NOTEBOOK: Special Teams Lead Win

It may not seem completely fair. In last Monday’s Beanpot championship game, the Harvard men’s hockey team played well enough to earn the title of Boston champions, but came away with a hard-fought, tough-luck loss.

Four nights later, in another close game against a ranked, heavily-favored opponent, the Crimson’s effort was sloppier. But this time, it was rewarded with a victory.

“We kind of got away with one,” co-captain Mike Taylor said. “I felt we played better against [Boston College] in the loss, we just played harder for longer in that game. [This time] we kind of came out, and I don’t know if it was an emotional letdown from Monday night’s game in the beginning, but we didn’t really come out getting after them and we sat back.”

According to Harvard coach Ted Donato ‘91, the biggest difference between the BC and Princeton games was discipline. The Crimson was whistled for just one penalty in the Beanpot title contest, successfully minimizing its exposure to the deadly Eagles power play.

Against the Tigers, there were nine infractions, which translated to eight Princeton power plays and innumerable close calls for Harvard goaltender Kyle Richter.

“We spent so much time in the box in the second period, and two things happened: one, it keeps some of our best players off the ice, and two, some of our best players get tired killing the penalties,” Donato said, adding, “We need to be much more disciplined if we think we’re going to beat teams down the stretch here. Tonight we were lucky.”

Skill, however, played just as important a role as luck, as Richter surrendered just two goals and the Harvard penalty kill was beaten only once. On a night when there seemed to be an endless supply of loose pucks in front of the Crimson net, especially during the tail end of the second and third periods, the Harvard defense played well enough to minimize the damage, preventing the Tigers from cashing in on rebounds or tip-ins.

“Our D has been doing a great job…you see us boxing guys out, getting under guys’ sticks, moving them away from the net,” sophomore forward Doug Rogers said. “This helps Kyle see the puck much better, which is great for our team, and I commend our D for working hard and doing a great job down there.”

MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD

As his defense scrambled to cope with the pressure of a wave of Princeton power plays, Rogers went to work ensuring that it would be an uphill climb for the Tigers, providing the entirety of his team’s offense with a hat trick.

“Obviously [the hat trick] was a great feeling,” Rogers said. “We needed these wins, so I’m just happy that I can help out. I’m hoping we can build off of that, we’ve had two strong games against strong teams.”

While Rogers’ first collegiate trifecta accounted for all of the Crimson’s scoring, his performance was far from an individual effort. All three of his goals came as finishing efforts of plays begun by his teammates—two rebound scores and a one-timer at the right post off of a nice feed from Taylor.

“We had extraordinary effort by a handful of guys,” Donato said, adding, “Dougie’s been playing very well for us, and came up with some big plays today. Mike Taylor’s been playing exceptional lately. That line’s been very good.”

On the strength of this past week, Rogers may be developing a reputation as a big-game player, as he also contributed a goal and two assists in the title game against BC.

“He was obviously a key player for us tonight,” Taylor said, “and it’s huge when he steps up and starts scoring.”

TWO-MINUTE MINORS

Junior forward Steve Rolecek, who was injured during the Beanpot championship game against the Eagles, was out of the lineup again for the Harvard. He was spotted with his left arm in a sling...The Crimson has now gone four straight games with a power-play goal..Princeton outshot Harvard 35-21.

—Staff writer Daniel J. Rubin-Wills can be reached at drubin@fas.harvard.edu.