The Crimson (5-17-5, 5-10-5 ECAC) had mixed results this weekend against Union College and RPI, lost 6-2 to the Garnet Chargers and defeated the Engineers in an exciting shootout. The league ended with a 3-2 victory over the Reds. Weekend victory.
Harvard 2, Union College 6
In the first game of the weekend's road trip, the Crimson faced Union College (14-14-3). Harvard struggled to find its footing early in the game, but Union took an early one-point lead just 3 minutes and 56 seconds into the game and was on the back foot early. Just before the goal, senior forward Liam Roberston found himself alone with Harvard senior goaltender Derek Malahy after receiving a cross-ice pass at the blue line, giving the Union a chance to score a Grade A score. was there. Malahy made a great save that led to a faceoff in the Union offensive zone. Union won the face-off and immediately took a shot from the point, but it went off course and left lying in the crease. Senior forward Chaz Smedsrud put the puck away with assists from Nick Young, who shot the puck, and Liam Roberston, who won the faceoff.
The rest of the first period was a back-and-forth affair, with excellent defense from both sides of the ice keeping the game going. He spent two minutes on the power play with each team, but neither team was able to capitalize on man-up opportunities. Harvard finished the first period with just four shots, two of which came on the power play, while Union had just seven.
Trailing 1-0 into the second period, Crimson University was unable to regain momentum, and consecutive goals from the Union offense allowed Harvard University to catch up. The Chargers scored five goals to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Union took control with an overwhelming 15 shots on goal throughout the second period.
Union gained momentum in the first three minutes of the match, scoring two goals just 25 seconds apart. Union's second goal of the game came off a great heads-up play by sophomore forward Nate Hanley. Hanley carried the puck from behind the net, over the sidewall and to the top of the circle, where he made a pass to sophomore forward Colby MacArthur. Thread the top of the circle through the slot to the back post. MacArthur opened the back door and knocked the puck in for a 2-0 lead. Immediately after this play, Union scored again from a stretch pass over the fall wall from freshman defenseman DJ Hart to junior forward Josh Nixon, who entered zone two. Nixon made a great move to pull the puck back from the diving Harvard defender, Nixon. He hit the snap shot post for a three-point lead.
Union continued to be in control for the remainder of the period, scoring three more goals. Senior forward Tyler Watkins scored twice, and Nixon also scored his second goal of the game. After Union's fourth goal, sophomore goaltender Aku Koskenvou replaced Malahy and found the back of the Crimson's net. Unable to generate much offense, the Crimson only had three shots on goal and entered the second intermission trailing by six points.
Asked about being brought on mid-game, Koskenvuo said: “Whenever the call comes, you have to be ready to step in right away.'' “I always enjoy it when I get a chance to play. I felt good going into the game and tried to do my best to help the team.”
The Crimson came back to life in the third period and came out on their own, holding the Union scoreless. After a Union interference penalty that put them on a power play just 31 seconds into the period, the Crimson was able to mount an attack. Harvard's first goal came with seconds left on a power play after regrouping in the neutral zone, followed by a great pass off the board from freshman forward Michael Callow to senior forward Zachary Culpa. Kalpa used his speed to pick up the puck and enter zone two. On one. Kalpa beat Union goalkeeper Kyle Chauvet with a low blocker shot that bounced off the post. The Crimson finished the night 1-for-3 on the power play.
The Crimson capitalized on the momentum and scored their second goal two minutes later. The second goal of the night came from a turnover by Union as they tried to break out of their zone. Callow read the play and made a heads-up decision, jumping a pass up the middle where he found only the puck in the slot. Callow beat Chauvet with a low blocker shot for his second point of the night. They were unable to maintain their momentum and ended the rest of the period scoreless.
Harvard University 3, RPI 2
After a lopsided loss against Union, the Crimson entered their second match of the weekend looking for success. Despite this new fire, Harvard University got off to a slow start. The Crimson struggled to generate offense at the start of the game, and combined with some defensive collapses early on, RPI nearly capitalized on several dangerous scoring opportunities.
