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The Crimson (5-17-5, 5-10-5 ECAC) posted mixed results this weekend against Union College and RPI, falling 6-2 to the Garnet Chargers and besting the Engineers 3-2 in an exciting shootout win to end the weekend victorious.
Harvard 2, Union College 6
In its first game of the weekend road trip, the Crimson faced off against Union College (14-14-3). Struggling to find its stride at the start of the game, Harvard found itself trailing early in the game as Union took an early one goal lead just 3:56 seconds into the game. Just prior to the goal, Union had a grade-A scoring chance as senior forward Liam Roberston found himself all alone with Harvard's senior goaltender Derek Mullahy after receiving a cross-ice pass at the blue line. Mullahy was able to come up with a great save leading to an offensive zone faceoff for Union. Winning the faceoff, Union quickly scored off a shot from the point that was deflected and then left lying in the crease. Senior forward Chaz Smedsrud put the puck away with assists coming from Nick Young, who shot the puck, and Liam Roberston, who won the faceoff.
The remainder of the first period was back-and-forth, with play being driven by good defense from both sides of the ice. Although each team found itself on the powerplay for two minutes, neither squad was able to generate on the man up opportunity. The defense for both squads proved to be crucial to keeping play level after that initial tally, with Harvard finishing the first period with just four shots, two of which came from the powerplay, and Union with just seven.
Entering the second period down 1-0, the Crimson was unable to find its momentum as a quick succession of goals from the Union offense put Harvard on its heels. The Chargers notched five goals to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Union dominated the whole of the second period, putting up an impressive 15 shots on goal.
Union came out firing, scoring two goals, just 25 seconds apart, in the first three minutes of play. Union's second goal of the game came off of a great heads up play by sophomore forward Nate Hanley who brought the puck from the back of the net up the side wall to the top of the circle where he found sophomore forward Colby MacArthur with a pass from the top of the circle through the slot to the back post. MacArthur was open back door and tapped the puck in to take the 2-0 lead. Quickly following this play, Union scored again off a stretch pass up the fall wall from freshman defenseman DJ Hart to junior forward Josh Nixon who entered the zone 2 on 1. Making a nice move to pull the puck back from the diving Harvard defender, Nixon ripped a snapshot post in to take a three goal lead.
Union went on to control the rest of the period with three more goals. Senior forward Tyler Watkins scored twice and Nixon got his second of the game as well. After the fourth Union goal, sophomore goaltender Aku Koskenvou replaced Mullahy in net for the Crimson. Unable to generate much offense, the Crimson only put up 3 shots on goal and skated into the second intermission down by 6.
“Whenever you get the call, you’ve got to be ready to step in,” said Koskenvuo, when asked about being put in during the middle of the game. “You always enjoy when you have the chance to play. I felt good going in and tried to do my best to help the team.”
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The Crimson came to life in the third period, putting itself on the board while holding Union scoreless. Finding itself on the power play just 31 seconds into the period after a Union interference penalty, the Crimson was able to get its offense going. Harvard's first goal came with just seconds left on the power play following a regroup in the neutral zone and then a nice pass off the board from freshman forward Michael Callow to senior forward Zakary Karpa who picked the puck up with speed and entered the zone two-on-one. Karpa beat Union goalie Kyle Chauvette with a low blocker shot that ricocheted in off the post. The Crimson ended the night one-for-three on the powerplay.
The Crimson capitalized on its momentum, notching its second point two minutes later. Its second goal of the night came off of a turnover from Union as it was trying to exit its zone. Callow read the play and made the heads-up decision to jump the pass to the middle where he found himself with the puck alone in the slot. Callow beat Chauvette with a low blocker shot to pick up his second point of the night. Unable to continue with the momentum, the rest of the period remained scoreless.
Harvard 3, RPI 2
After its one-sided loss against Union, the Crimson entered the second matchup of the weekend with a desire for success. Despite this newfound fire, Harvard started off slowly. The Crimson struggled to generate offense at the start of the game, and coupled with some defensive breakdowns early on, RPI almost capitalized on a few dangerous scoring opportunities.
