Harvard Starts First Streak With 4-1 Win Over Dartmouth

For the first time this season, the Harvard men’s hockey team is on a winning streak.

The Crimson (4-10-2, 4-5-2 ECAC) continued to break out of its early-season slump with its second-straight victory this afternoon, taking it to Dartmouth (4-13-0, 2-8-0) in a 4-1 conference win at Bright Hockey Center.

“It was a great game for us,” freshman Louis Leblanc said. “I don’t think we played our best hockey, but we got out of here with two points…It feels good to put two together. Obviously we’ve got things to work on, but it feels good right now.”

Leblanc once again sparked Harvard’s offensive effort, scoring twice to become the first Crimson skater in almost seven years to record back-to-back multi-goal games. He was aided by linemates sophomore Alex Killorn and junior Michael Biega, each of whom had two points on the afternoon.

“I think our whole line’s clicking,” Leblanc said. “We know each other, we’re all skilled guys, we like to work hard, and we’re just moving the puck right now.”

Leblanc opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game off a good effort from Killorn. The sophomore skated up the right and put a shot on net. Big Green goalie Jody O’Neill deflected the puck, but Leblanc picked up the rebound and went top-shelf to light the lamp.

But Dartmouth did not fold easily, battling through two first-period penalties and outshooting Harvard, 27-18, through two frames. A Big Green goal six minutes into the second seemed to shift the momentum squarely in Dartmouth’s favor.

The Big Green caught sophomore defender Ryan Grimshaw in a 3-on-1 rush, and Matt Reber’s cross to Evan Stephens was buried to tie the game.

Though Dartmouth dominated the next seven minutes of play, it couldn’t break through on a mid-period power play, and just after the advantage expired, Leblanc took matters into his own hands.

Biega chipped the puck up to his linemate along the right boards, and Leblanc sped through the Big Green zone before wristing a shot past O’Neill into the upper left corner of the net.

“Second period, I thought the first 10 minutes [Dartmouth was] really playing well and taking it to us a little bit,” said Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91. “Our second goal, I think, really kind of changed the game.”

It took less than two minutes for Harvard to extend its advantage.

The all-junior fourth line of Matt McCollem, Michael Del Mauro, and Pier-Olivier Michaud, which played tough, physical hockey all afternoon, created a chance with just over five minutes left in the second.

Michaud fed the puck to Del Mauro, who was streaking up center ice. Del Mauro passed the puck off to his left to McCollem, who beat O’Neill to make the score 3-1.

“I thought Del Mauro was a factor,” Donato said. “I think physically he was great on the forecheck, made great decisions with the puck, made a nice pass to Matty McCollem. And I think Matty can be a difference-maker for us.”

The quick pair of goals spurred Big Green coach Bob Gaudet to make a change in net, swapping O’Neill for rookie James Mello.

“I wanted to get a little bit of a spark, a little change,” Gaudet explained. “James came in and did a good job for us, made a couple of really good saves for us…It didn’t work for us, necessarily, but again I thought our guys battled really hard.”

Harvard entered the third period with a two-goal advantage, but the final frame has been one in which the Crimson has struggled of late. This time, Harvard’s defense held up to the challenge.

“I thought we did the things we needed to do to make it tough for them to come back—stayed out of the box, we were good with the puck, and continued to get good offensive chances,” Donato said.

After Dartmouth pulled Mello with 3:03 to play in the game, the Crimson’s first line once again capitalized on its opportunity.

Killorn broke away toward the net, and though his attempt was broken up by a Big Green defender, he played the puck to a charging Biega, who put the puck into the empty net to extend the lead to 4-1.

Although Harvard’s offense put the game out of reach, the defense, backstopped by junior Ryan Carroll, gave the Crimson its second-consecutive win while being outshot by its opponent.

After watching most of the early season from the bench, Carroll made 37 saves in his second-straight start.

“I think Ryan played well again,” Donato said. “I think he looks very calm in net, doesn’t give up a lot of rebounds, plays the puck well.”

The win moves Harvard into eighth place in the ECAC as it prepares to travel to league-leading Union on Friday.

“We’re learning how to win hockey games,” Donato said. “With some confidence, with some wins, hopefully we’ll continue to improve, and by the end of the season we’ll put it all together.”

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@fas.harvard.edu.