A bright spot for the team was Koskenvuo, who stopped all the shots he faced in the first period after coming on as a substitute for Malahy against Union. Despite getting off to a slow start, the Crimson found its footing as the game progressed. Junior defenseman Cristian Jimenez, who returned to action this weekend after an injury, took a powerful shot from the point, but RPI goaltender Jack Watson narrowly missed a shoulder injury. A few minutes later, sophomore forward Marek Hejduk received a pass in the slot and performed a spin move that allowed for a backhand shot. Despite the try, the Engineers were once again able to barely fend off Crimson's attack.
About three-quarters of the way through the first period, sophomore forward Joe Miller was called for a hooking penalty, giving Harvard its first men's win of the night. The Crimson's penalty kill team was up to the task and was able to quell RPI's power play with ease. Although the teams were once again evenly matched, the game ended without any further excitement and both teams returned to their respective locker rooms scoreless.
Harvard came out aggressive in the second and created several quality scoring opportunities. Freshman forward Cam Johnson created momentum for the Crimson offense with his fast break, beating the lone defenseman standing in his way and finding the net. After the first stop, freshman defenseman Matthew Morden went for the rebound, but Watson again covered him. Despite a strong start to the period, the Crimson struggled to get the puck out of the zone and was played defensively for much of the period.
Halfway through the period, RPI made its first attack. After winning the first faceoff, defenseman Lauri Cerruti fired a shot at Koskenvuo, who made the first stop but was unable to retain the puck, and the ensuing rebound was shot by Brad McNeil for the Engineers. It became 1-0. lead. Despite the change in scores, this period proved to be similar to the first, with Harvard's offensive line showing glimpses of strength. Although the attacking team recorded solid takes, they were unable to capitalize on their chances and entered the third period with a one-point lead.
It didn't take long for the Crimson to tie the score in the third inning. Culpa won a neutral zone faceoff five minutes into the period, with junior defenseman Jack Barr passing the puck to Morden, who slipped a long stretch pass across the ice to freshman forward Ryan on a breakaway. – Fired a fine shot. Fine slipped the puck into Watson's 5-hole. A clever finish tied the game at 1-1.
But it didn't take long for RPI to respond. A botched outlet pass from behind Harvard's goal caught the stick of an Engineer attacker, and a cross-crease pass to freshman forward Tyler Hotson gave RPI a 2-1 lead.
As the game drew to a close, the momentum shifted toward the RPI bench, and it looked as if Harvard would never be able to break out of the deficit. But with a minute and a half remaining, Harvard head coach Ted Donato made the risky decision to pull Koshkenvuo from the basket. The play worked, and Harvard tied the game with a pass from Ben McDonald to sophomore forward Casey Severo, and while Kalpa was checking the goaltender, Severo put the pass into the back of the net. was completed. The game remained tied at 2 points until the end of regulation, and a last-minute Hail Mary by Donato sent the Crimson into overtime.
The first few minutes of overtime were turbulent for the Harvard team, with McDonald being ejected for a tripping penalty just four minutes into the game. Koshkenvuo stood on his head throughout the game, blocking several dangerous game-ending shots from the Engineers and allowing the penalty kill unit to keep the game alive.
Asked about his team's defensive performance, captain Ian Moore said, “I thought Aku did a great job of bailing us out a few times yesterday.” “Our goalies, Derek and Aku, have played great for us this year and really made a lot of big saves when we needed them.”
Other than RPI's chance on the power play, neither team had any major chances the rest of the period. With no clear victory achieved in extra time, the fate of the match was decided in a penalty shootout.
The first RPI shooter was able to score, giving the Engineers an early advantage. However, Koskenvuo stood tall between the pipes and was able to stop the next two gunmen. Third-year Alex Gaffney and his sophomore counterpart Marek Hejduk were both able to score tries, and Harvard finished the match with a win.
“I think we're just trying to come together as a team,” Moore said. “Everyone has an important role on the team, no matter what position or line. We're going to win with everyone, and that's what we've really focused on all year. I think that’s true, especially now.”
The Crimson will close out the regular season with two Ivy League games at Bright next weekend, playing against Yale on Friday at 7 p.m., and against Brown on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both games he will be available to stream on ESPN+.
