First Place Eludes Crimson With Loss in Troy

It was an uncharacteristic day for the Harvard men’s hockey team, as the No. 13 Crimson (7-3-1, 5-3-1 ECAC) gave up a season-high four goals in a 4-2 loss to the No. 19 Rensselaer Engineers (8-5-3, 3-2-2). It was the team’s first loss by more than one goal this season.

“We fell apart,” junior Jimmy Fraser said.

Harvard, which entered the game with a nation-best goals against average of 1.11, had not given up this many goals since a 6-6 tie to Brown on February 17, 2007. Despite the disappointing result, the squad still controlled parts of the game.

“I think we played well enough to win, but we also played bad enough to lose,” senior co-captain Dave MacDonald said.

The Crimson, which could have jumped into first place in the ECAC with a win, opened the scoring when freshman Michael Biega snuck in a power-play goal late in the first period. After sophomore Doug Rogers attempted a one-timer, Biega was there to stuff in the rebound. Both Rogers and junior Brian McCafferty were credited with assists.

Biega’s goal, his fourth in three games, makes him the team’s leading scorer. The freshman is also tied with senior Jon Pelle for the most points (7).

“He’s got a great touch around the net,” MacDonald said. “He’s playing well and we need him to keep it up.”

Twenty seconds after the goal, Rensselaer scored to tie the game at 1 going into the first intermission.

After the break, the Engineers scored two more goals, marking the first time all season that goaltender Kyle Richter has let in a second-period goal. Before the game, Richter, a sophomore, had suffocated competition in the second frame and Harvard had outscored opponents 4-0.

Twenty-five seconds after the second intermission, senior Dave Watters scored on a designed play to bring the Crimson back to within one goal. Fraser, who got the assist, began the play by winning the face-off and pulling it back to Watters. Watters then ripped a shot past the goalie, who was distracted by a Harvard screen, to make the score 3-2.

“We had talked about that before the faceoff and it worked out,” said Watters.

In the third period, the Crimson controlled the offensive end, recording 14 shots to Rensselaer’s eight.

Midway through the frame, however, the Engineers added another goal, to make it 4-2. Despite pulling Richter late in the game, Harvard was unable to score again.

Because of the four goals allowed, Richter’s .964 save percentage dropped to .955, still best in the nation. The team’s defense still ranks second in Division I, surrendering 1.40 goals per game.

“Offensively we played all right, but we didn’t play well enough in our own zone,” Watters said.

Overall, the Crimson outshot Rensselaer 36-29, but the Engineers buried their chances more effectively.

“Rensselaer capitalized on their breaks,” Fraser said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Despite a 3-0 Harvard home win in its last game with the Engineers, the players said they took the opponents very seriously.

“You have to give Rensselaer credit,” Fraser said. “They were buzzing around and playing us tough.”

The Crimson killed all three Engineer power plays and generated numerous scoring chances.

“I think part of the game we controlled the play,” Watters said. “But we didn’t play all 60 minutes.”

Harvard, which remains in second place in the ECAC, looks to get back on track against Vermont, a non-conference opponent, this Saturday.

“We have to stay hungry and record points,” Watters said.