No. 9 Harvard Sweeps Union, RPI on Final Regular Season Homestand

After a crushing loss on Monday night to the Northeastern University Huskies in the Beanpot Championship game, it was imperative that the No. 9 Harvard men’s hockey team put the sting of defeat in the past with four important intra-conference games remaining in the regular season.

“There was a lot of emotional capital spent on Monday night. I thought it was important that we got off to a good start,” head coach Ted Donato said.

The Crimson did just that, taking down the Union College Dutchmen 5-3 on Friday night and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers 4-0 on Saturday. With the Friday win, Harvard secured a top four seed in the ECAC, ensuring a first-round bye in the ECAC tournament, which will crown the conference champion in mid-March prior to the NCAA tournament.

“I thought that was a great win for us. [It was] emotional past Monday so it was really good to see a good team response like that,” said senior forward and captain Baker Shore on Friday. “And a good win rolling into this time of the year.”

Harvard also secured a win on Saturday’s Senior Night, the Crimson’s final home game of the regular season, and celebrated with a post game ceremony honoring forwards John Farinacci, Wyllum Deveaux, Austin Wong, and Shore, defensemen Henry Thrun, Ryan Siedem, and Jace Foskey, and goaltender Mitchell Gibson.

HARVARD 4, RPI 0

In honor of Senior Night, Donato started the game off with five seniors: Deveaux, Shore, and Wong at forward with Thrun and Foskey on defense. Neither team got its offensive game moving in the first five minutes, but the Crimson slowly began to find their legs after a strong shift that began with a forced turnover. Just over eight minutes into the period, sophomore forward Matthew Coronato opened the scoring after collecting the puck at the right circle, shielding off an Engineers defender as he maneuvered to the slot, and cleanly beating Engineers goaltender Jack Watson with a wrist shot.

Despite surrendering the first goal, RPI’s forecheck created havoc throughout the first period, producing a number of opportunities. Forward Ryan Mahshie was unable to capitalize off of a forced turnover when his wrap-around attempt hit the side of the net, and forward Jake Gagnon had another chance off of a forced turnover, but he was denied by Gibson. In the dying seconds of the period, forward Sutter Muzzatti made an incredible series of moves to weave through the defense and through the net, but the puck slid off his stick when he got to the crease, keeping Harvard in front 1-0 at the end of the first.

The Crimson got off to a fast start in the second period, with junior forward Alex Laferriere narrowly missing a goal when his wrist shot hit the crossbar. Soon after, first-year defenseman Ryan Healey had a great chance from the slot that he narrowly missed high, but Harvard’s momentum was threatened when Thrun was penalized for hooking just over three minutes into the period.

The Crimson’s penalty kill stifled RPI’s power play, with the Engineers only recording one shot on goal. Immediately after the power play expired, Laferriere, Farinacci, and sophomore forward Alex Gaffney all had opportunities to add to the lead when the puck got loose in the RPI crease, but the Engineers iced the puck to avoid any damage. However, junior forward Sean Farrell capitalized off of the ensuing offensive zone faceoff when his cross-ice pass from below the right circle deflected off an RPI defender and past Watson, extending the Harvard lead to 2-0.

Sophomore defenseman Ian Moore mans the point against Northeastern in the Beanpot Championship game on February 13. By Dylan J. Goodman

The Crimson’s offense continued to hum, with a dominant shift by the top line of Coronato, Farrell, and first-year forward Joe Miller forcing an icing from the Engineers and a timeout from RPI head coach Dave Smith. This time, Harvard failed to take advantage of the offensive zone faceoff, but the Crimson recorded another goal in the final minute of the second period to stretch its lead to 3-0. After first-year forward Marek Hejduk’s wrister rattled off the boards behind Watson, Harvard came right back into the offensive zone on the attack, and Shore found Hejduk at the backdoor to give the Crimson a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.

“I think Baker’s a really important part of the team, a leader both on and off the ice,” Donato said. “Does a lot of things that maybe don't show up on the score sheet – plays against the other team's top line a lot, kills penalties, block shots, takes key faceoffs for us.”

The Crimson kept the train moving in the third period, and Farrell notched his second of the night four minutes into the period when he tipped a pass from Thrun into the back of the net to make the score 4-0. The Engineers soon made a goaltending change, with Carson Cherepak replacing Watson in net, and the freshman made a great save point blank on Laferriere soon after he entered. RPI didn’t get much going in the third period, with their one golden opportunity shut down by Foskey, who dove to cover a wide-open net after a rebound. Harvard’s seniors got one last shift together on a late power play, and when time expired, the team poured off the bench to celebrate Gibson’s 20-save shutout and the rest of the graduating class.

