Harvard Finds Consistency in Goal

Though he was outshined in Harvard’s 3-0 loss to Clarkson on Saturday night, junior netminder Dov Grumet-Morris enjoyed one of his most effective stretches in his Harvard career over the last four games.

That stretch—in addition to the Clarkson loss—included a 4-1 victory over Yale, a 5-2 win over Boston University and a 3-0 shutout of St. Lawrence.

Since Harvard’s 2-2 tie in Hanover against the Big Green Nov. 8, Grumet-Morris has posted a 3-1 record with a .957 save percentage and a 1.27 goals-against average.

Grumet-Morris’ elevated play—along with the numbers that accompany it—is the reason why Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni’s quest to find a steady influence in net for Harvard is over. He has repeatedly said that for Harvard to be considered one of the nation’s top teams, he needs to get a consistent “four on a five scale” out of his goaltender. And over the last four games, Grumet-Morris has given him just that.

Beginning in mid-November, after Harvard suffered a dreadful third-period collapse against Princeton, Grumet-Morris has drawn four consecutive starts. Against the Bulldogs, he stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced. And on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, he helped the Crimson snap a long streak of futility against high-ranked opponents by outdueling Terrier goaltender Sean Fields, who is considered by many one of the top netminders in the East.

Grumet-Morris stopped 34 of the 36 shots he faced and blanked the Terriers over the last two periods—stopping 25 shots—en route to the win.

After the game, BU coach Jack Parker expressed frustration at his team’s inability to find the back of the net, but more emphasis should have been placed (and was on the other side of the ice) on Grumet-Morris’ ability to completely cover his crease.

That crease coverage was most prominently displayed on Friday night during Harvard’s win over St. Lawrence. The 3-0 victory was Grumet-Morris’ first shutout since a 7-0 victory over Colgate Feb. 14.

“Dov did a real good job in goal,” St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh said in a rare understatement.

Mazzoleni, however, was much more emphatic.

“I thought it was his best game of the year,” he said. “I thought he was in total command of the position, controlled his rebounds better than any time this year.”

“His response to the initial save—when he made the initial save, he was up on his feet or he was square,” Mazzoleni continued. “His chest was up and he was able to make second saves. It was a 3-0 game, but the score was a lot closer than even that indicated and he was one of the main reasons why.”

After the game, Grumet-Morris credited his defense for his—and Harvard’s—success.

“In general, [the shutout was] indicative of how well our team is playing, especially defensively,” Grumet-Morris said. “We’re doing a good job, our wingers of getting the puck out, being able to move off the puck, especially in the neutral zone.”

The same could not be said for the loss to Clarkson. The Knights’ first two goals came off of failed clearing attempts in the Crimson zone. Both came on one-timers after quick puck movement and were very difficult shots to stop.

“I thought [Grumet-Morris] played well,” Mazzoleni said. “The first goal wasn’t his fault. It was a power-play goal...The kid picked it, moved it cross-seam and-boom—it’s in the net. So you can’t fault your goaltender on that.

“He made two just very, very key saves on breakaways for us to keep us in the game.”

The saves to which Mazzoleni is referring came on one-on-none breakaways in the second and third period, when Grumet-Morris stoned the Knights twice and kept the Crimson within reach at 1-0, at least temporarily.

Despite allowing two more goals than Clarkson netminder Dustin Traylen, Grumet-Morris turned in a strong—perhaps a “four” on Mazzoleni’s scale—performance that gave his team a chance to win. And as Mazzoleni said, he will have to maintain that consistency for Harvard to be successful against Colgate and Cornell this coming weekend.

—Staff writer Timothy M. McDonald can be reached at tmcdonal@fas.harvard.edu.