Crimson Ties Saints, Stays Winless on Road

Searching for its first road victory of the season, Harvard (7-14-6, 7-7-6 ECAC) traveled to St. Lawrence (17-11-4, 9-7-4) and escaped with a 2-2 tie. Junior Doug Rogers scored twice, sophomore goalie Ryan Carroll had a solid performance between the pipes, and the Crimson gained a critical point in the ECAC standings.

“It was a pretty hard-fought game,” Rogers said. “They are pretty tough to play on their home rink, but I thought we played with a lot of intensity, and I’m glad we were able to pull off a tie.”

The Saints held a 39-29 shooting advantage, but were 0-for-4 on power plays, extending Harvard’s streak of successful penalty kills to 20. The Crimson was 0-for-5 on the man advantage.

“Obviously we want to limit more shots,” Carroll said. “When you give up that many shots, it’s hard to come away with the win this late in the season.”

Harvard came out with energy and applied pressure early against St. Lawrence. At the 12:58 mark of the first period, junior Alex Biega’s long pass to center ice found freshman Eric Kroshus, who tapped it to sophomore Mike Biega. Biega found Rogers skating up the right side, and Rogers carried the puck wide and slipped a shot between the legs of Saints goaltender Alex Petizian for a 1-0 lead.

St. Lawrence committed a penalty at 16:11, putting itself in a shorthanded situation.

On the power play, the Crimson made a break towards goal, but Saints player Kevin DeVergilio intercepted a pass and sped down ice.

He forced a shot from the left circle which made it past Carroll with about two minutes before intermission.

Harvard got the first power play in the second period, but St. Lawrence nearly scored another shorthanded goal. After a turnover forced by a Saints forecheck, St. Lawrence broke down ice, but shot wide from the slot.

Carroll preserved the tie with a stunning left-pad save in the 12th minute after a Saints player found a hole in front of the goal. St. Lawrence kept the Crimson off-balance, and they took a 2-1 lead at 17:12 when Jeremiah Cunningham tapped in a rebound on a fast break.

Soon after the Saints took the lead, St. Lawrence gave Harvard a two-man advantage for the remainder of the period. The Crimson took five shots on goal, but to no avail. The Saints maintained the lead at the second intermission and established a 10-7 shot advantage in the frame.

Rogers offered the equalizer only 2:49 into the third period.

He intercepted a pass at the St. Lawrence blue line, passed to Mike Biega, and dashed away to the slot. He received a quick pass from Biega and put it past Petizian for the 2-2 tie.

Carroll took charge for the remainder of the period, getting his right pad on an attempt from point-blank range.

He later dove right and gloved a St. Lawrence shot. Soon after that save, a puck hit Carroll and got behind him, but he stopped it short of the goal line.

“I think the team played pretty well,” Carroll said. “It’s hard to play on the road up there. We showed in the third period we can compete. We just need to compete like that for the full 60 minutes.”

Harvard was able to kill a Saints power play in the waning minutes of regulation, and nearly stole a win when senior Nick Coskren’s shot was deflected into the protective netting.

St. Lawrence had three of the four shots on goal in an end-to-end overtime, but Carroll maintained his resolve and helped Harvard capture the point.

“This is another step in the right direction,” Rogers said. “We have to focus for the entire game and peak right around playoff time.”