Men's Hockey Needs Offensive Boost

Two games. One goal. Zero points.

Not exactly the offensive output the Harvard men’s hockey team had hoped for in its first full weekend of ECAC Hockey League (ECACHL) play.

But the primary culprit for the lackluster scoreboard showings has been neither stellar goaltending by the Crimson’s opponents nor particularly off-the-mark shooting. Simply put, Harvard (0-2-1, 0-2-1 ECACHL) just isn’t getting the puck to the net—a trend the Crimson will need to reverse tonight against Yale (0-4-0, 0-2-0) and tomorrow against Princeton (1-2-1, 1-1-0).

Averaging just 21 shots a game, Harvard has failed to generate chances in and around the crease, and the lack of traffic around the goal mouth has afforded opposing netminders space to both see and comfortably save the few pucks that actually have reached them.

“We’ve got to get possession in their zone down low, so we’ve got to make sure we’re not turning over the puck in the neutral zone,” junior center Charlie Johnson said. “Get possession down low, start working, and kind of wear down their [defense]. That’s how you draw penalties with these new rules, too, down low in the corner, when they’re trying to hold.”

But on the few occasions the Crimson has earned a man advantage, the results have been equally disappointing, with just one power-play goal in 17 chances.

In particular, Harvard has struggled to establish itself in the offensive zone, dumping and chasing in lieu of carrying the puck in or connecting on a series of crisp passes to pin defenses deep.

“Special teams are so important in the game this year,” junior defenseman Peter Hafner said. “The refs are calling a lot more penalties, so it’s such a big part of the game this year. Really, almost half the game, it seems like, is being played on special teams, so we’ve really got to keep working on the penalty kill and get our power play, too, so we can be effective.”

JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Johnson, sidelined last weekend against Cornell and Colgate with a then-unspecified injury, hopes to make his return to the ice tonight or tomorrow, though his status has yet to be finalized.

“I’m feeling a lot better than I was last week,” Johnson said. “Last week I didn’t skate at all—this week I’ve been skating a bit. Right now, I’m kind of day-to-day...We’ll see how I feel when I wake up tomorrow. But I hope to get in at some point this weekend, for sure.”

The junior center, whose absence forced a shift of the Crimson’s forwards and power play unit, suffered an injured right shoulder two weekends ago in exhibition play against the United States National Under-18 squad, he said yesterday.

“I kind of collided with a guy coming across the middle,” Johnson said. “I guess I was in kind of an awkward position—it pushed my shoulder down—so I hurt my AC joint.”

The injury was not, however, a reaggravation of the ailment which consistently kept him out of the lineup last season. As a sophomore, Johnson dislocated his left shoulder on multiple occasions.

EVENING OUT

Though Johnson may return to the Crimson bench this weekend, sophomore forward Ryan Maki will certainly not skate against Yale or Princeton, and his date of return is, at present, up in the air.

“We’re going under the assumption that we’re not going to have him for the next little stretch of games,” Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “I’m sure it’ll be probably a week-to-week situation...I think he’s got some kind of upper body injury...I think it’s either the ribs or the cartilage or the muscle in that area. He went to see the doctor [Tuesday] and I haven’t talked to the trainers yet.”

Maki, paired with classmates Kevin Du and Steve Mandes last Saturday, has yet to score thus far this season.

SLAPSHOTS

Tonight’s action from Bright Hockey Center will be televised coast-to-coast on College Sports Television (CSTV), the sole time Harvard is guaranteed a spot on the national airwaves this year...Crimson captain Noah Welch has been whistled for nine minors thus far this season for a total of 18 minutes in the penalty box. His teammates have combined for 15 penalties, good for 30 minutes...Thanks to his third-period goal last weekend against Colgate, sophomore Dylan Reese leads Harvard’s scoring tally with two points, a goal and an assist. He scored just seven points in his injury-plagued freshman season.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.