Back at Home in the Crimson Goal

What a difference a year makes.

This time last October, Harvard was scrambling to fill the goalie position, looking to three untested netminders to act as anchors of the team’s defense.

But with the return of star goaltender Kyle Richter—as well as the recent rise of up-and-coming junior Ryan Carroll—the Crimson appears to be in better shape at the start of this season than it was last year.

“We’re having a real positive feeling, and have a lot of reason to have optimism,” Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 says. “Last season we came to a spot where we didn’t have a goalie to start the season that had played in a college game. This year we’ll have three. And although he’s been off for a little bit, when Kyle Richter left us, he was the goalie of the year in our league. Ryan Carroll played very well last year, and I think John Riley has developed a lot since he arrived. We feel a lot stronger in that position than we have been in a long time.”

Although there are now two other contenders for the job, Richter, a junior, seems poised for the top spot.

Before his start in last week’s exhibition game against McGill, Richter’s last time out on Harvard ice was the 2007-08 season, in which his strong performance in the crease earned him the Ken Dryden Award as the ECAC’s best goaltender.

That season, the Calgary, Alberta native notched a .935 save percentage in league play as well as a 2.19 goals-against average overall.

In his 34 games, Richter made a total of 884 saves, and he secured 37 or more saves in four contests, including a 39-save overtime victory against Boston University. He posted three shutouts, including back-to-back shutout victories, making him the first Crimson goalie to accomplish such a feat in over 25 years.

And to top it all off, he became the first Harvard netminder to ever score a goal when he found the net in a 6-1 blowout against Yale in February 2008.

Despite his historical strength between the pipes, there still remains some uncertainty over how Richter will size up after his year-long absence from Bright Hockey Center.

“There absolutely is some concern,” Donato says. “He hasn’t played in a year. Although he worked out with a goalie instructor, he wasn’t playing in games...There is a bit of unknown, just the fact that he’s been off for a while.”

But Richter’s high level of experience, as well as his existing relationships with his teammates, should ease his transition back into Harvard hockey.

“I know most of the guys on the team, so it’s not like I’m starting fresh again,” Richter says. “Getting back into it, they’ve made me feel really comfortable right from the start. But at the same time, there’s a lot of competition and energy in practice. Obviously, I’ve got to bring my game again this year, so there’s that competitive side to it as well.”

The starting job is Richter’s to lose.

With Carroll eager to take the reins, Richter will undoubtedly face some serious competition this year.

Carroll’s breakout performance at the end of last season put Harvard back on track after its winter slump and earned him the starting position for the final nine games of the year.

Carroll first made a splash against rival Boston College in the consolation game of the Beanpot, in which he made 42 saves—matching Richter’s career high—before yielding the game-winning goal in the final minute.

By the end of the season, Carroll held a .946 save percentage and a 1.90 goals-against average, and had contributed to the upset of two ranked teams in the Crimson’s late-season resurgence.

While he returns to the backup spot upon Richter’s arrival, there’s no saying he can’t work his way back up to the top.

“Ryan Carroll, he’s a great goalie as well as a good friend of mine, so we push each other a lot in practice,” Richter says. “I kind of look at it with the same mentality every time. In practice, you’ve got to do your best regardless, whether you’re starting or not.”

“Now there’s a lot more competition, but I guess competition just breeds playing well,” Carroll agrees. “You work hard and play well, and whoever’s playing well will get in the net, so every time you step on the ice, it’s the same feeling—you just try to play your best.”

—Staff writer Courtney D. Skinner can be reached at cskinner@fas.harvard.edu.