Harvard Ends Winless Streak With Victory Over League-Leading Quinnipiac

2009 was a year the Harvard men’s hockey team wanted to forget. But in its last chance for redemption before the calendar turned, the Crimson ended the year on a good note.

Harvard (2-8-2, 2-5-2 ECAC) snapped a 10-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory over No. 8 Quinnipiac (13-4-1, 7-3-0) last night at Bright Hockey Center.

“I think we’re excited—relieved—to get the victory,” said Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91. “We needed to win to get some of our confidence back, and hopefully we can build off of this.”

Harvard was powered by the scoring efforts of three rookies and the fresh perspective gained from a three-week break from action.

“It was important, invaluable, [considering] the fact that we were beat up a little bit mentally with the losing streak,” Donato said. “It’s tough to really refresh, rejuvenate yourself without stepping away from it.”

Undeterred by the track record of its league-leading opponent, the Crimson got on the board midway through the opening period. Sophomore center Colin Moore took a pass in transition from classmate Ryan Grimshaw and found open ice in a sea of Bobcat jerseys.

Grimshaw’s long shot bounced off Quinnipiac goalie Dan Clarke’s pad, but rookie Luke Greiner picked the puck up in the left circle and found nothing but net for his first career tally.

“I think that whole line—[Moore], Luke Greiner, David Valek—did a great job not only defensively, but offensively [they] were able to create some chances and really outworked whoever they were playing against,” Donato said.

The Crimson carried its momentum into the second period, wasting no time on its first powerplay opportunity. Bobcat defender Brett Dickinson was whistled for interference, and it took just 14 seconds with the extra man for Harvard to find the back of the net.

Freshman Louis Leblanc buried a pass from junior Chris Huxley at 6:50, getting a secondary assist from rookie Alex Fallstrom.

But after Leblanc’s goal, the game took a turn for the more physical. With seven minutes to play in the second, five penalties were called in a span of 30 seconds—the most significant to Quinnipiac senior Eric Lampe, who got a 10-minute major after he threw a punch at a referee.

And after the second intermission, the Bobcats came out playing like the team that was expected to dominate.

With less than three minutes gone in the final period, Quinnipiac sophomore Yuri Bouharevich poked a Greg Holt rebound past Harvard junior netminder Kyle Richter to bring the Bobcats within one, 2-1.

Spencer Heichman nearly evened the score on a breakaway five minutes later, but his shot was stuffed by Richter, who made 36 saves on the evening.

“He was very good on stuff around his crease,” Donato said of his goalie. “He’s a guy that’s got a lot of talent and I think, like everybody else on our team, [he] feels that he can play better than he did the first half. I think he was certainly a difference-maker for us tonight.”

Quinnipiac outshot Harvard, 17-7, in the third on its way to a 37-23 advantage for the game. But despite its late-game dominance, it was too little, too late.

The Bobcats pulled Clarke with just over two minutes to play in a last-ditch attempt to net the equalizer, but although Quinnipiac peppered Richter with shots, the junior held strong.

“Richter just kept making saves and we just couldn’t find our way,” Bobcat coach Rand Pecknold said. “If you want to win in this league, you can’t get behind 2-0 on the road, so it’s our own fault.”

With 44 ticks left on the clock, the rookie Valek gave the Crimson some insurance. The brothers Biega—freshman Danny and captain Alex—moved the puck ahead to Valek skating up the left boards in the neutral zone.

Valek got the puck past a wall of Bobcat defenders, and it slid into the empty net to put the game out of reach at 3-1.

It was the first career goal for Valek, and the assist marked the first career point for Danny Biega.

“Two of our freshmen scored their first career goals, and we’re very excited for them,” Alex Biega said. “But they come to play every day, and that’s an attitude we need to have in our locker room on a consistent basis.”

With its second win—and first since October’s season opener against Dartmouth—under its belt, Harvard hopes that 2010 will signal the beginning of a different kind of streak.

“I think we all feel, from the coaching staff on down, that we can be better,” Donato said. “Tonight’s a nice first step.