Men's Hockey Drops Fourth Straight in 4-3 Loss at Union

It was going to take something special from a slumping Harvard men’s hockey team to beat its conference's top squad on the road. The Crimson put in several special minutes on Friday night, but they didn’t quite add up to 60.

Junior forward Matt Hatch tallied two goals and an assist to help No. 3 Union (16-5-3, 10-2-0 ECAC) to a 4-3 win over the Crimson (5-11-3, 2-9-3) in Schenectady, N.Y. For the third time in as many games, Harvard left the ice without a point despite looking like the better team for two out of three periods.

“We had some opportunities that we would have liked to have cashed in on, but I thought, in general, it was one of the better games we’ve played all year,” Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “It was something to build on.”

Hatch and senior forward Kevin Sullivan took advantage of rebounds in the middle frame to give the Dutchmen a two goal lead. Harvard closed the gap to one twice in the third as strikes from sophomore forward Brian Hart at 11:31 and freshman forward Tyler Moy at 13:42 sandwiched a successful 2-on-1 score from Hatch at 12:27, but the visitors could not force overtime.

Union returned to a sold-out Messa Rink with confidence after an impressive five-game road swing that included convincing victories over UNH, Princeton, and St. Cloud State. With Friday’s win, the Dutchmen extended its unbeaten streak against Harvard to nine games and leapfrogged Quinnipiac for the top spot in the ECAC standings with a game in hand.

Slow starts doomed the Crimson last weekend in an unfruitful home stand against Cornell and Colgate. On Friday, Harvard came out firing on all cylinders, putting four shots and a hit pipe on Union goaltender Colin Stevens in the first five minutes of regulation. Freshman center Alex Kerfoot gave the Crimson an early lead at 4:30 with a wrist shot inside the right faceoff circle after a deflected try from sophomore defenseman Desmond Bergin.

“We’ve kind of said that we’ve got to start focusing before games,” Kerfoot said. “We’re not going to be able to win games starting every first period down, 3-0. We wanted to get out to a good start, and we had a pretty good jump at the beginning of the game.”

Hatch responded nine minutes later, wrapping around the Harvard net before finding freshman linemate Mike Vecchione open in the slot, beating junior goaltender Steve Michalek and knotting the game at one.

In the opening minutes of the second, Harvard killed an extended 5-on-3 Dutchman power play after junior defenseman Patrick McNally and Bergin were whistled for infractions 25 seconds apart, but Sullivan gave the Dutchmen the lead at 6:40. Skating up the left wing, the junior forward picked up his own rebound and launched a close-angle shot toward the Harvard crease that deflected off the skate of Crimson captain Dan Ford and into the net.

Harvard had opportunities to tie minutes later on a power play, including a shot from freshman defenseman Victor Newell that rang off the crossbar. Newell, who has been limited to four games this season due to injury, finished the night with two assists in his first conference contest since Harvard hosted Union on Nov. 8.

With under four minutes left in the middle frame, Hatch poked the puck out from under Michalek’s pads to put the Dutchmen up, 3-1. Michalek made an initial stop on a shot from freshman forward Michael Pontarelli, but Hatch and Vecchione overpowered the Crimson in the crease for the score.

In the third, Harvard opened the period with another strong penalty kill. Union defender Shayne Gostisbehere tripped forward Kyle Criscuolo at the Dutchman blue line after the Harvard sophomore turned a turnover in the neutral zone into a shorthanded breakaway. Officials did not award Criscuolo a penalty shot, prompting loud protestations from the Harvard bench.

“I thought it was a pretty clear cut penalty shot,” Donato said. “The ref had a different vantage point. Obviously we’re in disagreement about [the call], but I think [the referees are] doing the best they can.”

The Crimson did not convert on the resulting power play but continued to pressure, outshooting the Dutchmen, 11-5, in the third period. Hart received a backhand pass from freshman center Sean Malone to break through from close range midway through the frame, but Union restored its lead to two less than a minute later after Pontarelli led a break up the left wing before finding Hatch on the right side. Moy surprised Stevens a couple shifts later with a quick wrist shot high in the slot to bring Harvard back within one with just over six minutes left in regulation.

Harvard did not find the tying goal with an extra attacker, but Donato was pleased with the potential he saw on the ice. While Friday marked the Crimson’s ninth conference loss, the team has conceded none of those games by more than two goals.

“We were closer tonight to putting together a 60-minute effort,” Donato said. “I think that if we continue with that kind of commitment…we’ll flip some of these scores we’ve had recently.”

—Staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at michael.ledecky@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MDLedecky.