Richter Flawless as M. Hockey Surges to 3-1

Thanks to the stalwart play of sophomore goaltender Kyle Richter, the Harvard men’s hockey team is over .500 for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

After allowing two goals in a loss to then-No. 11 Clarkson and one goal in a win over then-No. 16 St. Lawrence last weekend, Richter stopped all 28 shots that he faced in leading the Crimson to a 3-0 win in its home opener against No. 16 Rensselaer (6-3-2, 1-1-2 ECAC).

“From the net on out, I thought we did a lot of good things,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91.

The Crimson survived an early Engineers two-man advantage before capitalizing on its own power play with under a minute to play in the first period. Senior forward John Pelle found sophomore defenseman Alex Biega across the crease, where Biega buried a one-timer for a 1-0 lead.

One goal was all Richter would need. Whenever the Engineers threatened, Richter had an answer, from the more mundane—swallowing the puck after a flurry of shots during a Rensselaer 5-on-3—to the spectacular, an across-the-body glove save late in the second period.

“It’s a group effort,” Richter said. “The [defensemen] are really helping me out, letting me see shots, clearing rebounds, and I’ve got to give them credit. The [penalty kill] is doing a fantastic job right now as well—they’re really committed to blocking shots.”

Throughout the middle period, the game remained close, marked by physical play and many scoring chances for both teams.

But on three power plays in that period, Harvard came up empty.

“I would like to cash in early on some of the opportunities we [have],” Donato said. “We have to execute when we get around the net.”

The Crimson finally broke the game open early in the third period when Biega hit junior defenseman Brian McCafferty, who ripped a shot from just inside the blue line that found its way into the back of the net for a power-play goal to put Harvard up, 2-0.

Shortly thereafter, play got more physical. Pelle and sophomore center Doug Rogers got into a scrum with the Engineers’ Dan Peace and Ben Contini, resulting in two-minute minors for all four players. Minutes later, a holding penalty gave Rensselaer a chance to threaten the lead.

Yet, once again, Richter was up to the test. In one sequence, the junior made a sprawling save, then scrambled back to his feet to thwart another shot.

“Nothing needs to be said about Kyle Richter—he’s standing on his head,” co-captain Dave MacDonald said.

The icing on the cake came on a circus play late in the third period. A holding penalty gave the Engineers a power play with just over two minutes left, affording them an opportunity to pull their goalie for a 6-on-4 advantage.

But just eight seconds into the man advantage, junior defenseman Jack Christian took the puck and launched a 120-footer from his own blue line into an open net for his second empty-net goal of the season—and the team lead in goals.

“He’s got that play down, the empty-netter,” MacDonald said. “I don’t think anyone pegged him as the leading goalscorer early on in the season, but it just shows we’re a balanced team, and we can generate offense and defense from up and down our lineup.”

The win brought the Crimson to 2-1-0, its first time above .500 after a disappointing 2006-07 season.

“I don’t think anybody in that [locker] room thinks that we’re not a team that can challenge for the league title and be an NCAA [Tournament]-type team, so this is a good start,” Donato said. “I like the fact that even when we’re not playing our best and we’re still feeling our way, we’re winning games—and that’s important.”