A bright spot for the squad was Koskenvuo, who, after being subbed in for Mullahy against Union, stopped every shot he faced in the first period. Despite the slow start, the Crimson found its footing as the game progressed. Junior defenseman Christian Jimenez, who returned to the lineup this weekend after suffering from an injury, made a powerful shot from the point, which RPI goaltender Jack Watson barely nicked with his shoulder. Minutes later, sophomore forward Marek Hejduk received a pass in the slot, pulling off a spin move that allowed for a backhand shot. Despite the try, the Engineers were once again able to narrowly ward off the Crimson attack.
About three quarters of the way through the first period, sophomore forward Joe Miller was called for a hooking penalty, which put Harvard down a man for the first time that night. The Crimson penalty kill team rose to the task, and was able to stifle the RPI power play with ease. Once back at even strength, the period wound down without much more excitement, and both teams walked to their respective locker rooms scoreless.
Harvard came out aggressively in the second, creating some high quality scoring opportunities for itself. Freshman forward Cam Johnson created momentum for the Crimson offense with a fast break, blowing by the one defenseman standing in his way for a clear shot at the net; after the initial stop, freshman defenseman Matthew Morden flew in for the rebound, but it was once again covered by Watson. Despite the strong start to the period, the Crimson had trouble getting the puck out of its zone, with a fair majority of the period being played defensively.
Just past the halfway mark of the period, RPI struck first blood. After winning the initial faceoff, defenseman Lauri Sertii fired a shot on Koskenvuo – who made the initial stop but could not retain possession of the puck – and the subsequent rebound was shot by Brad McNeil to give the Engineers the 1-0 lead. Despite the change in score, the period proved similar to the first, with the Harvard offense showing glimpses of strength. Despite posting some solid takes, the attacking line was unable to convert any of its chances, and entered the third period still down one.
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It didn’t take the Crimson long to even the score in the third. Karpa won a neutral zone faceoff five minutes into the period, and the puck was passed from junior defenseman Jack Bar to Morden, who fired a long, cross-ice stretch pass to freshman forward Ryan Fine who skated in on a breakaway. Fine slid the puck through Watson’s five-hole. With the crafty finish, the game was tied 1-1.
However, it didn’t take long for RPI to respond. A botched outlet pass from behind the Harvard goal found the stick of an Engineers attackman, and a cross-crease pass to freshman forward Tyler Hotson saw RPI take the 2-1 lead.
With the momentum shifted towards the RPI bench as the game neared its end, it seemed as though Harvard would be unable to dig itself out of the deficit. But, with a minute and a half remaining in the contest, Harvard Head Coach Ted Donato made the risky decision to pull Koskenvuo from the goal. The play paid off, and Harvard was able to tie the game off a pass from Ben MacDonald to sophomore forward Casey Severo, who was able to put it in the back of the net while Karpa was screening the goalie. The game remained tied at two apiece for the end of regulation, and the last minute hail mary from Donato sent the Crimson into overtime play.
The first few moments of the overtime period were rocky for the Harvard squad as MacDonald was sidelined for a tripping penalty just four minutes into play. Koskenvuo stood on his head as he had been all game, blocking several dangerous game-ending shots from the Engineers, and the penalty kill unit was able to keep the game alive.
“I think Aku did a great job yesterday of bailing us out a couple times,” said captain Ian Moore, when asked about the defensive performance of the team. “Both our goalies, Derek and Aku, have played awesome for us this year, and really made a lot of big saves when we need them.”
Aside from RPI’s chances on the powerplay, neither squad posted strong opportunities for the rest of the period. With overtime not providing a clear victory, the fate of the game would be decided in a shootout.
The first RPI shooter was able to score, giving the Engineers an early advantage. But, Koskenvuo stood large between the pipes and was able to stop the next two shooters. Junior Alex Gaffney and sophomore Marek Hejduk were both able to score their attempts, and Harvard walked out of the game with a win.
“I think we’re just trying to really stick together as a team,” Moore said.“Every guy’s got an important role on the team, no matter what position, what line, doesn’t matter. We’re gonna win with everyone, and I think that’s something we’ve been really focusing on all year but especially now.”
The Crimson will wrap up its regular season next weekend at the Bright with two Ivy League matchups, facing off against Yale on Friday at 7:00pm, and Brown on Saturday at 7:00pm. Both games will be available to stream on ESPN+.
