Men's Hockey Beats Brown, Extends Unbeaten Streak to Five

Just days after recording a season-high six goals against No. 8 Boston College, the Harvard men’s ice hockey team showed no signs of letting up Friday night, cruising to a 6-2 victory over Brown at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center.

Behind two goals from both sophomore forward Tyler Moy and junior forward Brian Hart, the Crimson (3-0-2, 2-0-2 ECAC) moves into a tie for second in the conference, extending its unbeaten streak to five games—its longest such run since the 2011-2012 season.

“We came out with so much energy and skated so hard,” junior co-captain Max Everson said. “Guys were ready from the drop of the puck, and with our team’s speed, we get after teams like [Brown]. I think we can surprise people, and I think that’s what we did.”

The Harvard offense was firing on all cylinders, doing the majority of its damage against the Bears (1-3-0, 0-3-0) on special teams. The Crimson notched three power play goals in the contest, raising its success rate on the man advantage this season to 33.3 percent—the best mark in the ECAC.

Hart and junior co-captain Kyle Criscuolo recorded the first two power play goals, but the third came courtesy of an unfamiliar source. Entering Friday with 68 games at Harvard under his belt but no goals to show for it, Everson put an end to that drought, lighting the lamp for the first time as a member of the Crimson.

Midway through the third period with Harvard leading 4-1, Everson received a pass from sophomore defenseman Clay Anderson at the top of the left circle. With four skaters crowding Brown goaltender Tyler Steel, the co-captain fired a wrist shot into the traffic, and the puck squirted its way into the back of the net.

“It’s a big monkey off the back,” Everson said. “It feels like it’s been a long time coming, but it feels great. [It] wasn’t the prettiest goal, but hey, I’ll take it.”

In addition to capitalizing on the power play, the Crimson also created its share of chances on the kill. Not only did Harvard hold Brown scoreless on its four power play opportunities, but it also created several odd-man rushes of its own—one resulting in a goal from Moy.

At the 14:21 mark of the first period, sophomore center Alexander Kerfoot began the attack, working his way out of his own end along the left wing. The sophomore then dropped off a pass for junior defenseman Patrick McNally.

With two Bears’ defensemen fast approaching, McNally elected to send one more pass to the right—this one to a wide-open Moy. The sophomore capitalized, burying a shot into the right side of the goal to put the Crimson up, 2-0.

The goal for Moy was his second of the contest, as the forward opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game. After receiving a pass from freshman forward Jake Horton in the attacking zone, the sophomore from San Diego, Calif. squeezed a shot through the pads of Steel to provide his side with an early lead.

“We’re playing faster, we’re moving the puck up the ice quicker, and we’re doing a better job in the offensive zone of getting everybody involved,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “We’re getting scoring by committee…so I think we’re spreading the offense out pretty [well].”

Brown got on the board 3:42 into the final frame, when senior forward Matt Harlow punched in a shot from inside the crease to cut the deficit to 4-1. But that would be as close as the Bears would get, as junior netminder Steve Michalek recorded 33 saves en route to his third victory of the season.

“Ultimately, your best penalty killer has to be your goalie, and I think it was tonight,” Donato said. “I think Steve made some important saves at key times in the game.”

Last season, Brown won both of its meetings with the Crimson, holding Harvard to just one goal over 120 minutes. With the team’s most recent victory, Everson acknowledged that the team is happy to turn the page.

“It’s great to get two points in our conference, and with [this] being an Ivy League [matchup], there was a little extra rivalry,” Everson said. “We always like to win those.”

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jmeagher@college.harvard.edu.