Crimson Empire State Road Trip Results in Split Record

As most of the school focused on New Haven this weekend, the Harvard men’s hockey team split a pair of decisions in northern New York, beating Clarkson (7-4-3, 2-3-1 ECAC), 3-2, Friday evening before falling, 4-3, to St. Lawrence (4-6-0, 4-2-0) on Saturday night.

The power play was the story of the weekend. After a successful penalty kill in the final minutes of Friday night’s game, the Crimson (2-2-1, 2-2-1) could not replicate that success the following evening, allowing two goals when down one man in the loss.

“It’s always tough to go on the road and get the win … especially in the North Country [of Northern New York],” sophomore defenseman Dan Ford said. “But we were disappointed to miss a good opportunity to complete the sweep Saturday night.”

ST. LAWRENCE 4, HARVARD 3

Coming off of a strong team performance the night before, the Crimson came into the Appleton Arena Saturday night looking to build on its .500 record.

Despite an early lead and an even game late in the final period, Harvard could not defend a youthful Saints offense, led by freshman forwards Chris Martin and Gunnar Hughes, in the 4-3 loss.

Five minutes into the game, the Crimson converted its first power-play opportunity on freshman defenseman Patrick McNally’s second goal of the season. McNally’s score was one of four by Harvard defensemen this weekend.

Two minutes later, Martin fired a rebound past freshman goalkeeper Steve Michalek on a St. Lawrence five-on-four advantage. The power play would define the opening two periods, as each team converted its first pair of opportunities, including senior forward Jacob Drewiske’s strike that gave the Saints the lead with five minutes left in the first period.

The power-play goals from St. Lawrence left the Crimson disappointed in its penalty killing.

“On the road, you got to do the little things right,” Ford said. “They have the advantage of playing at home, and you don’t want to give them easy opportunities to score goals.”

Just moments into the second frame, Harvard leveled the game at two when defenseman Danny Biega hit a one-time shot past sophomore goalkeeper Matt Weninger. The goal was the junior’s second on the weekend.

Michalek made 28 saves on the day, including a stop on a two-on-one breakaway, but the Saints again reclaimed the lead on Martin’s second goal of the day halfway through the second period.

St. Lawrence maintained that lead for almost 20 minutes of play. Midway through the third, Ford scored another equalizer to even the game at three.

But the tie did not last for long, as Hughes scored three minutes later to put the Saints in the lead for good.

HARVARD 3, CLARKSON 2

Riding its victory over then-No. 18 ranked Colgate last weekend, Biega fired home a deflected shot with seven minutes left in the game, as the Crimson edged out Clarkson in a five-goal shootout at Cheel Arena.

Harvard was successful in killing the Golden Knights’ power-play opportunities, allowing only one goal in seven chances. The biggest test for the Crimson came in the last five minutes, as the squad had to kill a major penalty that left Harvard down a man for the remainder of regulation.

“There were a lot of guys contributing,” Ford said. “They were doing the little things right, [like] blocking shots and finishing checks. Those are the important things on the road.”

Harvard scored first on the power play, the first time this year that the Crimson has scored the first goal. Senior forward Eric Kroshus received the puck along the goal line and deked past a defender and the goalkeeper for his first goal of the year.

“I think really important for us is to start playing just physical out here … and try to score first,” freshman forward Petr Placek said. “I think it’s really good for our team to be in the lead …[and] really concentrate on starting right away and not just battling the third period.”

But less than 30 seconds later, the game was tied again, as forward Nick Tremblay found the five-hole to beat Michalek.

The freshman had 30 saves on the day, while his Clarkson counterpart, senior Nick Karpowich, denied Harvard 24 times.

The Knights had four power plays in the second period, all of which the Crimson killed, including a 39-second five-on-three situation.

Harvard pushed forward on attack, and McNally hit a shot wide that shattered the Plexiglas behind the goal, causing a 15-minute delay in the game.

But soon, the Crimson was back in front when freshman forward Tommy O’Regan found the back of the net on a breakaway for his first collegiate goal.

But the Knights were not out. With eight minutes left in the game, Clarkson netted its only power-play goal of the day through sophomore forward Matt Zarbo.

“They had all the momentum, but we did a good job of sticking with our game plan and focusing on doing the little things right,” Ford said.

Harvard’s game plan worked, as less than a minute later, Biega rifled his shot past Karpowich with the help of some deflections.

And despite the late major penalty that left the Crimson down a man for the rest of the game, the team continued its strong penalty kill and rode out the pressure for an opening win on its road trip.