Men's Hockey Undefeated in First Road Stint

The Harvard men’s ice hockey team fell seconds short of a long-overdue sweep yet provided a strong statement in the season’s first weekend double.

In upstate New York, the Crimson shut out RPI, 4-0, on Friday before tying defending national champion Union, 2-2, on Saturday. A last-minute goal from freshman Dutchman forward Spencer Foo prevented Harvard (1-0-2, 1-0-2 ECAC) from securing its first pair of road wins on consecutive nights since January 2007.

“I think the takeaway overall is that it’s a pretty solid weekend,” Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “I think we improved as a team over the weekend.”

Junior forwards Jimmy Vesey and Brian Hart combined for five of the Crimson’s goals while junior netminder Steve Michalek made 56 stops over 125 minutes of play.

HARVARD 2, UNION 2

Foo scored with 45 seconds left in regulation to complete a two-goal comeback for No. 8 Union (5-4-1, 0-3-1) and force overtime in Schenectady, N.Y. Both teams had strong chances to clinch the game in the extra frame but settled for one point apiece in the conference standings.

Michalek finished with 42 saves, one short of his career high.  His 42nd save was a web gem that denied Union sophomore forward Mike Vecchione on a point-blank opportunity with 11 seconds left in overtime.

“Steve had an unbelievable weekend,” Vesey said. “For us to be a good team, we’re going to have to rely on him a lot, and it’s good to see him playing well already.”

Harvard outshot the hosts, 14-3, in the first period and commanded the opening minutes of play. Vesey put back a rebound off a deflected shot from sophomore line mate Alex Kerfoot to put the Crimson up one just over three minutes into the game. Hart added to the lead at 10:44 in the period with a deflection of an outside shot from junior defenseman Desmond Bergin.

Union, which entered the night on a four-game losing streak, regained national champion-form after the first break. Dutchman senior Max Novak halved the Crimson lead just over a minute into the second period with a doorstep marker.

“I think they probably got chewed out a little bit by their coach in between periods and just came out with a lot more speed and tenacity,” Vesey said.

Union proceeded to outshoot Harvard, 34-14, over the final two frames of regulation.

In overtime, Kerfoot nearly capitalized on a shorthanded breakaway. A boarding penalty by sophomore Luke Esposito forced Harvard to skate a man down for the final 1:56 of the game.

“[This game] is a learning moment for us,” Donato said. “Taking three out of four points against two pretty good teams is something to build upon.”

HARVARD 4, RPI 0

Vesey scored twice on the power play, and an aggressive Harvard forecheck limited the Engineers (4-6-0, 3-1-0) to only 14 shots on goal Friday night in Troy, N.Y.

“We did a lot of good things offensively,” Donato said. “[The team] really controlled the play on both ends of the rink.”

Michalek recorded his third career shutout while Hart and sophomore Luke Esposito added a goal apiece on the second line.

Vesey struck first with just over a minute and a half left in the first period. In a back-and-forth exchange, the junior forward one-timed a quick feed in the slot from sophomore line mate Alex Kerfoot to beat RPI goaltender Jason Kasdorf stick-side.

Despite leading the team in goals last year, Vesey had been held scoreless in his last eight games.

“I think [scoring early] was kind of a relief and allowed me to play more relaxed out there,” Vesey said.

Harvard carried the energy of the breakthrough into a dominant final two frames.

Hart faked out Kasdorf from behind the net to put the Crimson up a pair with a sneaky wrap-around at 10:09 in the second period. Four minutes later, Vesey stuffed in his second goal past a scrum in the crease to put Harvard up three.

The Crimson quickly deflated any hopes for a change of pace for the Engineers in the third. Hart found Esposito for a fourth strike just over a minute into the last period.

“We played very much to our identity,” Vesey said. “We played with a lot of speed and let our skills take over. We totally swarmed RPI, and I thought all four goals were really nice plays.”

— Crimson staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at michael.ledecky@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @mdledecky.