Late Comeback Lifts Men’s Hockey Over Bobcats

The Harvard men’s hockey team continued its late-season surge towards the top of the ECAC standings Friday night.

Down by two less than four minutes into the contest, the Crimson secured another come-from-behind victory, scoring five unanswered goals to erase the early deficit en route to a 6-3 win over Quinnipiac at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn.

The Bobcats (13-9-5, 5-6-4 ECAC) took two early leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in the first period, but then Harvard (7-6-9, 6-4-7) took control of the game, as sophomore goalie Raphael Girard replaced freshman Steve Michalek and saved all 26 shots he faced.

The Crimson, which had never won at Hamden, Conn. beat a Quinnipiac squad that had not played in two weeks. With the victory, Harvard extended its unbeaten streak to six games.  The Crimson now remains tied for third place in the ECAC standings, one point behind Ivy League rival Cornell.

The Bobcats scored twice within 86 seconds to put the Crimson in an early 2-0 hole. Bryce Van Brabant opened the scoring with a quick one-time wrister that Michalek initially saved but couldn’t hold on to as the puck trickled past him. Kellen Jones then scored soon after with a shot from the right.

“We just didn’t come out with a lot of energy, and they jumped on it,” sophomore defenseman Dan Ford said. “It was probably one of our worst periods all season.”

But junior forward Marshall Everson was able to cut the early deficit in half, rebounding freshman defenseman Patrick McNally’s blocked shot into the back of the net.

With just under 30 seconds remaining in the first period, Bobcat Loren Barron put Quinnipiac up by two once more with a backhand shot from the left side to beat Michalek.

In the frame, the freshman netminder saved 17 of the 20 shots that came his way.

The second period was a whole different story for Harvard, as the Crimson put Girard in net and appeared to come out with much better energy.

“I don’t think the guys came out and played real well in the first period,” Girard said. “So I don’t think you can blame it on [Michalek]…. We started hitting a lot in the second period, so it slowed them down a lot too. At that point, we took over.”

Having given up two goals in quick succession two games in a row, Harvard was finally able to provide one of its own flurries early in the second.

Freshman Colin Blackwell initially shot the puck at Bobcat goalie Eric Hartznell before he and junior Luke Greiner had a few whacks at the puck on the rebounds. The puck finally popped out to McNally, who sent it to senior Eric Kroshus, and the forward promptly buried it in the net.

Nineteen seconds later, junior defenseman Danny Biega, who also added an empty-net goal at the end of the game, took a shot from a distance by the point and beat Hartznell as he tried to make a glove save.

Tied 3-3, the Crimson appeared to take the momentum after those two quick goals.

At 5:42 in the third, Greiner broke the deadlock by finishing the rebound from a shot from the right by a streaking Blackwell on the counter.

Hartznell, who stopped 20 of 24 shots, was also replaced after Grenier’s score, with senior Dan Clarke stepping up in net.

Harvard finally grabbed its own two-goal lead towards the end of the game, as senior forward Alex Killorn skated down the right side and found junior forward Alex Fallstrom open near the left crease. Fallstrom, who had returned from an injury for Friday’s game, then easily tapped it in.

Quinnipiac outshot the Crimson, 46-33, and won more face-offs, 45-32, but Harvard still came away with the victory, providing Girard with his first collegiate win.

“It felt great,” Girard said. “I always have to be ready to jump in the game, and I just used my opportunity and played well.”

The Crimson is coming on strong at the right time, with the annual Beanpot tournament starting Monday evening. The opening game is against Boston University, who beat Harvard, 5-4, in overtime in January.

“They might have taken us easily when they came in and played in our barn,” Girard said. “But I think we showed them what we’re made of, and it’s going to be a really good game. I think it’s going to be really tight.”

—Staff writer David Mazza can be reached at damazza@college.harvard.edu.