NOTEBOOK: Electric Win Marred by Special Teams Struggles

BOSTON, MA—Despite numerous power-play opportunities, the No. 18 Harvard men’s hockey team only managed to squeak by with an overtime win against Boston University last night at the Aggannis Arena.

While the Terriers slammed in their only goal the first time they had a man-advantage, scoring on one of their four power play attempts, the Crimson failed to capitalize on any of its power play opportunities, letting six chances go by without a single goal.

“We weren’t able to establish anything on our special teams, first of all, and with that, I think we actually gave them momentum with our lack of execution,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91.

The Crimson was unable to use its man-advantage to score, even after a total of fourteen minutes of power play. In the second period, over the course of six consecutive minutes with an extra man, Harvard failed to finish one goal.

Often, instead of being on the offensive, the Crimson was forced to protect its own goal despite its five-on-four edge. Outshot by BU 40-20, Harvard had no respite from the Terriers’ offense, even when the Crimson should have had the advantage.

“We were very fortunate to win the game, [with] the way we were playing on special teams,” Donato said, adding, “We didn’t look like a power play. You’ve got to look like a power play before we can score.”

On the other side of the ice, Harvard’s special teams still only managed a lackluster performance. Entering the game, the Crimson had one of the highest penalty-kill percentages in the nation at 90.3%, but after tonight’s lackluster performance by the special teams, Harvard dropped to a mark of 80.2%.

“That’s something we’ll go back to the drawing board and try to improve on,” Donato said.

OFF THE RICHTER SCALE

Taking advantage of Harvard’s inability to finish on offense, the Terriers hammered Richter in the net, keeping the pressure high on the Crimson. But Richter withstood the test, saving 39 shots overall, only three shy of his career-high performance, when he made 42 saves against St. Lawrence on Nov. 3. The one that got away was, according to Richter, a power-play goal that he didn’t see until the last minute when it “just snuck in.”

“We were under a lot of pressure, but Kyle was huge for us in the net, and that gave us the chance to win the game,” Donato said.

Richter attributes much of his success to the strength of the defense. The blueliners blocked 19 shots overall, batting away eight in the first period and seven in the second.

“The D-men and the forwards kept a good job of keeping them outside and letting me see the puck, the way they’ve been doing all year long,” Richter said. “It definitely helps, and they were clearing rebounds, and the fact that they were getting some shots on net just made it easier to recover from those shots and get the puck deep.”

After another solid performance in goal, Richter’s save percentage is now at .968. He has made a total of 210 saves this season alone.

TWO-MINUTE MINORS

In the 138-game series history between BU and Harvard, there have been 12 shutouts, each team with six. Although the Terriers lead the all-time series 71-62-6, the Crimson is still clinging to its edge in non-Beanpot play at 49-46-6...All six freshmen skaters have registered playing time, and three of the rookies have points. Michael Biega leads the pack with three assists, while Chris Huxley has notched a goal and an assist and Matt McCollem has two assists to his name...Last night’s matchup with BU was Harvard’s first non-league game this season...Before tonight’s victory, the last time the Crimson had won in overtime was against Princeton in February 2006.

—Staff writer Courtney D. Skinner can be reached at cskinner@fas.harvard.edu.