Crimson Lives and Dies On Power Play

In a mixed bag of a hockey weekend, Harvard enjoyed some sweet success and tasted some bitter defeat. There were line changes, shutouts, special teams and a little bit of Where’s Waldo? fun.

Who’s Line Is It Anyway?

One of the Crimson’s hottest lines in previous weeks had been the Tom Cavanagh-Tim Pettit-Brendan Bernakevitch combo. Not only had the trio been generating solid scoring chances, but all three are steady defensive forwards with some of the team’s highest plus/minus ratings. But with that line out of commission on account of Bernakevitch’s hip flexor injury, sophomore forward Andrew Lederman was in the lineup against Colgate and Cornell.

Despite the sizable skates he had to fill, Lederman, along with his linemates, looked quick and cohesive against the porous Red Raider defense and were the most consistent line facing the Big Red.

“I thought he did a very good job,” said Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni. “Andrew Lederman has very good instincts and I thought he complemented Pettit and Cavanagh well.”

“Andrew is a really skilled forward,” said Pettit, a junior winger. “He can pull off a lot of moves that other guys can’t.”

Lederman’s offensive ability and quick skating are nothing new. What surprised some people was how aggressive he looked on defense and on the forecheck.

“Andrew has worked very hard on his defensive abilities,” said sophomore goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris. “And I think it’s been showing in the last few games.”

While Bernakevitch’s play has been exemplary and his spot with Pettit and Cavanagh is secure, Lederman’s efforts have him pushing for playing time even when Bernakevitch returns.

“This weekend it was nice having Andrew on our line,” Pettit said. “He played pretty well.”

Third is the ... Best?

Another Crimson pairing that has been clicking on all cylinders of late is the third line of captain Dominic Moore, junior Kenny Turano and freshman Charlie Johnson. Although Turano and Johnson were shut out this weekend, the line was strong on its forecheck and excellent at turning over quickly into a transition offense.

Johnson, though at times tentative to shoot the puck, has seemed to benefit the most from the arrangement, with noticeable strides being seen week to week in his game.

“Johnson will be learning offensively from Dom and some of the physicality of the game from Turano,” Grumet-Morris said.

While part of the reason Mazzoleni set the three together may be for Johnson’s growth and its future effects, no one is denying the very real impact that a viable third offensive line gives Harvard.

“You have an interesting combination [on the Moore-Turano-Johnson line] of skilled and experienced upperclassmen and an underclassmen who’s a very creative and instinctive goal scorer,” Grumet-Morris said.

Power Surge

Power plays were a key factor in both games this weekend, working to the Crimson’s advantage one night and its detriment the next.

As part of the seven-goal offensive explosion against Colgate, Harvard converted 4-of-9 power-play opportunities.

“When you look at it, [Colgate] is 0-for-7, we’re 4-for-9 on the power play,” Mazzoleni said, “That’s a decisive factor in the game.”

In just the same way, the power play was the key to success in the game on Saturday. Unfortunately it was the key for Cornell, which went 2-for-4 with the man advantage.

Those two scores, coming on its first two power plays, gave the Big Red an early lead and set the tone for the game.

“[Cornell] capitalized on two calls in the first five minutes of the game,” Grumet-Morris said. “You don’t want to take two quick penalties to a team that is very good on the power play.”

The Crimson is very good on the power play as well, as evidenced by the clinic it put on with its only opportunity. In that textbook example, Harvard patiently moved the puck around the Big Red defense, probing for a weakness and charging the net hard whenever a shot was fired.

If the Crimson had as many chances as Cornell with a man up, the score may have been different, but it was Harvard’s early penalties and the Big Red’s execution that were the story.

Another Brick in the Wall

Giving up four goals in one game may not seem like a good weekend, even if the night before was a shutout. But in Grumet-Morris’ case, his performance this weekend can be seen as a modest success.

Against the Red Raiders Friday night, he stopped 37 shots and kept Colgate off the scoreboard entirely. Although he had an easy first period, Grumet-Morris faced some tough shots in the second frame when the Red Raiders actually outshot the Crimson and got a number of quality scoring chances.

But as the game headed into the third, Harvard’s defense tightened up and Grumet-Morris remained a wall in net.

“Obviously whenever you get a shutout going into the third period you want to keep it,” Grumet-Morris said. “It’s a matter of pride for the team. It’s a team shutout.”

In fact, it was the team’s first shutout of the year and Grumet-Morris’ first since last season against Union.

Things went somewhat differently against Cornell. At the first intermission, Grumet-Morris had faced 12 shots, allowing three to slip past.

None of those goals beat Grumet-Morris clean—the definition of a bad goal. Most, in fact, came off rebounds where Big Red forwards beat the Crimson defense to loose pucks.

“A lot of [Cornell’s] goals were right around the net,” Mazzoleni said. ‘They were second-chance opportunities, so you can’t fault your goalie.”

While that is true, if Harvard is to beat the Big Red later in the season it will need a strong performance when the first shot is stopped, and maybe even the second and the third, something Grumet-Morris knows well.

“The key [to stopping second- and third-chance shots] is making sure I’m closing the gap between myself and the attacking forward,” Grumet-Morris said. “If you’re in good position to make the first save and the second save, if necessary, their opportunity to score is so much less.”

Consistent goaltending from Grumet-Morris was the key to the Crimson’s run through the ECAC playoffs last season.

Good goaltending from him has helped Harvard post a 16-8-1 record this season and likely secure a second-place conference finish. But consistent labors and good efforts will not be enough to help the Crimson get by the Big Red this season. If Harvard hopes to replicate or exceed last year’s post-season magic, the key contribution must come from its sophomore goaltender.

Who’s Your Daddy?

Give the Harvard band credit. It showed up in force to counter the Cornell band, which always travels well. Although the band arrived a little late to help those in the crowd that were forced to endure Big Red fight songs for the better part of the pre-game hour, it did bring its wits and relatively G-rated insults.

The classic “safety school” chant was dusted off. And after a Cornell fan insisted on striking a cowbell in time to the Big Red fans’ clapping, the Crimson fans and band gave a hearty “Cow Town” jeer.

Evolving as a response to the totally nonsensical chant of “safety school” by the Cornell fans, the cry of “Hotel Management!” went over nicely.

But by far the highlight of the evening came from the Big Red band in response to its Harvard counterpart. The Cornell band dons white-and-red striped collared shirts for games. In fairly long standing insult, the Crimson band taunted, “Where is Waldo?”

It was answered, at once, by the classic comeback: “With your mom.”

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