AOTW: Backstop Boosts Crimson

With a career-high 42 saves in Harvard’s 6-1 win against No. 16 St. Lawrence on Saturday night and 20 saves against in 2-1 loss to No. 11 Clarkson the night before, sophomore goalie Kyle Richter opened the season in good form and left the team optimistic about its defense.

“We played tough teams that were aggressive all over the ice, but the team responded well, and it is an encouraging way to start,” co-captain Dave MacDonald said.

The Crimson matched up against the team that bumped Harvard out of the ECAC playoffs last season, and the memory of a frustrated finish carried through the offseason until the Crimson could face the Golden Knights again.

“Going in there on Friday night, we started where we left off last year on a bit of a sour note, and we were hungry to beat them this time,” Richter said.

Just one minute into the game, Clarkson scored on Harvard after a shot by the Knights defenseman Grant Clitsome rebounded off Richter’s pad onto the stick of forward Matt Beca, who beat Richter in a shot from the left post.

But Richter and the defense kept the game close until the end against a strong Golden Knights assault.

At one point, with Clarkson on a 5-on-3, a puck that rebounded off Richter’s left pad cut across to open forward Chris D’Alvise, who fired at the net. Richter sprawled to his left and caught the puck with his glove, keeping the score at 2-1.

In the third period, the Golden Knights outshot Harvard, 6-5, but Richter pulled through with a series of difficult stops in the last 10 minutes of play.

With the toe of his right pad, he kept out an attempt by forward Nick Dodge and quickly turned around to kick away a shot from forward David Cayer.

Though the Crimson failed to beat last season’s nemesis, its strong defense carried over to the next night’s game against St. Lawrence. Richter’s stops throughout the game culminated in a career-high 42 saves, leading Harvard to a large margin of victory.

Despite several Crimson penalties throughout the game, the Harvard defense killed six out of seven power plays, with Saint Lawrence scoring its only goal in the third period.

“The penalty kill knows what it’s doing—they have their jobs, I have my job, and you just have to trust each other when it comes down to situations like that,” Richter said.

Richter has served as an effective barricade due in part to his precise preparation. Each week, he tries to anticipate the movement of each player charging at his net.

“We do a lot of research on the other team and on what they do for their power plays,” Richter said, “so I try to keep a mental note of what guys are on the ice because certain guys have a tendency to do different things.”

Despite a calculated approach, Richter attributes a bit of chance to his success in Saturday’s game, given that the Saints outshot Harvard, 43-23.

“I got lucky a few times,” he acknowledged. “I made a paddle save in the second period—that was definitely luck.”

Richter’s early reliability between the pipes gives the Crimson a positive outlook. And even with plenty to boast about, Richter remains humble.

“The guys bailed me out when I was [scrambling],” he said. “It was a good all-around effort.”