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Harvard men’s ice hockey (4-1-1, 3-1-0 ECAC) swept the weekend road trip in New York, edging out the St. Lawrence Saints (2-9-1, 1-3-0 ECAC) in a 4-3 victory.
A stellar start from Harvard’s offense brought the Crimson ahead just enough to pull through late, and sophomore goaltender Ben Charette made 30 saves in yet another quality start.
Harvard rode the Crimson wave from last night’s final-minute victory against Clarkson and came out pressuring the Saints from the first whistle.
Keeping the puck in the zone for nearly the entire first minute of the game, Harvard forced the puck on net and got itself the lead in similar fashion.
Senior forward Philip Tresca was rewarded with his fifth point of the season, a goal made while skating towards the left point, putting the puck past Saints junior goaltender Mason Kucenski’s glove side.
St. Lawrence finally managed to get the puck out of the zone but could only muster back-and-forth chances with Harvard.
The tides shifted in the Crimson’s favor yet again when Saints junior defenseman Jake Lammens made an errant pass off the boards, letting the puck fall in the lap of Harvard sophomore forward Salvatore Guzzo.
Guzzo made no mistake and rifled it past Kucenski to make it 2-0 Harvard before the seven minute mark.
Though the Crimson held up well on the scoreboard in the first half of the period, it could not help but take penalties that have crippled leads in previous games.
Were it not for two penalties called against the Saints in succession, the game may have slipped in their favor.
Crimson sophomore goaltender Ben Charette, who made his sixth straight start, helped cover for Harvard’s fumbling defense. The netminder made a number of impressive saves in the dying minutes of the opening frame — most notably a pad stop on St. Lawrence sophomore forward Isaac Tremblay off a breakaway.
More penalties in the second period still yielded nothing, as both teams’ penalty kills made timely clears of the puck and forced enough short-handed offense to keep the game at bay.
Following the penalties, the Saints made a strong push to get on the board, but Charette again stood tall to keep the Crimson firmly in front.
The goaltender’s heroics eventually led to Tresca tallying his second of the game. The forward took advantage of a defensive breakdown by St. Lawrence, sniping the puck over Kucenski to make it 3-0 Harvard with under two minutes left in the frame.
The Saints quickly narrowed the lead 3-2, though, as freshman forward Rasmus Svarström first roofed the puck over a sprawled Charette in a chaotic final minute of the second period. Sophomore forward Gabe Westling then made it a one-goal game early in the final frame when he shot five-hole on Charette.
A gifted power play opportunity shortly after Westling’s goal gave Harvard its best chance to generate offense since Tresca’s second goal. The Saints were effectively forced to take it as Crimson freshman forward Heikki Ruohonen powered alone towards Kucenski.
A routine setup saw senior forward Joe Miller pass from the blue line down to sophomore forward Mick Thompson near St. Lawrence’s net. Thompson then rifled a quick pass to the now-open senior forward Casey Severo, who converted from the right point to return Harvard’s lead to two.
But the back-and-forth continued, as a failed breakout by the Crimson left Saints senior forward Tyler Cristall all alone in the crease to make it 4-3.
In the final minutes, Harvard amped up the physicality in an effort to close it out. Though St. Lawrence made a last-ditch attempt with the empty net, Charette and the Crimson defense held strong en route to the win.
With its first major road weekend in the rearview, the Crimson sets its sights on the University of Vermont Catamounts, a team it has not played since 2017 and is Harvard’s only matchup next week. Looking for another quick start, the Crimson takes the ice in Burlington, VT at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday and can be viewed on ESPN+.
– Staff Writer Nate M. Bolan can be reached at nathan.bolan@thecrimson.com
