Crimson Drops First-Round Play

No one expected the final score line at Bright Hockey Center on Friday night, least of all the Harvard men’s hockey team.

Expectations were high coming into this first-round ECAC tournament matchup. The Crimson (9-16-6, 9-9-6 ECAC) had gone undefeated in its last six contests and just last weekend took down then-sixth-seeded Princeton in its final regular season game.

It was only natural that no one foresaw Brown—the tournament’s 12th seed and a team that had not won a single regular season Ivy game—handing a 1-0 defeat to a team that has been 9-3-1 at home.

“We’ve had a good record here at home…and we’ve been playing some good hockey down the stretch,” senior co-captain Brian McCafferty said. “When you come in and you’re [the fifth seed] and the other team’s ranked 12, maybe [an attitude] creeps in just a little bit unknowingly. But hopefully we’ve gotten that out of our system, and we know Brown’s a great team, and we’ve got to play well…to get some wins.”

While there’s no denying that Harvard played technically well—it only committed one penalty, generated plenty of offensive opportunities, and outshot the Bears 39-23—whether or not the team played with all the intensity and effort required of a championship playoff match is a bit more questionable.

“It was more of a work ethic thing,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91. “We’ve got to keep moving our feet, and we have to work hard in the corners, and we have to play with desperation…That means coming out and skating as hard as you can and making every little play, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

The first period was slow going for both teams, with the Crimson spending more time in the offensive zone and generating the better of the chances at goal. Despite the 13-7 shot advantage in the frame, Harvard just couldn’t generate the offensive blitz necessary to find the back of the net. Freshman forward Alex Killorn had a decent look at goal about halfway through the period, but was foiled by Brown goaltender Michael Clemente, who stopped 39 shots on the night.

“They limited us to one-shot opportunities as opposed to us getting any kind of a flurry of shots,” Donato said. “Clemente was very solid, and I think they did what they needed to do. The first period, we didn’t play with the type of speed and puck movement that we were hoping for. We left a lot of shots on the board, but we never really created enough presence around their net, whether it was with traffic in front of their goalie, or plays in and around his feet, or second and third opportunities.”

The Bears capitalized on the Crimson’s missed opportunities in the first period and opened up the second with strong play, quickly picking up a 6-0 advantage in shots within the first three minutes of the period. Brown nearly took the lead then when sophomore Jeremy Russell took a hard shot at net. Harvard goaltender sophomore Ryan Carroll stopped the shot, but the puck popped up over his head and seemed to be headed across the goal line. Luckily for the Crimson, McCafferty was there to make the clearance.

“The second was probably their best period, and we got outworked a little bit,” Donato said.

The Bears scored the one and only goal of the night at 3:19 in the third. Fourth line sophomore forward Harry Zolnierczyk scored his first collegiate goal off a close-range rebound that drifted up and over Carroll’s right shoulder.

As the seconds ticked off the clock, assistant captain Alex Biega forced the issue with a few hard far-range slapshots during a Crimson power play, and junior forward Doug Rogers had a couple of attempts at net from the point. But it was too little too late. Clemente rose to the occasion and secured his first collegiate shutout.

“I think energy and effort were not playoff-like, and I don’t believe we played with the sense of commitment and desperation that you need to in order to find success this time of year,” Donato said. “I thought Brown did what they needed to do.”

“I think that’s a good team,” McCafferty added. “Their record might not say so, but they come to play every time that they play us. They’re a good defensive squad, and they’re scrappy around the net, and I think that showed tonight.”

—Staff writer Lucy D. Chen can be reached at lucychen@fas.harvard.edu.