HARVARD 5, UNION 3

The Dutchmen entered Friday night having won six of their past eight games, with all six wins recorded against ECAC opponents. However, a diverse attack with five different goal-scorers gave the Crimson the offensive push it needed to get back in the win column.

“We expected it to be a good challenge for us and it was. I think they kept coming and we were able to make some plays, execute on power play, and we were able to get some goals throughout the lineup, which I think was really important,” Donato said. “Big goal by Phil Tresca. Big goal by Baker Shore. So I think a lot of good things.”

Only thirty-five seconds into the game, Harvard got on the board, as Gaffney scored off the rush following the game’s opening faceoff. Farinacci and sophomore defenseman Ian Moore tallied the assists, as Farinacci’s shot clipped Gaffney’s leg on its way into the goal.

The Dutchmen evened the score about four minutes later, scoring on the power play after senior defenseman Ryan Siedem was sent to the box for interference. Union’s Chaz Smedsrud finished the play, after teammate John Prokop baited Gibson to the right side of the crease before firing a cross-crease pass back to Smedsrud, who knotted the game at 1-1. Neither team scored in the remainder of the first, as Gibson recorded an additional six saves, while the offense tallied a total of 11 shots on goal.

The Crimson again found itself shorthanded early in the second period, with Siedem again serving time for interference. This time, Harvard showed the strength of its penalty-kill unit, drawing a penalty of its own to bring play to four-on-four. Having only forty seconds of true power play time after Siedem was released, the Crimson were only able to get one shot off.

However, Harvard’s power play capitalized the second time around, scoring on the man-advantage for the fourth straight game. After Dutchman Nic Petruolo was called for hooking, Farrell found the net when he pounced on the rebound of a shot by Laferriere. With the goal, Farrell recorded his team-leading 43rd point of the season.

Junior forward Alex Laferriere skates up the wing against Northeastern in the Beanpot Championship game on February 13. By Dylan J. Goodman

Only 30 seconds after Farrell’s goal, first-year forward Philip Tresca added one of his own, the second goal of his career. Tresca first won the face-off following Farrell’s goal, and created a quick rush with senior linemates Wyllum Deveaux and Austin Wong. After Deveaux’s initial attempt missed, the Crimson regained control and pushed again, and Deveaux found Tresca alone in the slot for a wrist shot that gave the Crimson a 3-1 lead.

Harvard maintained the two goal advantage through the remainder of the second through shut down defense and Gibson’s strong goaltending, including neutralizing a Union power-play with only one shot on goal allowed.

Shore added to the score just under three minutes into the final frame, as the captain scored his second of the season after Hejduk found him open in the slot. Union got one back just after the midpoint of the period, as forward Owen Farris tipped teammate Cullen Ferguson’s shot into the goal. Harvard responded with another aggressive offensive push, catalyzed by a power play after Prokop was called for interference. The first power-play unit, quarterbacked by Moore, put up five shots but was ultimately neutralized by Union.

Within a minute of returning to even strength, the Dutchmen pulled goaltender Connor Murphy for a sixth attacker. The Crimson took advantage of this decision quite quickly, as Shore stopped the Union rush in the neutral zone and dished it to first-year forward Joe Miller, who hit the empty net from center ice. With the assist, Shore recorded the first multi-point game of his career.

“He's certainly very much appreciated each and every night for what he brings, and it's nice to see him have a goal and assist tonight,” Donato said. “He's got family in town for senior night weekend. So I'm happy for Baker, he’s a world class kid, tremendous leader for us.”

Senior defenseman and captain Henry Thrun maneuvers along the blue line against Northeastern in the Beanpot Championship game on February 13. By Dylan J. Goodman

Harvard finished out the game with a Shore tripping penalty with just under a minute left, and the Dutchmen pulled Murphy again to create a six-on-four advantage. Union was able to convert, with Cal Mell getting on the board with 12 seconds to play, but the Dutchmen ran out of time to continue their comeback attempt.

“Tonight [we] had scoring throughout the lineup, which I think is obviously really important going down the stretch here,” Shore said. “Guys have been playing really well… throughout the whole lineup, guys have been playing their role and performing.”

The Crimson will close out the regular season with a road trip to upstate New York, taking on the St. Lawrence University Saints on Friday night before facing the Clarkson University Golden Knights in the season finale on Saturday evening.

— Staff Writer Bridget T. Sands can be reached at bridget.sands@thecrimson.com

— Staff Writer Aaron B. Shuchman can be reached at aaron.shuchman@thecrimson.com