Harvard Plays Host In ECAC Playoffs

It’s an age-old question in sports: is it beneficial for a team on a sizzling streak to have a bye in the first round of the playoffs?

The answer will be on the line this weekend at the Bright Hockey Center when the No. 17 Harvard men’s hockey team takes on conference foe Quinnipiac in the best-of-three ECAC quarterfinals after two weeks off.

Having finished the regular season as the third-place team in the conference, the Crimson was granted a bye in the opening round of the ECAC playoffs. Meanwhile, the sixth-seeded Bobcats played host to Brown, roaring past the Bears with 14 goals in two games last weekend.

So who’s got the upper hand: well-rested Harvard, which has taken three points in the squads’ two meetings this season, or momentum-carrying Quinnipiac?

According to Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91, neither team will be able to rely on its past achievements as an advantage this weekend.

“We realize that this is a new season,” he says. “And just like they can’t take their 14 goals with them into next weekend, neither can we take a win and a tie.”

Though few teams would decline an opportunity to rest and retool—according to co-captain David MacDonald, injury-riddled senior Alex Meintel and junior Steve Rolecek have benefited from the time off and could return to the lineup tonight—the bye could have a dampening effect on Harvard. The Crimson entered the break having gone 6-0-1 over its last seven ECAC contests, vaulting from mediocrity to the upper levels of the conference tables. Harvard has lost only twice since late January: a 4-2 blip at Brown on Feb. 1 and the overtime defeat, 6-5, to Boston College in the Beanpot championship.

But could the potentially lulling effects of a bye week nullify all that momentum?

“My sophomore year, when we won the ECAC championship, we came in on Friday night and dropped the ball against St. Lawrence [in the quarterfinals],” MacDonald recalls. “We came out flat after the week off, and they won the first game, and our season ended up being on the line in the second game. We don’t want to be facing that situation again.”

It may be those very memories that prevent the Crimson from repeating the mistakes of 2006. With six seniors who regularly make the game-night cut, Harvard has been able to rely on its experience to grit out contests against less battle-tested opponents.

The Crimson’s veterans could make their biggest impact by keeping their squad on the positive end of special-teams play, staying out of the penalty box while trying to elicit whistles from the Bobcats—tops in the ECAC in net special teams statistics.

Infractions doomed Harvard against Colgate two weeks ago, keeping the Crimson from building momentum and forcing it to play catch-up hockey. On the other hand, the limited number of power-play opportunities Harvard conceded to Cornell the following night helped the Crimson hold on to a lead in the hostile confines of Lynah Rink.

“This time of year, special teams can be a difference-maker,” Donato says. “Offensively, Quinnipiac is a very talented team. So if you give them outnumbered situations, outnumbered rushes, and power plays, they’re going to score goals—they’ve proven that all year.”

To stay out of the sin bin, the Harvard skaters will have to control their emotions—something that may prove difficult given what’s on the line.

The Crimson’s blistering streak has propelled the team back into NCAA Tournament discussion, albeit very much as a bubble team. Harvard is currently in a tie for 16th in USCHO.com’s PairWise Rankings (PWR), a system that tries to predict teams’ potential to make it to the Dance. Although 16 teams will be selected for the Tournament, at least two automatic bids will be doled out to teams that currently stand outside of the PWR’s top 16, leaving the Crimson on the outside looking in. While it’s tough to predict exactly how far Harvard needs to progress in the ECAC playoffs to earn an at-large bid, one thing is clear: if the Crimson doesn’t win this weekend, it can expect a second consecutive year with a spring break away from the rink.

“There’s no tomorrow,” co-captain Mike Taylor says. “We’ve gotta keep telling ourselves, we’ve gotta win this weekend—otherwise, we’re not going to be playing anymore.”

Donato and his captains insist, however, that the team can’t pay attention to NCAA speculation. There is only one thing in their hands: taking care of business against Quinnipiac. If they can do that, then perhaps the rest will follow.

“Ultimately, we have to feel that we have control of our destiny right now,” Donato says. “We don’t have to keep an eye on how things are compared relatively around the nation; we just have to win our own hockey games. If we do so, then we’ll have a chance.”

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