Men's Hockey Extends Unbeaten Streak with Win and Tie

The turnaround has begun for the Harvard men’s hockey team.

After a dismal start to the season, no one has been able to beat the Crimson (5-10-3, 5-5-3 ECAC) in its last four games. In that same stretch, the team has outscored its opponents, 14-7.

“We’ve worked hard in practice,” freshman forward Louis Leblanc said. “We worked a lot on our offensive play, and all four lines have been clicking lately, and we’re starting to put the puck in the net.”

Notably, Harvard also notched its first away win since its Oct. 30 season opener against Dartmouth with a 4-1 win over No. 13 Union (13-5-5, 7-1-3 ECAC) on Friday night at Messa Rink. The Crimson then skated to a 3-3 tie with Rensselaer (13-11-2, 6-5-1 ECAC) the following evening at Houston Field House.

“It’s very difficult winning on the road in our league, and we’re very happy with the result and getting three out of the four points this weekend—especially at places [like] Union and RPI with their atmosphere and the support they have,” captain Alex Biega said. “We’re happy to have found our stride this week, and it’s definitely a positive sign.”

HARVARD 3, RENSSELAER 3

Leblanc once again proved to be the key playmaker on Saturday night against a stalwart Engineers defense.

With less than three seconds left in regulation, the rookie slammed home the rebound from sophomore Alex Killorn’s shot to give the Harvard the tying goal and send the game into overtime.

“I got one shot,” Leblanc said. “The goalie made a great save, and after that I was able to jam it into the net. It was a great feeling to be able to tie the game for the team.”

Despite holding a 3-2 shot advantage during extra time, the Crimson wasn’t able to carry forward its third-period goal-scoring momentum. Harvard scored all three of its goals in the final frame of regulation.

Down 2-0 at the action-packed start of the third, Killorn got things going for the Crimson just 20 seconds into the period when he found the back of the net following a Renssealer turnover forced by Leblanc.

Though the Engineers were able to get one back less than a minute later, Harvard again pulled to within one when senior forward Doug Rogers fired home a shot from the left hash-mark to make it 3-2 with 2:30 to go in the frame.

“We just had to elevate our game going into the third,” Leblanc said. “We had a good pep talk and we came out strong. We kept battling hard and were able to tie the game up.”

HARVARD 4, UNION 1

The Crimson notched its third-consecutive win over a ranked opponent when it handed the Dutchmen their first league loss of the season on Friday.

Junior goaltender Ryan Carroll made a career-high 47 saves as Harvard overcame a blistering Union offense that outshot the Crimson, 48-25. With the win, Carroll improves his record to 3-2-1 overall.

“[Carroll] and Kyle Richter have been stellar when they’ve been on,” Biega said. “As of late, Carroll’s had great performances and carried the team along and has made some great saves.”

With Carroll at the helm of Harvard’s defensive efforts, the Crimson shut the Dutchmen down on the power play, holding the fifth-ranked unit 1-for-8 on the night.

The Crimson offense was led by the excellent play of a group of underclassmen. Early in the second period, freshman Conor Morrison shot home sophomore Eric Kroshus’ rebound for the team’s first goal just two minutes after the Dutchmen got on the board, knotting the game at one.

Kroshus then tallied the game-winner at 12:07 in same frame when he deflected a shot from Biega into the net.

“[Kroshus] definitely brings a big element to our team,” Biega said. “We’re not really a big offensive team, and we really rely on our defensive play. But it’s nice to see guys like Eric, who’s a very skilled forward, score goals and get rewarded.”

Freshmen Danny Biega and Alex Fallstrom added insurance goals late in the third after Union goaltender Keith Kinkaid was pulled with just over a minute left in regulation.

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