Third-Period Onslaught Too Much for Crimson

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.—Harvard was out-hustled and out-muscled on Friday afternoon in its first non-conference game at the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, losing 5-1 to No. 5 Boston College (8-4-1. 5-3-1 Hockey East). The defending NCAA Champions played an aggressive game before a cheering sellout crowd, taking yet another road-win from the Crimson (4-4-2, 4-3-2 ECAC), which remains undefeated at home but has yet to win away from the Bright Hockey Center.

The teams seemed evenly matched up until the third period, and Harvard was fighting against a 2-1 deficit when BC crushed the Crimson with three unanswered goals and managed to shut down Harvard’s power play.

“The story of the game wasn’t about BC’s great skill being too much for us,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91. “I think rather it was they wanted it more.”

The deluge began when freshman goalie Matt Hoyle allowed Cam Atkinson to find the back of the net at 2:19 in the third and junior forward Matt Price followed with a goal of his own minutes later when he stuffed a loose puck through a commotion in front of Hoyle’s net.

With the score now 4-1, the Eagles did not let up, playing a very physical game. With the referee’s whistle landing BC players in and out of the penalty box during a seven-minute stretch in the middle of the third period, the Eagles sent their best penalty-killing unit on to the ice and somehow maintained its impressive defense.

A close attempt by Fraser was blocked by BC goalie John Muse, who frustrated Harvard with 18 saves on the night. Even with a 5-on-3 advantage at one point, the Crimson offense failed to net a goal during the power play. Harvard passed the puck patiently but was unable to position anyone for an open shot that wasn’t blocked as BC’s three defenders collapsed around Muse.

“I think the major thing for us right now is work ethic...I think the reason we’ve had success this year when we have is because guys work hard and stick to the game plan,” senior Jimmy Fraser said. “So I think that collectively as a team if we can work hard together with the same common goal in mind, that’s when we are going to have success.”

Following a faceoff, the Eagles recovered the puck and Andrew Orpik struck for his second goal of the night at 16:19 in the third, sealing the 5-1 victory for BC.

This scoring streak served as a marked contrast to the first period, when the Eagles’ strong offense put pressure on the usually stellar Harvard defense but failed to score. BC unleashed 15 first-frame shots compared with the Crimson’s four.

Even under so much pressure, Hoyle only allowed one goal in the period and gave Harvard a fighting chance. The Eagles didn’t get on the board unti just over six minutes remained on the clock, when Orpik drove through the Crimson’s defense and netted the first goal of the night.

Harvard fought back and even showed flashes of brilliance in the second period. Shots by sophomore Michael Biega and freshman Alex Killorn came close to scoring, only to be turned away by Muse.

The Crimson finally broke through at 10:03, when sophomore Matt McCollem scored his third goal of the season, slamming the puck into the BC net on a power play with an assist from Killorn. With the score tied at 1-1, Harvard seemed to be holding its own against the defending national champions, with both teams skating furiously to gain an advantage.

But the momentum shifted as Eagles captain Brock Bradford took a pass from teammate Brian Gibbons and scored the tie-breaker with a clear shot with just over 26 seconds left in the second period.

“Going into the locker room with a 1-1 tie against the defending national champions would have been awesome,” Fraser said. “I think that goal in the second period really killed a lot of energy we had going into the third period, and we weren’t able to recover from that.”

Looking ahead, Fraser said he sees a team with the raw talent to thrive as long as the players are in the right mindset.

“Mentally, I think we need to restructure a bit and just play with confidence,” Frasher said. “We know we are a good team, we just need to go out there and prove it.”