Yale had just taken all the momentum from the Harvard men’s hockey team. Now it was after Harvard’s honor.

Down 3-1 to the Crimson and facing elimination in the 2001 ECAC quarterfinals, Yale forward Lee Jelenic realized that scoring is easier when you knock the opposing goalie out of the way. Rules be damned, Jelenic barreled into Crimson goaltender Oliver Jonas, allowing a teammate to convert on the empty-net opportunity.

While Bright Hockey Center filled with jeers, and Harvard collectively asked ECAC referee Dan Murphy to come to his senses and disallow the goal, Jelenic decided to remind Jonas of his recent accomplishment.

With both teams’ skaters huddled around their respective benches, Jelenic took the ice and charged in alone to Jonas, taunting and skating circles around the bewildered Crimson goaltender.

He didn’t last very long.

Then-sophomore Aaron Kim looked up from the bench, saw the debacle and immediately leaped over the boards to confront Jelenic and back up both his goaltender and his team.

“He was taunting the goalie, and I took it upon myself to go out there and say ‘you can’t do this’ and send a message that we’re not going to take this as a team,” said Kim, now a senior.

It was not one of Murphy’s better games—the referee rewarded Jelenic’s antics with a Yale power play, as Jelenic received a game misconduct but only Kim went to the box. Yale would score with the extra man and would later take a 4-3 lead, but Kim’s actions helped Harvard keep its composure and survive the onslaught—the Crimson came back to win, 7-4.

“There are things that are unacceptable in hockey, and skating around the goalie is ridiculous.” said team captain Dominic Moore. “And to let it go on would have been like letting them spit on us. Kim stood in there and showed them what type of respect our goalie deserves.”

While teammates weren’t the least bit surprised Kim was the first one to jump the boards and defend his team, perhaps it was a little unusual that he tried to drive some sense into Jelenic. After all, Kim would spend most of his hockey career doing his best to (legally) knock opposing players senseless.

The Crimson Kamikaze

While no one makes a major Division I hockey team without a considerable amount of skill, by the time he was in high school Kim realized he would not last long on talent alone.

Fortunately, it wasn’t hard for Kim to find something extra to bring to the ice.

“I like to get my nose dirty and go after it,” Kim said. “My favorite thing watching the pros play was all the bodies flying around. Knowing how the fans reacted to it and how it excited everyone…I get a joy and a rush from the fans feeding off of that.”

For all of Harvard’s NHL-caliber talent, the team still has an affinity for smaller packages. Last year the Crimson’s heart and soul—and best defenseman—was Peter Capouch ’02, a huge locker room presence with his 5’6, 167 lb. frame. So it is no surprise that one the most skilled teams in the country turns to its smallest player for its most physically-intense play.