NOTEBOOK: Spillane Continues Dominance Against Harvard

BURLINGTON, Vt.—Just call him the Harvard killer.

Coming into the weekend, Vermont goaltender Mike Spillane had only one career victory: a 2-1 non-conference win over the Crimson as a freshman last year. The rookie stymied Harvard with 25 stops and helped the then-No. 18 Catamounts give the Crimson its first home loss in a non-ECAC game since 2001.

Fast-forward to Saturday night, when a ranked Harvard squad traveled to Gutterson Fieldhouse seeking to bolster its overall record and test its mettle against a Hockey East (and former ECAC) foe. Though the No. 13 Crimson came out buzzing, launching 12 shots in the first period and 26 in the second, Spillane was virtually impenetrable in his second start of the season as he covered the crease with little sign of his relative inexperience.

Spillane made his best save of the opening frame in its final minute. With Harvard skating with the man advantage, the Crimson worked the puck to senior forward Alex Meintel in the slot. The winger fired a bullet that seemed destined for the left-side netting until Spillane flicked the puck away with a toe save at the very last second.

That stop was only a sign of things to come in the next period. As the Crimson turned up the heat on the Vermont defense, Spillane stepped up to the challenge.

In the middle of the period, the netminder made clutch saves on two almost identical plays, with senior center Paul Dufault breaking in on goal in both instances and attempting to beat Spillane glove side. And in the 17th minute, junior forward Steve Rolecek had all but recorded his first goal of the season, driving a rebound off a shot from freshman pivot Matt McCollem. But Spillane recovered just in time to flash his glove and maintain the shutout.

Although junior winger Nick Coskren registered an equalizer just a minute later and added a go-ahead goal on a deflection in the third frame, there was little doubt that Spillane almost single-handedly preserved the 2-2 tie for the Catamounts, making 35 saves—including four in an overtime period in which Harvard thoroughly dominated possession.

“He played well—he bailed them out just like our goalie has bailed us out a lot this year,” co-captain David MacDonald said of Spillane. “Good teams are going to need good goaltending, and I definitely credit him for having a great game tonight.”

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

While Spillane certainly limited the Harvard offense, the Crimson perhaps squandered a victory by failing to capitalize on several good scoring opportunities.

Harvard was ineffective on the power play, launching only four shots and scoring no goals in three man-advantages opportunities. This lack of offensive rhythm was most glaring late in the third period, when the Crimson failed to even get a look at Spillane with the chance to net the game-winning goal during a power play with only five minutes remaining. It was in fact the Catamounts who had the best opportunity of the power play, with top-line forward Corey Carlson breaking free at the Harvard blue line and firing an undeterred shot that went just wide.

“We outshot them by quite a bit tonight, which is what we want to do,” MacDonald said. “But we need to be able to weather their pressure and score some goals.”

The Crimson was unable to take advantage of its other odd-man opportunities as well, failing to launch a shot on two clear 2-on-1 chances.

In the sixth minute of the third period, with the game tied at 1, sophomore center Doug Rogers and co-captain Mike Taylor skated into the Vermont zone with only one defender and Spillane to beat, but a bad pass allowed the trailing Catamounts to recover.

Harvard flubbed a similar play in the overtime frame. With just under four minutes remaining, Meintel and senior winger Dave Watters skated in on a 2-on-1, but Watters kicked Meintel’s pass to him and failed to challenge Spillane.

In a game that featured plenty of scoring opportunities but very few scores, those missed chances loomed large as Harvard headed home with just a tie against an unranked opponent.

“We didn’t execute—we tried to make extra passes there,” said Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91, adding, “You might only get [two to three] odd-numbered rushes in a game against good defensive teams, and you have got to be able to get quality scoring chances.”

FINAL TICKS

Harvard outshot Vermont 37-22 overall, including 4-1 in overtime, but the Catamounts were more proficient in the third period, launching nine shots to the Crimson’s seven...Dufault was almost unbeatable in the circle, winning 10 of 13 faceoffs...Sophomore blueliner Ian Tallett’s name was misspelled on his jersey. “Tallet” skated in his second game of the year in place of an injured Brian McCafferty and recorded the assist on Coskren’s second goal...The matchup against Vermont was Harvard’s first of five consecutive non-conference games. After last night’s exhibition against the U.S. Under-18 squad, the Crimson will take on Boston College at home on Wednesday night before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for the Ohio Hockey Classic over winter break.

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