Crimson Hosts Rival in Crucial Home Test

The Harvard men’s ice hockey team has been used to skating as the underdog for most of its current four-game unbeaten streak.

After a disappointing 2-10-2 start, the resurgent Crimson (5-10-3, 5-5-3 ECAC) will see if it can handle the pressure of being the favorite when it squares off with ECAC and Ancient Eight foe Princeton (7-10-2, 3-8-1) Friday night at the Bright Hockey Center.

After failing to get back-to-back victories through its first 14 games of the season, Harvard put together a three-game winning streak that included wins over No. 6 Yale and No. 18 Union. The Crimson followed this streak with a dramatic comeback at Rensselaer, in which Harvard scored three goals in the third period to draw, 3-3.

The tie against the Redhawks was reminiscent of the Crimson’s first game against Princeton this season, when Harvard faced deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 before coming back to knot things up in an overtime finish.

That game against the Tigers seems like a distant memory for the Crimson, as it is now sporting the nation’s fourth-longest active unbeaten streak and is unbeaten (4-0-1) in its last five ECAC contests.

“We’ve really done a better job of establishing our forecheck and putting pucks in the net,” captain Alex Biega said. “We have been better at identifying the strengths on the team, and when we actually execute our game plan we can be dangerous.”

Despite Harvard’s recent improvement, predicting the outcome of Friday’s match-up is no easy task. Princeton is just as streaky as its opponents.

Following the tie with the Crimson, the Tigers lost six consecutive games, only to go 3-0-1 over the next four games. The Tigers followed that run with two home losses to Union and Rensselaer, but stomped Connecticut on Monday, 8-1.

Harvard is poised to go unbeaten in a season against Princeton for the first time in four years, and a clutch win would make the already tight ECAC race all the more dramatic.

After gaining seven points in its last four games to notch a total of 13 on the season, the Crimson is currently in eighth place in the ECAC, with only four points separating Harvard from league-leading Union. With merely nine ECAC games left, it’s clear that anything could happen in the standings as the Crimson seek to gain a coveted first-round bye by finishing in the top four of the ECAC.

“There’s no other way to do it but to win every game,” Biega said. “We’re past the point where we can really look at how many games we can afford to lose. Taking it step by step is the only way we’ll continue to win.”

The catalyst for Harvard has been freshman Louis Leblanc, who now leads the squad in goals with nine. Leblanc recorded multiple points in three of the games in the Crimson’s unbeaten streak, during which the star rookie totaled five goals and an assist. His performance earned Leblanc back-to-back ECAC Rookie of the Week honors.

“I definitely had to adjust to college hockey,” Leblanc said. “Getting used to a new league full of older and stronger guys new league full of older and stronger guys was tough, but I think we’re all really clicking now. We’re definitely working harder on and off the ice.”

The Crimson has historically found its best following the exam period. Under coach Ted Donato ‘91, the Crimson is 35-8-8 in league games after the break.

“I think we started off slow, but at some point we realized we were running out of games,” Leblanc said. “We are right back in the race to finish in the top four and we’re excited for Princeton and a chance to come out on top in that series.”

Leblanc’s offense has provided a valuable complement to Harvard’s impressive defensive efforts. The Crimson has killed 17 out of its opponents’ last 18 power plays, and junior goalie Ryan Carroll has stopped 147 of the last 153 shots he has faced.

“Louis’s been very active for us since he stepped on campus,” Biega said. “He’s scoring big goals for us when we need them, and hopefully he keeps up with his hot streak.”

—Staff writer Colin Whelehan can be reached at whelehan@fas.harvard.edu.