Harvard Beats Princeton in Shutout to Advance to ECAC Quarterfinals

Harvard men’s ice hockey (7-17-6, 7-10-6 ECAC) shutout the Princeton Tigers (10-16-4, 8-11-3 ECAC) 1-0 in the single-elimination first round of the 2024 ECAC playoffs, moving on to the quarterfinals for a best of three second round playoff series.

Harvard sophomore netminder Aku Koskenvuo helped the Crimson slow down Princeton early, facing several good attempts from the Tigers. One of the attempts came on a penalty shot at 1:17 after junior captain and defenseman Ian Moore was called for interference on a Princeton breakaway opportunity. On several key plays early in the first Koskenvuo shut down these offensive sequences by kicking out his pads and gloving down shots before any Princeton player could rush in to attempt a rebound shot.

But on the whole, the team finally looked to complete the plays it drew up and focused less on hitting to set the tone. Koskenvuo’s early play, coupled with the coherence of Harvard’s attack, was quickly rewarded. Moore netted his second goal of the season off a slapshot at 6:42 from a pass at the right wing by fellow defenseman and junior Jack Bar. The puck barely got off the ice but slid just to the outside of the Princeton goalie’s left pad and glove to get the go-ahead goal.

In discussing what helped secure the win, Harvard Head Coach Ted Donato praised Princeton’s play on the season.

“We certainly had to dig deep. Princeton's a good team,” Donato said. “When we played them around the new year, they were as high as second place and they [were] a real dangerous offensive team, one of the top power plays in the country.”

“I thought Aku [Koskenvuo] was outstanding, and needed to be but I thought, at the end of the game, our guys were selling out to try to do the right things to win the game,” Donato added.

On Harvard’s single powerplay attempt from a tripping call on Tiger senior center Joe Berg, nothing got through Princeton’s defense. Against Prineton this season the team is only one for five on the power play. The Crimson was called for two penalties of its own in the period, the first against first-year center Ben MacDonald for holding at 5:28 and then Moore’s interference near the final minute. Both were unsuccessful for Princeton.

Neither team was able to turn plays into scoring opportunities in the second as play along the boards kept the puck out of each other's possession on any potential zone sequence. Harvard junior left wing Alex Gaffney and first-year right wing Ryan Fine fought hard to keep possession with their team and in several instances skated around multiple defenders to cycle the puck back into play.

Whatever became a shot attempt was still expertly handled by Harvard’s Koskenvuo and the Tiger first-year goaltender Arthur Smith. This despite both goalies allowing about three goals a game through their careers.

Koskenvuo discussed the high number of shots he faced in a postgame interview with The Crimson.

“I think it's nice when there’s shots coming,” he said. “It's easier to stay in the game and it just feels like you're more a part of the game.”

The significance of the first round of playoffs seemed to keep what was previously a lopsided season series competitive. Harvard first tied the Tigers 4-4 on Nov. 3 that Princeton eventually won in the overtime shootout. The team then fell 5-2 in regulation in the Dec. 30 contest.

A penalty against Harvard opened play in the final period, the first notable action since the first. Sophomore center Philip Tresca, in action for just his 13th game this season, received a minor for tripping at 17:05.

This was the second penalty that put Princeton on the power play. But it, too, wound up unsuccessful.

Just after the conclusion of the penalty, the ice broke open for a Tiger two-on-one opportunity. As it tried to make a cross-ice pass, first-year defenseman Matthew Morden jumped in front of the puck to stop one of the two teams' best scoring attempts of the night. At this point of the match Princeton had nearly three times as many shots on goal.

Now with less than 10 minutes remaining, Koskenvuo continued stepping up to make saves. A strong pad block saved another good Princeton attempt after the puck was taken up in Princeton’s offensive zone on the left boards and carried into the slot. A forehand-backhand deke created space for the team to get a shot off, but Koskenvuo positioned himself well to defend.

When asked what has clicked for Harvard in the late stretch of the season, Koskenvuo noted, “I feel like we're bonding together, the young guys are stepping up and I think everyone's just playing better all the time.”

Moore explained what he believes the goal is this week in preparing for the next round of play. “[To] focus on doing everything we can each day and practice and workout and skills, everything we can do to get better and get ourselves prepared.”

—Staff writer Nate M. Bolan can be reached at nathan.bolan@thecrimson.com.