Johnson Steps Back Into Spotlight

ITHACA, N.Y.—It took some time, but senior Charlie Johnson finally recovered the jam.

After a streak of six games without a point, which included two contests for which the senior forward didn’t dress, Johnson tallied two assists in Harvard’s 4-3 win over Cornell on Saturday. Once again, he showed why former Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni once said of him, “He can be the difference-maker for us, if he plays with jam.”

Though he possesses game-changing talent, Johnson can be inconsistent, enduring stretches of silence between flashes of brilliance.

Said current Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91 after benching the forward for the first of two games last week, “There has to be a reward for effort, and the opposite also.”

But Johnson was back in the lineup this weekend in upstate New York, having heard what he called a “wakeup call.”

“I’ve just got to go out there and compete harder,” he said.

And so Johnson did, earning a secondary assist in Saturday’s middle period and then dazzling the Lynah faithful halfway through the third with his second dish. He carried the puck along the right boards and then, with a flawless spin move, he shook his defender and found captain Peter Hafner in front of the net for the game-winning goal that put Harvard up 4-2.

“It shows a lot of character,” Donato said of Johnson’s return.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Starting goaltender John Daigneau earned the nod on Friday night against Colgate (16-10-6. 12-6-2 ECAC) after missing last Monday’s Beanpot consolation game because he was “a little banged up,” according to Donato.

But 20 minutes, eight saves, and two goals later, Daigneau found himself on the bench watching backup goalie Justin Tobe play out the game.

“It was very simple,” Donato explained after his team’s 4-1 loss. “Justin, at the time, gave us the best chance to come back.”

Tobe notched 24 saves and let in a pair of third-period goals, and Daigneau took the loss, though he earned the win the next night at Cornell with 30 stops.

“[Daigneau] was really the backbone of our team tonight,” Hafner said.

ANCIENT HISTORY

The Crimson was 1-8 in its last nine meetings with the Big Red and hadn’t won at Lynah Rink since 1999. Moreover, Saturday’s victory snatched the Ivy League Championship, Harvard’s first since 2000, from Cornell on the latter team’s Senior Night.

“At the end of the day, I was really happy for my seniors,” Donato said. “I wanted so bad for them to be Ivy League champions and finally get a win here at Lynah.”

BIG RED ON CRIMSON

At 7:07 into Saturday’s third period, Hafner was checked hard into the right corner, where he would leave the ice bloodstained before exiting for medical attention.

Harvard scored twice on the subsequent hitting-from-behind major assessed to the Big Red. The second goal, which was scored during a four-on-four, came when Hafner cashed in on Johnson’s spin move.

“Very fitting,” Donato said of his captain, who played with a bloodied jersey, a gash on his forehead that required stitches after the post-game press conference, and another scrape across his nose. “We knew we weren’t leaving here without some blood [spilt].”

BLACK AND WHITE

The officials meted out 21 penalties worth a total 77 minutes Saturday in Lynah, including a five-minute major, three 10-minute misconducts, and a game misconduct. Still, the game often got out of hand.

Senior Tom Walsh earned one of the 10-minute misconducts 18:18 into the third period for his spirited disagreement with the officials regarding Cornell’s third goal, which the Crimson skaters argued hadn’t come close to crossing the line.

But even after that game concluded, Harvard had the fourth-lowest average in the country with 14.7 minutes of sin-bin time per game. Jimmy Fraser now leads the team with 16 infractions for 32 minutes, roughly 10 percent of the Crimson’s whistles.

SHOT THROUGH THE HEART

Friday was the first time in five games that Harvard failed to muster 40 shots on goal. Harvard fired 30 shots at Colgate goaltender Mark Dekanich, whose 29 saves were good for the win.

“We missed the net a bunch,” Hafner lamented.

The next night, the Crimson took 28 shots at Cornell’s David McKee. During the two-goal second period, 10 of Harvard’s 16 shots came on power plays.

MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Kyle Wilson, who led the Raiders in goals with 22 entering Friday’s game, assisted on every score in Colgate’s 4-1 victory over Harvard. Meanwhile, his freshman teammate Nick St. Pierre, who had 11 points entering the night, assisted on every goal but the Raiders’ third.

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