The Crimson’s 8-6 win over Princeton on Nov. 13 aside, disappointing performances between the pipes have been exceedingly rare for Harvard thus far this season. Senior Dov Grumet-Morris, given the night off after recording 37 saves and allowing zero goals the day before against Northern Michigan, has allowed two goals or fewer nine times this year, with Tobe following suit twice.

“You know, we got some goals,” said Tobe, who notched 13 saves on the night. “And usually when you score four goals you should win the game, so a lot of that falls on the goalie.”

Freshman Tyler Magura and senior Andrew Lederman added goals in the final 2:03 to establish the final two-goal margin of defeat.

HARVARD 0, NORTHERN MICHIGAN 0 (OT)

Call it a pitcher’s duel. Call it a clash of defensive titans. Or just call it a 0-0 tie, because that’s all Grumet-Morris and Tuomas Tarkki—netminders for Harvard and Northern Michigan, respectively—got after turning in a pair of goaltending gems in the semifinal round of the Dodge Holiday Classic on Dec. 22.

The matinee event featuring the Crimson and the Wildcats (9-5-4, 7-3-2 CCHA) was the precursor to the evening’s rumble between No. 1 Minnesota and Merrimack, and when the puck dropped for the first game, it was all but assumed that the earlier contest’s winner would go on to face the Golden Gophers for the championship.

Entering the matchup Harvard had never won a holiday tournament, a streak that would continue as the Crimson officially tied Northern Michigan. The latter was propelled into the Dec. 23’s finals via a sudden-death shootout that dropped the Crimson down to a disappointing consolation matchup.

Lederman, who launched two attempts against the Wildcats that were barely turned away by the goalframe, described the situation as “tough to swallow.”

“It’s definitely disappointing,” he admitted, though he added that “it does count as a tie” despite the shootout.

In the second period, Lederman directed the puck from the top of the left circle that barely skipped off the crossbar. In the last frame, his shot from between the circles again found the pipes, one teammate Jon Pelle later told him “hit off the inside of the post.”

Mariucci’s 200 foot by 100 foot sheet of ice—Olympic-sized, as opposed to the Crimson’s 204 by 87—was cited as a possible hindrance to Harvard before the game. Following the contest, all affiliated with the Crimson refused that excuse. But, Lederman later added, “they didn’t tell us the posts were bigger out here, too.”

Said Donato, “We had some good chances. It’s a game of bounces, and there’s not much you can say.”

The tie was, in large part, the result of stellar goaltending. Grumet-Morris amassed 37 saves to Tarkki’s 33, and the former earned his first shutout of the year.

“Obviously, when your team throws a shutout, you expect to win,” Grumet-Morris said, “but this is an unusual circumstance. It’s what happens when you play in a tournament. It’s what happens when you play against great opponents. Great hockey was played by both teams.”

And by both netminders. Each turned away breakaways, smothered blistering slapshots, reacted with lightning-fast pad saves and stymied endless brief shifts of momentum that swung back and forth all contest.