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In the first elimination game of the Eastern College Athletic Conference playoffs, No. 7 Harvard men’s ice hockey (11-15-3, 9-10-3 ECAC) beat No. 10 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (12-20-2, 7-15-0 ECAC), stunning RPI with four unanswered goals in the second period.
This marks the Crimson’s third meeting with RPI this year, having played the Engineers twice during the regular season and beating them in both games, 5-3 and 3-2, respectively.
“Just coming into the playoffs, it doesn’t matter who’s won in the past, especially in these one game sets, so it’s important to come out and have a good start,” tri-captain Zakary Karpa said.
Welcomed by their home crowd, the Crimson came out aggressively, closing out hits against the boards and engaging in a few scuffles after the whistle early.
Despite this aggression, the team struggled to keep possession of the puck and maintain any offense even with shots on net.
Harvard sophomore forward Michael Callow and junior defenseman Ryan Healey both failed to convert on shots directly in front of graduate RPI goaltender Noah Gisbrecht in the first few minutes.
Just as the scoreboard began to look static, RPI sophomore forward Dovar Tinling received the puck from freshman forward Felix Caron who shot on net, the puck just making it on junior goaltender Aku Koskenvuo.
The Crimson tried to fight back with a prolonged offensive sequence, getting several blue line shots on net, none of which translated to a goal.
Harvard would still remain behind in both shots on goal count.
Yet with seconds left on the power play, freshman forward Mick Thompson, recently named National Rookie of the Month, glided across the ice to grant the Crimson its first goal of the game.
As the home crowd roared with excitement, the Engineers tried to regain their lead with a series of unsuccessful offensive attempts in the final minutes of the first period.
Harvard head coach Ted Donato ’91 spoke highly of the team’s overall performance, but was candid about the start.
“I think we played with fire in the first period,” Donato said. “We were probably pretty fortunate to get out of the first period one-one.”
The beginning of the second period resembled the aggressive but messy play of the first period. The puck bounced back and forth across the ice as neither team was able to keep it in their offensive zone.
Harvard took the lead soon enough, passing the puck to freshman forward Justin Solovey, who shot into the net.
To widen the gap less than 30 seconds after the last goal, junior forward Joe Miller secured yet another goal for the Crimson.
With 12 minutes left in the period, Thompson crashed down towards the net and brought the Crimson to a 4-1 lead as he scored once again.
“I think Mick is a very talented guy and he’s been excellent for us all year long,” Donato said. “He has had good chemistry with Casey Severo as well and we use him in so many situations.”
With Harvard’s overwhelming lead, RPI decided to switch out goaltender Giesbercht for senior goalie Jack Watson.
The Engineers attempted to even out the scoreboard as the period progressed but took a minor penalty against junior defenseman Lucas Matta for hitting from behind instead.
Building on Harvard’s momentum, junior forward Casey Severo deflected an initial shot by senior defenseman Ian Moore past Watson for Harvard’s fifth goal on just 25 shots.
The game was all but over entering the final period.
RPI entered the power play as Harvard’s junior defenseman Mason Langenbrunner went to the penalty box for tripping, giving them an opportunity to score. However, the Engineers were unable to take advantage of the power play as the score remained 5-1 in favor of the Crimson.
Following several shot attempts, the game soon turned to four-on-four play with Harvard’s freshman forward Will Hughes and RPI’s sophomore defenseman Jimmy Goffredo called for roughing.
With fewer players on the ice, neither team was able to score during the two minute four-on-four.
Following a period of inactivity, RPI finally put one past Koskenvuo as graduate forward Jakob Lee scored, the puck bouncing off the goalie’s outstretched glove.
Still three goals behind, the Engineers pulled their goaltender in a last ditch effort to come back, but ultimately the Crimson’s lead was too great.
Karpa spoke about the journey that awaits the team later this month after seizing this first round playoff win.
“Especially in those games that are best two out of three just taking care of our bodies and doing the most we can this week to prepare,” Karpa said” Especially with the long bus ride going up there in enemy territory, it’s going to be a hostile environment but with that being said, we’re looking forward to it and excited for the challenge.”
Looking forward, Harvard will move on to the next round of the ECAC playoffs next week. The team could play No. 1 Quinnipiac , No. 2 Clarkson, No. 3 Colgate, or No. 4 Union depending on results this weekend.
“If we play the same way we did in the second period tonight, I think that’ll put us on a good path to success for the next game,” Thompson said.
—Staff writer Nate M. Bolan can be reached at nathan.bolan@thecrimson.com.
—Staff writer Bianca M. Egan can be reached at bianca.egan@thecrimson.com.
