Crimson Ready to Take on ECAC Top Dogs

After falling one-goal short of beating one of the country’s best teams, the Harvard men’s hockey team will take the ice against another one tonight at 7 p.m when it faces the No. 14 Yale Bulldogs in New Haven, Conn.

Playing on the road in between the Beanpot, the Crimson knows that a victory against the Bulldogs would atone for last month’s 6-2 loss at Bright Hockey Center on Jan. 10 in which Harvard allowed three unanswered first period goals.

Yale enters the game having amassed 21 points in the ECAC standings, tied with Cornell at the top of the division. In a tight league race in which just three points separate the top four teams, a victory over the Crimson would keep Yale’s strong momentum alive.

Yale’s previous three-goal effort set the tone for the game and prevented Harvard from defining the dynamic.

Though the Crimson appeared to be mounting a rally in the second period, it was lack of focus and untimely penalties that let Yale run away with the game and drove Harvard to frustration. Both teams took ten-minute game misconduct penalties in the closing moments.

“Yale’s got a great team. They always play us tough,” co-captain Jimmy Fraser said. “I think we have acknowledged this week that we know they’re one of the best teams—if not the hottest team—in the country. We know that we have to play our best if we’re going to have success.”

The Bulldogs have put 72 goals on the board in the first 21 games of the season, outscoring opponents by a total of 20.

Shutting down forwards Sean Backman, Broc Little, and Mark Arcobello, all of whom have tallied more than 10 goals on the season–and have combined to contribute more than a third of the Bulldogs’ scoring–represents a primary concern for the Crimson.

“I think one of their biggest assets is the fact that their offense is probably the most skilled offense in league,” junior Alex Biega said. “They have very creative and quick forwards, always making plays down low and around the net. They have the ability to capitalize on all their opportunities.”

Yale brings a four-game winning streak into tomorrow night’s game, as the Bulldogs have demonstrated the ability to defeat some of the best teams in the league.

The run began with a 4-3 win over Cornell and saw Yale emerge victorious over Colgate, Princeton, and Quinnipiac.

“It’s a big game being the Harvard-Yale rivalry but also its a chance for us to beat a team that’s highly rated and start putting together wins for our team,” Biega said.

As the rematch approaches, Harvard’s offense may be finding its stride when the games matter most.

Biega and junior Doug Rogers have combined for 13 points in three games. Biega managed to feed his teammates six assists while Rogers has found the back of the net four times in the three-game stretch and notched three assists.

“Both those guys are keys to our power-play and our success. In the last couple of years, whenever we’ve had success, those guys have gotten on the score sheet,” Fraser said. “Even though they’ve been playing well, they’ve been struggling to put the puck on net, but as of late they’ve been hot.”

Turning on the offense will help the Crimson do something that most of Yale’s opponents have found difficult. Though Yale’s defensemen have proven adept at forming part of the offensive charge, Harvard aims to keep the puck at Yale’s end of the ice and force the Bulldogs defensive squad to focus on clearing the puck.

“I think we’ll have success, because our forwards are very successful at cycling the puck and creating shots. Their D is very suspect at having to play defense, and even though they can play an offensive game on the rush, if we make them play defense, we’ll definitely prevent them from finding success.”

The close loss against the Terriers confirms that the Crimson have the talent to compete against the nation’s best squads.

“We’ve proven that we can skate with anyone and that’s a specific way we have to play and everyone has to be on board and on the same page,” Biega said. “If we execute tomorrow, we have the best chance to find success.”

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