On St. Patrick's Day, Harvard Ousts Big Green

ALBANY, N.Y.—If a team scores eight goals once, maybe the opposing defense is to blame. But when the same team hits double-digits in the following game, something’s going right on offense.

The No. 12 Harvard men’s hockey shocked top-seeded Dartmouth in the semifinal of the ECAC tournament, routing the No. 15 Big Green 10-1 on Friday evening at Pepsi Arena.

Crimson netminder John Daigneau delivered a solid effort, posting 34 saves and allowing only a lone goal in just over 50 minutes of play.

“He looked like he was in a pretty good zone,” Dartmouth coach Bob Gaudet said, “And once they got up, as a goaltender, you can play with a little bit more ease.”

Harvard’s defense set the tone early in the game.

Though the Big Green (18-12-2) controlled the opening minutes of play, the Crimson (20-11-2) stood strong in front of Daigneau, even killing off a penalty after sophomore Paul Dufault was sent to the sin bin for high-sticking at 5:55.

And then the barrage began.

It was Harvard’s blueliners that first put the Crimson on the scoreboard. Senior Tom Walsh struck first at 10:59, putting away the rebound of Dufault’s initial shot into the left-side netting.

Junior Dylan Reese then doubled Harvard’s lead at 13:35. The defenseman picked up a loose puck in the right circle and flicked it over Dartmouth netminder Mike Devine’s glove for his third goal of the year.

Much like last week’s Game 3 against St. Lawrence, an energetic first period presaged success in the rest of the game.

“It was hard to play catch-up all night,” said Big Green captain Mike Ouellette, “when we expected a tight, hard-fought game.”

The Crimson piled it on in the second period, riding the momentum from the two-goal opening period to tally three early scores—including a shorthander by junior Steve Mandes—in the initial 5:16.

Junior Kevin Du added another tally as the clock wound down on the second period. With just over seven seconds remaining in the frame, the pivot carried the puck through the neutral zone and beat two defenders before dekeing right and firing a backhander high over Devine’s blocker—all without breaking his stride.

The late tally gave Harvard a 6-0 lead at the second intermission. Gaudet had seen enough, and he replaced Devine with rookie Dan Goulding to start the final frame.

“Sometimes the puck has eyes,” Gaudet said. “They made good plays and found the back of the net.”

Despite being ahead by six goals, the Crimson’s offense didn’t relax. Sophomore Jon Pelle converted on the power play just 3:06 into the period, welcoming Goulding with a powerful slapshot from the left boards.

Only two and a half minutes later, however, Dartmouth scored its only goal of the night, as Nick Johnson one-timed a cross-crease feed past Daigneau at the left post.

But that was the only blemish on Harvard’s score sheet, as Daigneau and backup Justin Tobe combined to shut out the potent Big Green offense for the rest of the period.

The Crimson’s attack, however, did not let up, tallying three more goals as the Cornell fans waiting for the second semifinal started chanting, “Goal inflation.”

For Dartmouth, “it was one of those nights where whatever could go wrong, did go wrong,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91. “We were fortunate to be on the other side of that.”

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.