In Need of a Win, Men's Hockey Gets A Rout

HAMILTON, N.Y. — With the chips down, Kyle Criscuolo turned to the old broken stick trick.

Just over a minute into the third period at Starr Rink, the junior co-captain entered the Colgate zone on the power play, threatening a drop pass to star linemate Jimmy Vesey. Instead, Criscuolo elected to shoot, snapping the shaft of his stick and sending it into the air in the process.

The resulting shot trickled through the pads of a confused sophomore Colgate goaltender Charlie Finn and sparked a 4-0 Harvard run. By the final buzzer, a shorthanded Crimson squad had finished with six unanswered goals and a 6-1 win over the conference preseason favorites.

On a night that the No. 4/4 Harvard men’s hockey team (12-4-2, 8-3-2 ECAC) entered battered and bruised, the Crimson needed a little magic to avert its first three-game losing streak. Criscuolo and company produced that and more, cashing in their largest margin of victory of the season to gain separation on the No. 15/13 Raiders (14-8-2, 6-4-2 ECAC) in the conference standings.

“The resilience of the group was really impressive,” Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “I’m proud of the effort.”

Vesey and Criscuolo starred for the Crimson with two goals and two assists apiece.

Vesey gave Harvard its first lead of the game at 13:35 in the second period with a coast-to-coast effort on a power play. The Charlestown, Mass. native led a rush up the right side, connecting with Criscuolo on a give-and-go at the blueline before getting the puck back in the slot and using speed to beat Finn top-shelf across the crease.

Junior forwards Jimmy Vesey and Kyle Criscuolo each had two goals and two assists.

“It was a really nice pass from Criscuolo,” Vesey said. “I think that I had some chances up to that point, so I was getting a little jittery to put one in.”

Crimson junior goaltender Steve Michalek received the secondary assist on the play, which extended Vesey’s NCAA-best point streak to 18 games. Vesey leads all Division I scorers with 0.94 goals per game.

Vesey’s first goal came four minutes after a breakthrough from junior forward Brian Hart on a 4-on-4 opportunity. The second line winger potted his sixth goal of the season—and first non-empty net goal since Nov. 14—after sophomore forward Tyler Moy won a faceoff in the Raider zone and dropped a pass for Hart at the top of the crease.

Criscuolo bookended Harvard’s offensive efforts in the third period, tapping in an empty net goal with less than three and a half minutes left in regulation.

In between, Vesey scored his 17th of the season on a dazzling individual effort in the Colgate zone, skating around multiple Raider defenders in the left faceoff circle before beating Finn glove-side. Eddie Ellis followed less than two minutes later, redirecting an outside shot from defenseman Clay Anderson at 8:13.

The Crimson came out firing in the first period, outshooting the hosts, 14-9. Yet a pair of offensive zone interference penalties slowed Harvard’s momentum in the final five minutes of the frame. Michalek, who finished with 30 stops, bailed the Crimson out with a series of pad saves.

Michalek made just one mistake on the night, when Colgate sophomore forward Tim Harrison put back a slow-sliding rebound from junior defenseman Ryan Johnston at 2:09 in the second period. Harvard responded to the early deficit with what Donato described as a gritty performance.

With sophomore center Luke Esposito and junior defenseman Patrick McNally injured in Friday’s game against Cornell, Donato knew that Saturday’s task would be a difficult one. A last-minute scratch by sophomore defenseman Brayden Jaw did not make things any easier.

The Crimson dressed freshman center Joseph Caffrey and senior winger Mike Seward on the fourth line to fill the gaps. Despite the late notice, the combination impressed, logging important minutes in the Raider zone.

“Mike Seward, [playing in his] first game of the year, I thought he played unbelievable,” Criscuolo said. “He’s a big body and gave [Colgate] a lot of trouble and let our momentum keep going after [his] shift.”

McNally is unlikely to return for the first round of the Beanpot next Monday, while the outlook for Esposito is more positive, according to Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Brock Malone. Sophomore forward Alex Kerfoot might return later this week.

Despite the missing pieces and unanswered questions, Harvard finished an up-and-down January term on an unexpected high.

“I said to the guys after [the game], ‘I’m proud to be along for the ride,’” Donato said. “It was a very gutty, gritty effort.”

—Crimson staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at michael.ledecky@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @mdledecky.