Freshman Richter Earns First Victory Against Crosstown Rival

Goaltender Kyle Richter earned his first collegiate win in style last night, stopping 36 shots in Harvard’s 4-0 win over No. 3 Boston College last night in the Bright Hockey Center.

“Superb” was the assessment of coach Ted Donato ’91, adding, “he really made some big saves.”

Richter started his first and only other game last Friday, a 5-2 loss to Clarkson, but Donato noted that the Crimson’s defense was noticeably improved last night and that “the selection of shots that we gave [Richter] was a little more reasonable.”

He stopped 19 power-play shots, and the Eagles were scoreless in eight man-advantage chances.



DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN

Two years ago, Harvard started out a lackluster 2-2-1 before a stunning upset of then-No. 1 BC turned the Crimson’s entire season around. After that win, Harvard marched to a 9-3-1 record.

And while last night’s 4-0 victory over the now-No. 3 Eagles is certainly no guarantee of things to come, it did snap Harvard’s 0-3 season-opening slump, the Crimson’s first since 1951-1952.

“I think our guys were a little frustrated coming in,” said Donato, who was a rookie behind the bench for the stunner two seasons ago.

Not only did his team’s offense awaken after being outscored 15-8 in the first three games, but “defensively, we did a much better job with the puck,” Donato said, “just not turning it over.”

The mirror wins over the Eagles were both played in the Crimson’s Bright Hockey Center, and both on Tuesday nights.



ALONG THE BOARDS

Had Harvard lost to the Eagles, it would have marked the first time the Crimson opened the season 0-4 since the 1940-1941 season…Harvard had three 5-on-3 opportunities that lasted a combined 2:44 and yielded the Crimson’s goal. Additionally, Harvard’s third goal came two seconds after the last two-man advantage expired…Richter’s shutout was the first by a Crimson freshman since February 23, 2002, when Dov Grumet-Morris ’05 blanked Union 4-0…Seniors Ryan Maki and Kevin Du and junior Alex Meintel had a goal and an assist apiece, while sophomore Brian McCafferty had three assists…Rookie Alex Biega gave Harvard the 4-0 lead with his first collegiate goal, putting away a pretty cross-ice pass from Meintel with 2:03 left in the final period.

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Seesel can be reached at seesel@fas.harvard.edu.