Lowly Bears Upend Crimson in Rhode Island

Though the Brown Bears (2-14-4, 2-8-3 ECACHL) had beaten only one other team this year, the Harvard men’s hockey team (7-10-3, 6-7-2) is now victim number two, as the Crimson lost 4-2 on Friday night at Meehan Auditorium despite out-shooting an opponent which has struggled to put pucks in the net all season.

In a game marked by intense checking, some of it clean, and several controversial penalty calls, the teams combined for a whopping 19 penalties to fulfill clichés about the similarities between boxing and hockey.

Despite enjoying nine power-play opportunities and playing with the man-advantage for 14:53 throughout the game, Harvard managed one goal and only 11 shots as the team struggled to take advantage of controversial calls that often went against the Bears.

“Our power play didn’t execute well enough certainly early in the game,” said head coach Ted Donato ’91. “We had plenty of chances and didn’t generate enough shots. When we did get shots, though, their goalie got stronger as the game went on and made some big saves in the third.”

Those missed opportunities to mount a comeback would present themselves again in the third period as the Crimson struggled to overcome a 4-1 deficit. Though Harvard out-shot Brown 17-3 in the closing period and 34-20 in the game, the Bears’ defense managed to clear the puck quickly and pressured the Crimson into taking hurried shots.

Brown’s usually anemic offense, which has averaged only two goals per game, showed early aggression in the Crimson’s zone that paid dividends only 1:42 after the opening face-off. As Harvard’s defenders became entangled in front of the net and did not step out from the slot to challenge Bears’ David Robertson, he had more than ample time to fire a wrist shot into the top right corner of the net over the shoulder of sophomore goalie Kyle Richter, who ended the night with 16 saves.

“I thought we started off pretty slow tonight, and then we started to take it to them after a while,” co-captain Mike Taylor said. “But some untimely penalties, just missed defensive coverage, kind of hurt us tonight.”

Senior forward Alex Meintel’s second period goal at 14:14 tied the score at 1-1 after Meintel deflected a slap-shot from junior Jimmy Fraser past Brown goalie Dan Rosen. The score was Meintel’s third goal and Fraser’s fifth assist of the season.

The Crimson would get no closer, as the Bears quickly regained the momentum due to Harvard’s erratic puck control and two defensive breakdowns. Only minutes after tying the game, Brown struck back with two goals in a two-minute span that included a short-handed score when Bear Jordan Pietrus streaked into the zone on Richter’s right and fired a shot into the opposite corner of the net.

“We were really, I think, starting to take over the game, and we take a penalty that turns the game to 2-1, they got a bad goal to make it 3-1, and we dug ourselves another hole,” Donato said. “Every team in this league has enough talent to take advantage of chances, and I give Brown a lot of credit tonight.”

After the Bears struck again at the start of the third period to extend the margin to 4-1, Harvard’s frustration and desperation to get back into the game led it to take extreme measures.

Though it is very common for trailing teams to pull its goalie at the end of a game, they don’t usually resort to this tactic with 10 minutes left in the third period. But the Crimson surprised virtually all present on Friday night as Richter skated to the bench for a little over a minute while Harvard’s six-man squad tried to recapture some of the momentum.

“I’m not sure if I was trying to send a message more than just trying to get six guys on the ice,” Donato said.

Though Donato’s gamble did not lead to any more goals against, team could not convert the extra pressure into points.

Despite the frustrating ending, it was a memorable day for at least one, as freshman forward Joe Smith scored the first goal of his college career at 12:50 to make the score 4-2. As Smith tried to cross the puck in front of the Bears’ net from the corner behind the goal line, it struck the back of Rosen’s skate and crossed the goal line.

Although the Crimson would get no closer, after one of the most frustrating defeats of the year, the team still believes that its best hockey lies ahead as long as its players can maintain focus and confidence.

Harvard need not wait long to begin correcting its course, because Boston’s most anticipated college hockey tradition, the venerable Beanpot tournament, begins on Monday night at the TD Bank North Garden against Northeastern. Though the game is only an exhibition, the Crimson’s players are hungry to secure bragging rights as the best college hockey team in the Hub.

“There isn’t a single guy in the room that’s played in the championship game,” Donato said. “I think they’re excited about that opportunity, and it’s something that I know everyone’s looking forward to.”

—Staff writer Robert T. Hamlin can be reached at rhamlin@fas.harvard.edu.