Harvard Victory Over Colgate Marks First of Young Season

For Harvard men’s hockey, four is a lucky number. In its fourth game of the season, the Crimson squad won its first game of the year, soundly defeating Colgate, 4-2, on Saturday night at the Bright Hockey Center.

In its second game of the weekend, Harvard (1-2-1, 1-2-1 ECAC) bounced back after losing to Cornell on Friday night and took a comfortable win over No. 18 Colgate (6-4-1, 2-2-0).

“We are excited for the first win. I thought our guys really battled under some tough circumstances early,” Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “I thought a lot of guys stepped up and made some plays not only to stay in the game but to win the game.”

Consistent with every game this season, the Crimson faced an early deficit, and only 7:31 into the game, Colgate defenseman Spiro Goulakos took a shot close to the blue line that freshman goalie Steve Michalek saved, but was unable to hold onto, and Colgate’s forward Robbie Bourdon put the puck into the back of the net.

The ice was at times sparsely populated on Saturday night, but the penalty box was busy all evening.

Over the three periods of play, there was a total of 21 penalties amongst the two teams, 16 of which came in the second period.

“I think it was certainly one of the craziest periods I have ever been involved with as a player or a coach,” Donato said. “It was one of the most exhausting games that I have been a part of.”

Just 3:54 into the second period, freshman defenseman Patrick McNally had a shot on goal that was blocked, and Harvard left wingman Rence Coassin shot the deflection into the back of the net to even the game at one.

Less than a minute later, junior defenseman Danny Biega was charged with a game misconduct and was ousted from play. Biega’s game misconduct is the second such penalty for the Crimson in its last two games.

Colgate capitalized on Biega’s departure, and Austin Smith scored a power-play goal for the Raiders, giving them a 2-1 advantage.

Despite trailing, Harvard kept its composure and took advantage of Colgate penalties to claw its way back into the game.

For the Crimson, one costly Colgate penalty proved to be a turning point in the game. Raiders wingman Nick Prockow was thrown out of the contest for grasping the facemask about 15 minutes into the second period.

After his ejection, the Crimson capitalized on a five-on-three situation when McNally scored his first goal of the season 16:32 into the second period.

“It was just a five-on-three—a good opportunity to score, and I got one in the slot and let one go, and it was lucky enough to go in,” McNally said.

McNally’s goal was followed 79 seconds later with a goal from senior forward Alex Killorn. The score gave Harvard a 3-2 lead—the team’s first of the season.

In addition to taking advantage of the power play, Harvard’s freshmen made a big difference in Saturday night’s game.

Coming off a strong performance against Cornell in which he allowed only one goal in two periods of action, freshman goalie Steve Michalek was given the starting nod and took advantage of the opportunity.

Michalek had 30 saves on the night and made several impressive stops in the third period when Colgate was threatening.

“He made at least three saves that were ESPN-type saves,” Donato said. “I think it gave our bench a big boost.”

Freshman Colin Blackwell took control of the game during the third period. Only 2:43 into the final frame, the freshman skated down the rink and rifled an angled shot that was too much for Colgate goalie Erik Mihalik to stop.

After his goal early in the period, Blackwell had several more scoring opportunities that he was unable to convert, including a break away chance muffed by a misfire.

The Crimson held off some late Colgate comeback attempts to win the game, ending a three-game losing streak to start the year.

“The first three games [of the season], we played pretty well … It was time to bury down and get the W,” Blackwell said. “We felt like we are good, we have confidence in one another. We went out there and had opportunities, and tonight, we buried them.”