Without Clear Centerpiece, Men's Hockey to Rely on Depth

Gone are the days of the one-man show at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. That exhibit has been relocated to a destination where all such spectacles thrive—Broadway. Or, if we want to be more precise, a few blocks further south at Madison Square Garden.

But fear not Cambridge, for the Bright lights are not to be extinguished just yet. A new act is in town, and it’s ranked No. 12 in the nation. But if this show wants quality reviews, it’s going to take the full ensemble.

All right, enough metaphor. But hey, it’s not like the storylines surrounding the Harvard men’s hockey team are anything new. Hobey Baker winner Jimmy Vesey ’16—the face of the program for the last two seasons—is now a member of the New York Rangers. Not to mention, two-year captain Kyle Criscuolo—the leader of the program over that same stretch—has departed as well.

Those two alone combined for 39 percent of the Crimson’s goals in their final two seasons. And their stat lines to the tune of 92 goals and 92 assists over two years are not easy to reproduce.

Harvard knows that. Coach Ted Donato ’91 knows that. But the skipper also knows that he has a large cast ready to take on the challenge as a unit.

“It’s not hard for us as a coaching staff to convince our team that no one guy is going to try to replace what we had go out the door,” Donato said. “As far as who steps in, I think we have to do it a little bit more across the board. We’re going to have to not really look to a player or a line, but more of a team game. And I think that we’re capable of doing it.”

The Crimson rides into the 2016-2017 campaign boasting two dynamic forward lines—ones Donato said he hopes to be able to call “1 and 1A.” Co-captain Alexander Kerfoot, the last man standing from last year’s first line, will be joined atop the depth chart by a pair of sophomore wingers—Ryan Donato and Lewis Zerter-Gossage.

Ryan Donato, who notched a hat trick last season in his one appearance on the top line, logged 13 goals and eight assists as a rookie. The Boston Bruins prospect knows he has big skates to fill, but he says he’ll be trying to emulate Vesey and Criscuolo, “perfect hockey players” in his mind.

“[I want to] be more of a leader,” Ryan Donato said. “I’m in a more important role than I was last year, and I think they expect me to do more things than I did last year as well. I just want to do what I can do, control what I can control, and help the team whatever way I can.”

While Ryan Donato always looked like a lock for a promotion, Zerter-Gossage was far from a shoe-in considering that the Montreal native spent most of his time on the fourth line last year. But the line came together in captain’s practices, and Ted Donato soon saw something click.

Next in line is a trio of senior roommates, Sean Malone, Tyler Moy, and Luke Esposito. The three forwards have played on a line together in the past, but not for long stretches of time. But given their chemistry, the three amigos were eager to try and make the combination work.

Up against Arizona State, it certainly did. Albeit against weak competition, the trio exploded for 15 points in Harvard’s first two regular season contests last weekend.

“We had high expectations for ourselves coming in, and I think we may have exceeded them,” Esposito said. “So now the expectations are higher.”

Nonetheless, while Harvard’s offensive potential draws the headlines, the Crimson has also quietly stocked up on blue-line talent this offseason. Freshmen John Marino and Adam Fox—draft picks of the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, respectively—are expected to contribute right out of the gate.

Thus far, Marino has been playing alongside perhaps the Crimson’s best returning D-man, 6’7” Wiley Sherman, who is fully healthy after suffering a season-ending arm injury last postseason. And Fox—who Donato likened to Patrick McNally ’15, Harvard’s last true offensive defenseman—has already logged three assists and become a core piece of the power play.

“These guys with great offensive abilities and great decision-making and great instincts, sometimes I feel they’re born as much as they are developed,” Ted Donato said. “I think a guy like Adam Fox… really sees the second and third layers of offense.”

In the back, junior goaltender Merrick Madsen is set to mind the Crimson net once again. Madsen had a breakout year last season, producing an 18-7-3 record, a 2.00 goals against average, and a .931 save percentage—eighth best in the country.

Meanwhile, sophomore Michael Lackey, who battled Madsen for the starting job last season, will be unavailable at least for the first few months of the season with an undisclosed injury. Donato says Lackey had some work done this offseason and the team will re-evaluate where he stands “closer to the New Year.”

With all these pieces, Harvard was predicted to finish third in both ECAC preseason polls—right where the Crimson wound up at the end of the regular season a year ago. Furthermore, Kerfoot says the team has “really high expectations.”

“We obviously lost some key guys… but the last two years, we made it to the final of the ECAC championship and made it to the NCAA tournament,” Kerfoot said. “We want to build off that and take another step this year.”

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MeagherTHC.