through on Saturday and Tim Pettit had a severe case of flu that hindered his play as well.

Harvard, the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, will face off against Clarkson, the No. 2 seed, on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Crimson tied Clarkson 2-2 earlier this year at Bright and lost the rematch in the North Country, 4-1.