While the rest of us are trying to pick spring classes and stay out of the cold, the Harvard ice hockey teams have different priorities. Facing off against BU, BC and Northeastern in the Beanpot next week, the men’s and women’s teams will look to prove that they are the dominant hockey force in Boston. The two week tournament is never an easy win, but it’s always worth watching. The Back Page breaks down some of the best Harvard Beanpot victories in recent memory.
2005 Women’s Hockey Team Makes it Seven in a Row
In its seventh straight Beanpot victory, the team cruised to a 6-1 victory over Boston College. The 6-1 win was the team’s 11th in a row for the 2004-2005 season. Although the Crimson started slowly, failing to make it on the board in the first 13 minutes, it quickly picked up steam after freshman Laura Brady found the net. Two minutes later, Harvard was up by two and didn’t slow down. The Eagle’s best look and only goal came during a 5-3 advantage.
2012 Men’s Hockey Team Takes Home Third
Although the team was shut out of the championship game, Harvard did not stop playing. Taking on the Huskies in the consolation game, the Crimson avoided coming in last place in the tournament with a 2-3 win over Northeastern. In a back-and-forth matchup, Harvard never gained a comfortable lead. Just seconds after the Crimson went up, 3-1, the Huskies responded, bringing them within one goal again. Harvard’s defense carried the team the rest of the way.
1999 Women’s Hockey Dominates Boston College
In a decisive 9-0 victory, the women’s hockey team proved itself once again to be the best in Boston. The Crimson only needed one to take the title, and co-captain A.J. Mleczko—who led the nation in scoring at the time—got it done early in the first period. Mleczko would go on to net two more in a hat trick. After finding goal only once in the first period—thanks to strong defense by Eagles’ goaltender Christy Nentwig—Harvard turned it on after the break and left Boston College in the dust.
1993 Men’s Hockey Team Wins it All
In Harvard’s most recent Beanpot championship win, the Crimson upset Boston University in a 4-2 victory. The Terriers entered the contest having won the last three tournaments—two over Harvard—and intent on adding a fourth title to the list. But Harvard was not content to let history repeat itself, and defied all expectations by seizing the lead early and never giving it up.
While most non-athletes are gradually easing back into the swing of classes and schoolwork, winter-sport athletes have been on the grind and back in Boston for a while now. It’s getting down to the wire as some winter sports face some tough tests towards the end of their schedule. How have they been faring recently? How's on the rise and who's stock is falling? The Back Page will take a look at who’s hot and who’s not as we head into the critical final weeks of the winter season.
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Senior Kyle Juszczyk may have made his mark for the Crimson as Harvard’s all-time leader in receptions (125), receiving yards (1,576), and touchdowns (22) for a tight end, but he is catching NFL scouts’ eye at a different position—fullback.
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Every week, The Back Page will look at the week to come ahead in Ivy Sports as well as news and notes from around the league. In this week's episode, Kelley Guinn McArtor takes a lot at critical upcoming matchups in the Ivy League.
This week’s athletic schedule is Ivy-filled to the brim, with big Ancient Eight contests occurring in basketball and ice hockey, both men’s and women’s.
While Harvard men’s basketball (10-6) matches up against Yale (7-12) and Brown (7-9) at home this Friday and Saturday, the Crimson women’s team will be traveling to play the Bulldogs (6-10) and the Bears (7-9) on the road.
Princeton (8-7) trails close behind Harvard in the Ancient Eight men’s basketball standings, coming in at number two overall. The Tigers will face off against Cornell (9-10) and Columbia (9-7) in New York on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The contests precede the Crimson’s identical double-header versus the Big Red and the Lions next weekend.
Harvard men’s ice hockey hits the road this Friday to compete against Rensselaer (8-11-5), but other Ivy League squads will face off this weekend. Princeton (7-8-4) journeys to both No. 8 Yale (12-5-3) and Brown (6-9-4), and the Tiger women’s ice hockey team will also matchup against Yale and Brown this weekend at Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton.
On Saturday, the Cornell men’s hockey team will go for its 11th straight Ivy League title against Columbia, having won every Ivy League match it contested since February 2002, with Sunday marking the 11-year anniversary of the feat.
In other Ivy news …
- The NFLPA recently announced a $100 million deal with Harvard University that will serve as funding for a Harvard study on causes and treatments for players’ injuries and illnesses
- The Brown women’s ice hockey team hosted a Score for Survivors fundraiser at Meehan Auditorium on January 21st that raised over $6,000 for leukemia survivors
- Senior Yale women’s hockey player Alyssa Zupon was named as one of 11 nominees for the 2013 BNY Mellon Wealth Management Hockey Humanitarian Award; The award seeks to honor “college hockey’s finest citizens”
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Junior Kalley Armstrong's two-goal weekend, which included a game-winner, was not enough to earn this week's Athlete of the Week honors.
Christian Webster’s group of treys down the stretch that helped the Harvard men’s basketball team pull off a comeback overtime victory against Dartmouth garnered the co-captain top honors this week, but The Back Page would like to recognize other Crimson athletes who posted similarly impressive showings over the last week.
Freshman Christian Carbone, Men’s Swimming
Swimming against Notre Dame and Townson at the Shamrock Invitational this weekend, the freshman broke two records at the Rolfs Aquatic Center. Carbone set a new pool record in the 400 IM, touching the final wall in 3:52:34, shattering his personal best by more than four seconds. He set another personal record in the 200 fly, an event that Harvard swept en route to its sixth-consecutive victory to remain unbeaten on the year.
Freshman Martina Salander, Women’s Track and Field
While half of her team traveled across town to BU to take on teams at the Terrier Invitational, this freshman and the remainder of the track and field team headed south to the Texas A&M Challenge, where Salander proceeded to make history. With over 4094 points in the pentathlon, Salander not only placed second at the meet, she broke a seven-year Harvard record and now holds the top Ivy League mark. At the meet, the rookie reached the podium in all five events, including a first-place finish in the shot put.
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