Slow Start Spells Doom for Men's Hockey in 4-2 Loss to Colgate

Renewed energy in the second and third periods was too little, too late for the Crimson on Saturday night as Harvard fell to Colgate, 4-2, at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center.

After giving up three early goals, the Crimson (5-10-3, 2-8-3 ECAC) was simply unable to keep up as the Raiders (11-9-3, 7-3-1) outskated the squad for the duration of the match, giving Harvard its second loss of the weekend.

“We fought back,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “We had some chances all the way to the end, but we just weren’t able to get one by. We fell behind way too easily, gave up way too easily, and that was the story of our game.”

The beginning of the second period was a turning point for the Crimson as sophomore goaltender Steve Michalek entered the game. Colgate continued to test the defense all throughout the period, taking 11 shots on goal, but all 11 were stopped by Michalek. The substitution worked as Michalek and the defensive line managed to keep the Raiders scoreless for the second twenty minutes of the game.

“Our offense really helped our defense tonight,” sophomore forward Kyle Criscuolo said. “But Steve also came in and played a great game. He was able to come in and shut the door for us and make some big stops.”

This defensive push was followed by an offensive rush in the third period, as the Crimson registered a game-high 10 attempted shots in the last twenty minutes. Harvard capitalized on a power play opportunity with two minutes left on the clock, pulling Michalek from the game to create an advantage for the Crimson. Criscuolo was able to finish on sophomore Jimmy Vesey’s assist, powering the puck past Colgate goaltender Charlie Finn to bring Harvard within a point of the Raiders.

The goal was the second of the night for Criscuolo. After trailing for close to 40 minutes, Harvard had found the back of the net near the end of the second period when Criscuolo utilized an assist from freshman Luke Esposito.

With the gap closed to 3-2 and one minute to go, Donato pulled Michalek again.  The Crimson fought to tie the game, but lost possession of the puck to the Raiders.

With its goalie benched, Harvard found itself unable to stop Colgate from solidifying the win. Colgate’s Ryan Johnston sent the puck sailing into Harvard’s empty net to take the final two point lead over the Crimson, 4-2.

“We need to find a way to come out and play with a lead, instead of fighting from behind for the win,” Donato said. “Responding to what other teams do every night is not the way we want to go about recapturing success.”

Harvard’s dynamic second and third period performances came in response to a first period dictated by the Colgate offense, as three different players managed to register scores for the Raiders.

After Colgate’s Mike McCann got the Raiders on the scoreboard, the Crimson continued to lose control of the puck, committing turnovers and handing the Raiders key scoring opportunities.

“We were on our heels a little bit,” Donato said. “They didn’t score on the first power play, but I certainly think it changed the momentum of the game.”

While Harvard managed to stop three different power play opportunities in the opening period, two of which came back-to-back, the Raiders were still able to capitalize in the first twenty minutes.

After McCann’s initial goal, Colgate’s Tylor Spink outmaneuvered the Crimson defenders and junior goaltender Peter Traber at close range to bring the score to 2-0. The gap was soon widened when Daniel Gentzler snaked past the Crimson defense to give his squad the 3-0 lead.

“Our start today cost us a lot of the game,” Donato said. “[Colgate] had some great scoring chances and I give them a lot of credit. They moved the puck well, they skated well. I think it is a good sign that we battled back in the second and third, but falling behind three nothing at home makes for a deep hole to come out of.”

—Staff writer Jillian Dukes can be reached at jdukes01@college.harvard.edu.