Tobe Takes Charge in Net

First, it was Dov Grumet-Morris ’05. Then John Daigneau ’06. And this season, rookie Kyle Richter.

Year after year, goaltender Justin Tobe has found himself backing up a teammate. It hasn’t always been for the entirety of the schedule—Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 has started the past two seasons with a platoon in net—but sooner or later, Tobe has found himself sitting on the bench.

“My junior year, my second year here [after transferring from Michigan State], was a bit of a disappointment in terms of not playing a lot,” he recalls. “And this year’s been a little bit more frustrating because I think I played pretty well when I played at the beginning of the year.”

The senior started out the season in a rotation with Richter, the newcomer who Donato declared would challenge for the starting job. Through the first two months of the season, both netminders took turns in the lineup, with Donato refusing to pick a permanent starter.

But after Tobe allowed four goals—three of which were scored on the power play—in a 5-2 loss to CCHA powerhouse Michigan State on Dec. 29, the former Spartan did not start another game until the consolation game of the Beanpot on Feb. 12.

“I had a couple of rough outings the first two games, but I had about a seven- or eight-game stretch where I was playing well,” Tobe says. “And then I was relegated to the bench for a while for reasons that I really have no idea about.”

As Tobe watched from the sidelines, Richter consolidated his hold on the starting job. The freshman picked up three wins in a row and didn’t look back, earning Donato’s confidence.

Tobe, meanwhile, was rarely called upon, forced to rely on practices to get ice time. And though he had been playing hockey for 17 years, he finally decided he had to explore other options.

But the prospect of returning to the limelight never escaped his attention.

“As I stopped playing a little bit and didn’t get as many chances, I felt that it was probably in my best interests to at least look at job opportunities or apply to graduate schools,” he explains. “But I personally felt that the team would probably need me down the stretch.”

So while he spent the afternoons stopping pucks in net, he used his mornings and evenings to fill out law school applications and interview for jobs. Though the former effort continued to be fruitless, the latter endeavor proved successful. Tobe landed a post in the finance industry.

Despite his lifelong passion for hockey, the security of employment in the business world was tempting. And given the uncertainty and physical toil of professional hockey, Tobe began to look beyond his moments behind the mask.

“A part of me would love to go on and be a professional hockey player,” he admits. “But at the same time, I don’t know if I necessarily would want to grind it out in the minor leagues for four or five years.”

But then it happened.

On Feb. 16, Richter allowed four goals against a reeling Yale squad, earning the loss and getting pulled by Donato in favor of Tobe for the majority of the third period. The next night, the rookie let in another six scores, including one with just 13.3 seconds remaining to allow Brown to tie the game.

Though the defense was assigned a share of the blame, Donato singled out Richter on both nights, explaining that the rookie was “certainly part of it” against the Bulldogs and that the game-tying goal for the Bears was “one that we need[ed] to have as a save.”

Six days later, Tobe was in goal for his first ECAC start since Dec. 16. Despite having played just one full game in the past eight weeks, the senior was sharp, allowing a lone score in a 4-1 win.

The victory was a feat to be celebrated, to be sure—but it also brought a sense of relief to Tobe.

“I knew that if I went in and played poorly on Friday,” he explains, “it would have been the last hockey game I would play.”

But Tobe’s career continued. On Saturday, in front of a packed crowd at the Bright Hockey Center on Harvard’s Senior Night, the netminder stymied rival Cornell’s offense, allowing just a 5-on-3 goal in a 3-1 upset. After the game, Tobe was honored twice—first by his teammates mobbing him in front of the Crimson net, and then by his coaches and fans during the post-game Senior Night festivities.

“It just shows his character and the type of person he is to be able to deal with all this adversity over three years and still be able to come into a very important weekend and play as well as he did,” classmate Kevin Du says.

“He’s let loose a lot,” captain Dylan Reese adds. “He’s playing with confidence and playing just like he used to when he was a little kid.”

For the first time in months, Tobe feels as secure about his hockey career as his business one. Although it may only be extended by a few more games—and perhaps because of that reality—the very goaltender is determined to commit every last ounce of effort to the opportunity he has received.

Tobe’s teammates can’t ask for anything more. For one final time, they’re ready to ride his momentum as far as it can take them.

“And if he keeps playing well, who knows,” Reese says. “He’s going to prolong everything for everyone.”

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