NOTEBOOK: Doug Krantz Has Crimson’s Number

ITHACA, N.Y.—Much like Michael Jordan repeatedly saved his best for the Utah Jazz, Cornell blueliner Doug Krantz is developing a knack for crushing the spirits of the Harvard men’s hockey team.

In many ways, the Crimson’s late collapse in Friday’s 3-2 defeat could be compared to Harvard’s 4-3 loss to the Big Red on November 11, 2005—almost exactly a year ago.

In both games, the Crimson held a late lead. On Friday, senior Kevin Du potted a power-play goal, putting Harvard ahead 3-2 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. Similarly, at the Bright Hockey Center last season, Du set up Charlie Johnson ’06 for the go-ahead score midway through the final period.

Neither of the leads lasted. This weekend, Krantz surprised rookie netminder Kyle Richter with a long-range shot from the blue line to tie the score at two goals apiece.

And 364 days earlier, it was also Krantz who pounced on a dribbling puck near the Harvard blue line, firing the equalizer past goaltender John Daigneau ’06.

The eerie similarities don’t stop there. In 2005, forward Topher Scott notched the gamewinner for Cornell just 2:33 after Krantz’s goal. Friday, center Michael Kennedy netted the deciding score 2:36 after the equalizer.

Almost the only thing that wasn’t the same was Harvard’s record following the heartbreaking losses. Though the setback in 2005 only dropped the Crimson to a .500 record (2-2) in ECAC play, Friday’s loss kept Harvard winless (0-4) in the ECAC.

Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91 said he had “mixed feelings” about the result.

“In one respect, we lost another game, and it’s extremely disappointing,” Donato said, adding, “On the other side of it, I thought our guys showed signs for about 55 minutes of being an extremely tough team to play against.”

CLAMPING DOWN

Other than the two late gaffes, Harvard’s defense put up a solid performance on Friday night.

The Crimson’s most impressive stretch came during the second period, when Harvard held the Big Red to just two shots on goal.

“They played very well defensively,” Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. “We didn’t get that many chances.”

The Crimson’s penalty kill units maintained their scoreless streak. Three days after shutting down the power play of No. 3 Boston College, Harvard held Cornell’s man-advantage units to six shots in six opportunities—including just two shots in three third-period chances.

Still, the Big Red managed to tally two scores in less than three minutes despite launching only six shots on goal in the final frame.

“We’re disappointed, we’re frustrated,” Donato said. “We felt we carried the play for a lot of the game, but...it’s not necessarily what we get, but what we give up.”

FINAL TICKS

Both of Harvard’s goals were scored with an extra attacker. The Crimson was 2-for-8 on the power play...After getting outshot 10-9 in the opening frame, Harvard produced a 20-8 advantage in shots the rest of the way...Friday was the first time the same goaltender started consecutive games for the Crimson this season. Richter earned 15 saves in the losing effort...Du continued to be effective in the faceoff circle, winning 18 of 25 matchups.

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.