NOTEBOOK: Bears Deal Harvard First Shutout Loss

The Harvard men’s hockey team had a rocky regular season, but at least one thing was consistent. Coming into this weekend’s ECAC first-round playoff series against Brown, the Crimson had scored at least one goal in all 29 games. Against the Bears on Friday, that changed, as goaltender Michael Clemente blanked Harvard to give his team a 1-0 victory.

“We kind of accepted their defensive pressure a little too easily for my liking,” said Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91. “We didn’t force the issue enough.”

The poor showing on the attack was the result of a lack of urgency and an unwillingness to vigorously create opportunities. In the offensive zone, the effort to win pucks physically and crash the net was nonexistent.

“We wanted to come out today with [desperation], but it wasn’t there,” Harvard co-captain Brian McCafferty said.

The Crimson outshot Brown 39-23, but it was the quality, not the quantity, of shots that mattered.

“We need our offensive guys to really commit to generating offense and if it’s not going to come easy, we can’t be easily pushed aside,” Donato said.

In the last five minutes, moves at net finally gained ferocity and intent. Junior Alex Biega ripped a pair of slapshots on goal, but the Crimson could not finish the rebounds. After sophomore goaltender Ryan Carroll was yanked in the final minute, junior Doug Rogers created a couple of dangerous opportunities, including a shot that sprayed just wide of the post. The flurry at the end of the third period, however, was too little and too late.

As Donato explained, the team was caught in the attitude of “hang around and see what happens,” for much of the contest.

POWERLESS PLAY

Harvard had two power plays late in the third period when Brown was whistled for holding at 9:36 and 16:12. Both chances were squandered, and neither of the man-advantage opportunities was especially strong.

“I think that they’ve done a job against us in the special teams,” Donato said. “I thought they did a good job keeping us to one shot at a time and keeping us to the outside.”

Even with an extra attacker, the Crimson was unable to set up its offense. Passing was sloppy, the blueliners failed to control the puck, and the forwards were unable to skate in front of the crease to create distractions. There seemed to be too much puck-watching and not enough organization.

“We have to find a way other than waiting for our opportunity on the power play to be able to create offense,” Donato said.

Harvard never had a chance to get in a rhythm on the power play, since only two penalties were called against the Bears on the night.

Freshman Daniel Moriarty, called for slashing in the second period, was the only Crimson skater sent to the box.

DOWN ON BROWN

Brown has historically been a tough match for Harvard. In the past three seasons, the Crimson is 1-4-3 against the Bears.

Brown, which finished in last in the ECAC regular season standings, managed to tie Harvard twice this year before this weekend. In both games, the Crimson had a sizeable advantage in shots on target. In the first meeting in Providence, Harvard won the shot battle 38-23, but finished with a 3-3 draw. At the Bright Hockey Center in January, the Crimson posted 51 shots to the Bears’ 29 in a 1-1 tie.

“Throughout my career, they’ve always been a tough opponent for us,” McCafferty said. “No matter what the records and what the scores, they always give us a good game and we didn’t expect anything less tonight.”

Brown is a scrappy team, and the Bears’ first goal, scored by Harry Zolnierczyk, exemplifies this. The tally was the sophomore’s second point of the season and the first goal of his career.

Defensively, the Bears caused messy play by the Harvard attack.

“Brown did a good job limiting our real solid opportunities,” Donato said. “I thought Brown did what they needed to do. They hung around and they played and I think they deserve a lot of credit.”

—Staff writer Jake I. Fisher can be reached at jifisher@fas.harvard.edu.