NOTEBOOK: Men's Hockey Notches Balanced Win Over Terriers

Following a dismal showing against Northeastern in the first round of the 62nd annual Beanpot tournament last week, the Harvard men’s hockey team (8-12-3, 4-9-3 ECAC) made sure that it would not leave the TD Garden empty-handed Monday night.

After allowing six goals to the Huskies in the opener, the Crimson came up with six scores of its own this time around to cruise past Boston University (8-16-4, 3-8-3 Hockey East) in the consolation game, 6-2.

Although Harvard has now gone 21 years without a Beanpot title, the victory marks the team’s fourth consecutive win in the consolation game, three of which have come over the Terriers.

“Nothing that happened tonight will erase last week’s tough memory, but I thought our guys came out, worked hard, and enabled us to get the victory,” coach Ted Donato ’91 said.

BALANCE BEATS BU

In the first matchup between these two teams this season, 11 members of the Crimson recorded points as Harvard emerged victorious at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center, 7-4.

In the rematch, the Crimson offense was just as explosive as nine Harvard skaters notched at least a point, including five who were held without one in the first meeting. Among these five were freshman forward Luke Esposito, who notched two goals and an assist, and sophomore forward Kyle Criscuolo, who lit the lamp once and assisted on two more.

“[Esposito and I] both had our chances the first time we played them, that’s for sure,” Criscuolo said. “Going into this game, we were definitely trying to shoot the puck a little more knowing we didn’t want to give up any more opportunities, and [we] wanted to be involved in the win tonight.”

All 18 players who suited up for Harvard Monday night have now notched points against BU in their collegiate careers. This surplus of production has led the Crimson to tally 26 goals in its last four games against the Terriers, which represent the team’s four highest scoring outputs of the last two seasons.

“[I was disappointed] with our lack of preparation [because we had] an opportunity to play in a game where obviously we haven’t beaten Harvard in two years,” BU coach David Quinn said. “[But] Harvard was the better team tonight.”

CALL IT A COMEBACK

Just over half way through the first period, the Terriers got the scoring started. Finding an opening in the slot, BU forward Evan Rodrigues received forward Robbie Baillargeon’s dish from behind the net and beat Harvard sophomore goaltender Steve Michalek, giving the Terriers an early lead.

Prior to this contest, the Crimson had been 1-9-2 in games where it surrendered the game’s first goal. Furthermore, the team had only won one contest in which it had trailed at any point all season. That victory came against none other than the Terriers.

Harvard went into the first intermission still trailing by a goal, but the team quickly began firing on all cylinders early in the second. Criscuolo initiated the scoring at the 1:18 mark with a slapshot that got the best of Terrier goaltender Sean Maguire for his 11th score of the season.

Two minutes later, sophomore forward Brian Hart got in on the action when he put one through the pads of Maguire to give the Crimson the lead. Esposito also netted the first of his two goals in the second period, capitalizing on a rebound off a blast by junior Max Everson.

“I was happy that we were able to persevere and stay with it [after falling behind early],” Donato said. “I thought we played a smart game too, which is something that quite frankly hasn’t been a part of our DNA to this point.”

Rounding out the scoring for Harvard were sophomore Jimmy Vesey and freshman Tyler Moy, who both scored in the final 2:14 of the contest. Michalek stopped 25 of the 27 shots that he faced, becoming the first goaltender to win multiple Beanpot games for the Crimson in the last decade, while helping Harvard achieve its second come-from-behind victory of the season.

BU entered the game having stumbled as of late, earning just one victory in its previous 13 games, but following a competitive performance against Boston College last week, Quinn said that he expected a better showing from his team against Harvard.

“We did not look alert,” Quinn said. “We just did not look like we were ready to play a hockey game, which is very, very disappointing.”