Harvard Plagued By Penalties in Tie Game

Grin and bear it.

In its first of a series of four road games, the No. 18 Harvard men’s hockey team (4-2-1, 4-2-1 ECAC) had to settle for a 3-3 overtime tie against Brown (0-4-2, 0-2-2 ECAC) last night at the Meehan Auditorium.

“We came out and gave a good effort tonight,” senior co-captain Jimmy Fraser said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the two points we set out for there.”

Fraser and co-captain Brian McCafferty each notched a goal and an assist, and freshman Colin Moore knocked in his first collegiate goal, but the Bears rallied back to tie late in the third period and held the Crimson scoreless in the extra session. In what’s becoming a recurring story, Harvard was once again hit by a number of untimely penalties that disrupted its momentum, particularly in the third period.

“We took too many penalties, and that might’ve cost us the win tonight,” Fraser said. “We’re taking penalties at bad times in the game. We came out in the third period and were able to score right away, 3-2. Unfortunately, we took a few penalties in the third period, and Brown was able to tie it up.... Maybe if we didn’t take those penalties, we might’ve been able to play with the lead and hold on.”

After the Crimson was sent to the box 5:38 into the third frame, Brown managed to convert on the power play, slamming the puck through traffic and past the right post to tie the game at three. Harvard was hit with two more penalties before the period was over, including a 5-on-3 at the halfway point.

Although the Crimson was able to kill those penalties, the shift to defense may have limited Harvard’s chances on the net at a critical time. The Crimson recorded seven penalties over the course of the night.

“We’ve been working real hard on eliminating our penalties because they have cost us in the past,” freshman Alex Killorn said. “Today we took a lot of penalties that can be easily avoided. We’ll take what we learned from this game and use it next weekend, that we can’t take as many penalties and expect to win.”

The Crimson started off on the right track, taking the lead within the first two minutes of the game.

After Brown was sent to the box for a slashing penalty 1:42 into the first period, the Crimson converted on its first power play of the game. Fraser picked up a pass from Killorn, and after trading the puck with classmate and co-captain Brian McCaffery, Fraser slammed it into the net from the right side to put Harvard ahead, 1-0.

But Brown evened things up on the first power play of its own, as the Bears knocked it past freshman netminder Matt Hoyle 6:03 into the first frame. The rookie, who was named the ECAC’s Rookie of the Week for the second time in his three-week career, hadn’t let in a goal in 106 minutes of play.

Although the Crimson turned on the pressure in the crease early in the second period, it was Brown that managed to break the tie, scoring after a turnover in Harvard’s defensive zone 3:39 into the frame and taking the lead, 2-1.

Harvard spent the rest of the period trying to make a comeback. After killing a penalty of its own, the Crimson offense turned up the heat on the Bears, drawing a Brown holding penalty. Harvard missed its chances to convert, but the Crimson onslaught wore the Bears down, allowing Harvard to even the score during another power play, 2-2. After trading passes with sophomore Matt McCollem, Fraser released the puck to McCafferty, who launched a shot into the top right corner of the net for the score.

Forty-one seconds into the third period, the Crimson took a 3-2 lead, as Moore finished off a shot by junior Ian Tallett.

But Brown’s power play goal left the squads at a 3-3 standstill, and both sides were held scoreless through overtime.

The Crimson faces off against Cornell this Friday in Ithaca, N.Y.

—Staff writer Courtney D. Skinner can be reached at cskinner@fas.harvard.edu.