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Starting off hot is the name of the game for the No. 20 Harvard men’s ice hockey team (2-1-0, 2-1-0 ECAC). Riding high following its stellar performances last week in toppling the Princeton Tigers (0-2-0, 0-2-0 ECAC) and then-ranked No. 15 Quinnipiac (3-5-0, 0-2-0 ECAC), the Crimson will look to continue its hot streak with a pair of tough contests against New York opponents this weekend.
The sweep against higher-ranked opponents has catapulted the Crimson into the national rankings, a distinction it will look to preserve this coming weekend. While the team has gelled on both ends of the ice, it has benefitted especially from starpower: junior goaltender Aku Koskenvuo has suited up in every game for Harvard thus far, and freshman forward Mick Tompson scored the OT game-winner against Princeton.
On account of Koskenvu’s efforts, including a shutout in the win over the Bobcats, the junior was awarded the distinction of MAC Goaltending ECAC Goalie of the Week.
“It’s great to get acknowledgement but the guys played great in front of me and they deserve the recognition just as much,” said Koskenvuo, when asked about the individual accolade.
Continuing to deflect praise, Koskenvuo said that he believes his team has improved each game defensively by having a better break out, being hungry for the puck and blocking more shots in the defensive zone. However, he understands there is still much to be worked on.
Across the first three games of the season, Koskenvuo has played for a total of 183 minutes and 14 seconds, allowing just five goals during that span — amounting to a goals against average (GAA) of 1.64 and a save percentage of .931. With these numbers, Koskenvuo has the second highest save percentage and third highest GAA in the ECAC.
The Finn’s dominance between the pipes is a major factor in explaining the Crimson’s recent success. In comparison to Kosvenkuo’s dominant numbers, the goalies Harvard has played against have posted a 2.93 GAA and .911 save percentage — a considerable advantage for the Crimson.
Harvard is hoping to carry the momentum from its winning weekend on the road back to Bright-Landry Center, as it gears up for a homestand against Colgate (4-5-1, 1-1-0 ECAC) and No. 6 Cornell (3-0-1, 1-0-1 ECAC).
Placing emphasis on maintaining focus on the weekend ahead, Koskenvuo isn’t dwelling on his recent success, keeping his eyes squarely on the games to come.
“We are looking to keep building and we had a lot of guys have success last weekend and we are looking to build upon that — so I'm sure that the team is feeling confident but with that being said we have moved on from last weekend and are focused on the two-games in front of us.”
The Clash with Colgate
The Raiders have had a bumpy start to the season, posting mixed results against some difficult opponents. With a mixed bag last weekend, which included a win and a loss against Brown (0-2-0, 0-2-0 ECAC) and Yale (1-2-1. 0-2-0 ECAC), respectively, Colgate will be a difficult foe for Head Coach Ted Donato’s squad.
Colgate opened its last weekend of play with a dominant 5-3 win against the Brown Bears. Nine skaters notched points in the game against Brown, with senior forward Alex DiPaolo leading the team with three points, followed closely by sophomore defender Antonio Fernandez, who added two points to the scoresheet.
While Colgate has been historically known for slow starts — the win against Brown was the team’s first ECAC-opener win since 2019 — it is clearly finding its footing, although a dip against Yale in its matchup last Saturday proves that the Raiders are not invincible.
Colgate showered Brown with an onslaught of shots, posting a solid 30 takes on net and going one-for-two on power play opportunities. Solid play for a second-straight week from Koskenvuo will be needed for the Crimson to find success in defending the Bright. Tight, clean, team-oriented defense will be key for Donato’s bench.
Senior defender Jack Bar noted last week following the team’s wins against Princeton and Quinnipiac that a point of emphasis for the upcoming contests will be on limiting time in the penalty box to mitigate those gifted opportunities for their opponents.
Despite succumbing to the Elis, Colgate was strong on the extra-man plays for its second game of the homestand, potting two-of-three powerplay chances. While the Bulldogs outshot the Raiders 35-24, the narrow scoreline only further emphasizes Colgate’s accuracy with the puck.
Players to watch on the Raiders’ roster this Friday are DiPaolo, freshman forward Max Nagel, and senior forward Brett Chorske — whose sister, Hannah Chorske, played for the Harvard women’s ice hockey team last season.
Big Red, Big Game
The Big Red has made a name for itself on the national stage, besting a true powerhouse, then-ranked No. 6 North Dakota (5-4-0, 2-0-0 ECAC), twice in its opening weekend. Cornell will definitely be a force to be reckoned with both this weekend, as well as later in the season as the teams enter the long stretch of ECAC play.
Cornell also fell to the pesky Bulldogs last weekend, this time by a narrow score of 2-2 that was decided in shootouts. While Yale would ultimately prove victorious, Cornell came out firing on all cylinders, with junior forward Dalton Bancroft scoring just eight seconds after the puck dropped.
The Bulldogs would strike back quickly on a 5-3 man-up advantage, before taking the lead in the second on another power play goal. The Big Red’s defense faced the same issues as Harvard’s last weekend, with four skaters finding themselves in the penalty box. This penalty weakness will be something for the Crimson to capitalize on this weekend, as building momentum on the extra-man opportunities could prove essential in securing the offensive advantage.
Cornell’s senior netminder Ian Shane was relatively untested during the three periods, facing a mere 10 shots from the Bulldogs, making eight saves during regular time play and allowing one goal from Yale’s freshman defenseman Hughie Hooker in the shootout that cost the Big Red the contest.
The Big Red was more successful in its 3-1 win over Brown the next day, in which Bancroft once again made himself known, making his mark on all three goals, two off of his stick and one assisted. Brancroft scored the game-winning goal with less than one minute left in regulation, and sophomore Ryan Walsh scored an empty net goal to lock the game down. Once again, Cornell’s defense reigned supreme, with Shane only facing 18 shots across 60 minutes of play.
Harvard has struggled early on in breaking through strong defenses, as shown in its 2-1 season-opening loss to Dartmouth despite outshooting the Big Green 38-21. If the team is going to be successful this weekend, it needs to find a way to break through the Big Red’s defense and open up scoring opportunities by testing Shane early and minimizing mistakes in transition to create takes across the blue line.
Shane, Walsh and Bancroft will all be players for the Crimson to focus on this weekend, but if the Crimson maintains its dominant style of play that has allowed it to be so successful in these early stages of the season, it will certainly have the ability to come out of the weekend with two more wins under its belt.
Harvard will look to extend its win streak with a successful homestand this weekend, starting on Friday at 7:00 p.m. against Colgate and continuing with its bout against Cornell the same time on Saturday. Both games will be available for streaming on NESN.
—Staff writer Owen Butler can be reached at owen.butler@thecrimson.com
—Staff writer Tommy Branca can be reached at tommy.branca@thecrimson.com
—Staff writer Katharine Forst can be reached at katharine.forst@thecrimson.com
