Men's Hockey Falls to Union, 4-1

One official’s arm went up. Then another’s. In the blink of an eye, the Harvard men’s hockey team faced a two-minute 5-on-3 penalty kill midway through the final frame of a one-goal game at Union College.

The Dutchmen power play unit capitalized for the second time on the night to open up a two-goal advantage. No. 19 Union (12-8-4, 6-4-3 ECAC) would strike twice more in the final 12 minutes as the Crimson (5-11-1, 3-9-0 ECAC) lost its fourth straight, 4-1.

Down 1-0 with 12:24 remaining in the third period, Harvard was whistled for two minors as senior forward Marshall Everson went to the box for hooking and classmate Luke Greiner joined him for high sticking.

“It was really weird,” senior forward Alex Fallstrom said of the simultaneous penalties. “It kind of came as a surprise to me because I didn’t really see what happened, but it was unfortunate and really hurt us in the game.”

Union quickly capitalized on the opportunity, winning the next faceoff in Harvard’s zone and looping fifteen passes around the three Crimson defenders before senior forward Wayne Simpson tapped one in from close range to put the home team up by a pair.

“[Union] moved the puck well and obviously took advantage of that five-on-three,” Fallstrom said. “That was the turning point of the game.”

The Dutchman forecheck pressured Harvard from start to finish. Union directed more shots on net than the Crimson in each period for an overall advantage of 38 to 23.

The two teams remained scoreless after the first period as Harvard failed to convert on its only two power plays of the night. But the Crimson defense only yielded a few early opportunities to the Dutchmen.

“We started out more structured overall, which helped me a lot in the defensive zone,” said junior Crimson goaltender Raphael Girard, who had 34 saves on the night.

“I think we were really playing sound defensively for the first 40 minutes or so,” Fallstrom added.

With less than four minutes remaining in the second, sophomore forward Max Novak put Union on the score sheet after a holding minor on Harvard forward Ryan McGregor provided the Dutchmen their third power play of the night. Union junior defender Mat Bodie fed the puck to Novak, who slung a shot from the top of the slot past a screen by freshman linemate Matt Wilkins.

“Starting in the second period, we took many penalties that ended up being momentum changers and allowed [Union] to spend a lot of time in our zone,” Girard said. “They got some scoring chances off of that and capitalized at the right moment.”

In the final frame, Harvard managed to kill the remainder of the Union power play following Simpson’s goal.

Less than two minutes after the Crimson returned to full strength, a rare icing from the Dutchmen provided Harvard one of its few chances of the night.

Center Collin Blackwell won the faceoff to Jimmy Vesey, who launched a wrister inside the circle before Union goalie Troy Grosenick could locate the puck.

“The line with Jimmy Vesey, Brian Hart and Colin Blackwell always brings a lot of energy,” Fallstrom said. “I thought they were good tonight.

The goal gave Harvard new life, but only momentarily.

Union’s Matt Wilkins responded to Harvard’s strike less than three minutes later. A failed Crimson clear was intercepted by Bodie, who fed the puck to Wilkins for a long-range wrister that sailed past a screened Girard.

Harvard coach Ted Donato ‘91 pulled Girard for an extra attacker with less than two minutes left, but the move failed to spark a Crimson comeback. The Dutchmen added an insurance marker on an empty-net goal from Daniel Carr with 18 seconds left.

Tensions flared late in the game as officials issued Vesey a ten-minute game misconduct for a hit after the empty-netter. Freshman Union forward David Roy was sent to the box with two seconds remaining in the game for a slash.

The Crimson now sits on the 12th and last rung of the ECAC ladder as it prepares to host 11th-place St. Lawrence and 8th-place Clarkson this weekend. Ten more conference games remain on Harvard’s schedule.

“We went out and competed really hard,” Fallstrom said. “The puck just didn’t bounce our way today. We’re just going to have to reload and get back at it on Friday.”

—Staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at mledecky@college.harvard.edu.