Skating in a defensive pairing with junior Ryan Lannon, Reese did not register a point and finished minus-1 after Nathan Murphy got behind him to score Yale’s fifth goal. But he finished with three shots on goal and looked his old self in making crisp breakout passes through the neutral zone.
“I felt great out there,” said Reese, who took senior David McCulloch’s spot in the lineup. “It felt like I really hadn’t missed a beat. I know some of my pivoting and my acceleration isn’t back to what it used to be, but on the ice I felt great. My legs were there, which was surprising. There were no problems with the foot at all.
“Everything is going just as the doctor said, except even faster.”
Mazzoleni said he expects Reese will take four to six games to work his way back to top form, but that he would be “full-go” by the time the playoffs begin early next month. “That will be very big for us,” Mazzoleni said.
Meanwhile, senior winger Kenny Turano could make his return as early as tonight’s game against Northeastern. He has been out since the second game of the year, a 6-4 win at Vermont on Nov. 7, when he broke his ankle, requiring surgery. Junior forward Andrew Lederman has also recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered in December and traveled with the team to New Haven.
“If you don’t have depth, you’re dead,” Mazzoleni said. “Fortunately, we’re getting healthy again.”
Bad Luck, Bad Timing
Sophomore forward Charlie Johnson was very slow to leave the ice after a hard hit from Yale defenseman Shawn Mole with three minutes remaining in Friday’s game. The extent of his injury is undetermined, but, if he is out for any extended amount of time, this much is certain: it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
With the playoffs looming, Johnson seemed to be settling into his role as the center on the Crimson’s speedy third line alongside Dan Murphy and Steve Mandes. He recorded Harvard’s only goal in the Beanpot semifinal against Boston College—a true goal-scorer’s goal from the left circle. “He’s playing, by far, his best hockey of the year right now,” Mazzoleni said.
—Staff writer Jon Paul Morosi can be reached at morosi@fas.harvard.edu.