Struggling Crimson Look to Rebound

The Harvard men’s hockey team, coming off a fourth-place finish in the 58th Annual Beanpot Tournament, looks to rebound in home games against Rensselaer (15-12-3, 8-6-2 ECAC) tonight and against No.16 Union (15-7-6, 9-3-4 ECAC) tomorrow night.

The Crimson (6-14-3, 6-7-3 ECAC), despite its sub-.500 record in league competition, can substantially improve its chances of playing on home ice in the opening round of the conference playoffs with two wins this weekend.

“We know that these teams are pretty close in the standings around us,” sophomore forward Alex Killorn said. “If we want to make a push, these two games are huge.”

Harvard sits in eighth place, the final spot in the standings that guarantees home ice in the first round of the ECAC tournament. The team has six more league games, four of which are at home, before the start of the playoffs.

In two contests in January this year, the Crimson beat the then No.13 Dutchmen, 4-1, and tied the Engineers, 3-3. Harvard scored all three of its goals in the final period of its game versus Rensselaer, a dramatic tie which featured a last-second goal from freshman forward Louis Leblanc. Killorn also scored one of the three third period goals.

Going into the games this weekend, Union is in a three-way tie for the conference lead and the Engineers are in fifth.

Though about a quarter of league schedule remains to be played, the ECAC conference tournament is already in mind for teams and coaches in the 12 team league. “With the way our league is and how teams flip-flop from game to game we still need to have a great last six games and finish strong,” Union coach Nate Leaman said.

Of late, the Crimson’s play has been lackluster, a stark contrast to the three straight league wins that Harvard brought into its last set of games versus the Dutchmen and Rensselaer. In its last five contests, the Crimson has been outscored 20-10, with a lone victory coming against ECAC opponent Brown.

Of particular concern was the team’s inability to convert power play opportunities against Northeastern in the Beanpot consolation game.

In the first period of that contest, Harvard had a five-on-three chance for nearly a minute and a half. The Crimson managed only one shot and no goals with the two-man advantage. The other power play opportunities were fruitless as well.

The coaching staff took note of this shortcoming against the Huskies.

“We’re stressing with some of our plays some of the things...that did not work well the last times we’ve been on power,” said Harvard assistant coach Patrick Foley. “There’s a sense of urgency on our part, to correct some issues that we need to correct, and our hope is that the competitive spirit that we need to be a winning team comes out.”

Killorn noted that the Crimson had success against Brown on the power play, a game in which Harvard scored two goals when the Bears had four players on the ice.

“We know we can score on a power play, but we have to outwork their team,” Killorn said. “By watching video and working on it in practice, I think we’ll be fine for the weekend.”

The Crimson has given up 18 goals in conference play when short one player on the ice. On the other hand, Union has allowed just 10 goals on the power play this year in conference games, second fewest in the ECAC.

Despite a sound defeat on home ice in its last game against Harvard, the Dutchmen look to be tougher competition this time around. Union is coming into the weekend with two consecutive victories, including an 11-2 trouncing of Clarkson. Dutchmen forward Mario Valery-Trabucco, who is third on the team in goals and fifth in assists, had a hattrick in the game. He was shut out in the first contest against Harvard.

With three more weekends of league competition left in the regular season, Foley was reluctant to discuss the playoff picture. Instead, he looks at taking the rest of the season one game at a time.

“Our ultimate goal is to win Friday night and let the rest take care of itself.” Foley said.