All Harvard needed was a tie to stamp its ticket to Lake Placid.
Harvard 2, RPI 1
It took him nine minutes to make his first save--a harmless wave of a shot into the corner with his blocker--because it took the Engineers that long to send a shot on goal.
The shots would get harder for Jonas, but the netminder stopped 32 of 33 shots, and the Crimson defense prevented the high-octane Engineers from ever shifting into gear. The 2-1 win was a dream opening to the series for Harvard.
"This was a really good win," Tomassoni said. "Our team was really smart out on the ice tonight."
With the score knotted at 1-1 midway through the third period, sophomore forward Steve Moore collected the puck in the neutral zone and raced in on Laing, catching all RPI players on the wrong side of the ice. Harvard's leading scorer wound up all the way to blast the puck over Laing's glove.
RPI would never break that tie as the Crimson defense played its most technically sound game of the season. Harvard denied the speedy Engineers space on the ice and played smart, physical hockey.
Read more in Sports
M. Volleyball Falters, But Holds Off MIT 3-1Recommended Articles
-
M. Hockey Heads to RPI in ECAC Playoff OpenerAfter a season of playing catch-up with the ECAC leaders, the Harvard men's hockey team is finally back on level
-
Athlete of the Week: Oliver JonasWhen a Harvard men's hockey player fell on top of junior goaltender J. R. Prestifilippo in practice last Monday, spraining
-
867-5309: With a Little Help from the Moores, Crimson Solves EngineersA weekend sweep of Union and Rensselaer at home was exactly what the Harvard men's hockey team needed to get
-
M. Hockey Splits Weekend Against Union, RPISCHENECTADY, N.Y--Good weekend. Missed opportunity Union erased a 2-1 third-period deficit with two goals, 24 seconds apart to pull off
-
Dismantling a Scoring MachineHow impotent was the RPI offense last night! Let's put it this way--the Engineers the ECAC's top scorers, were held
-
Strong Power Play Caps M. Hockey's Energetic 50-Minute EffortHarvard’s power-play goal 9:27 into the third period Friday night against Rensselaer proved to be one of the game’s key
