Athlete of the Week: Blackwell Lights Up Against Colgate, Cornell

During a weekend which saw members of the Crimson’s second line, not its usual first, announced as starters on consecutive nights, Harvard men’s hockey coach Ted Donato ’91 was quick to remind reporters what no one needed reminding of: “Whatever line Jimmy Vesey’s on is going to be our first line.”

But if there’s anything the second line’s presence proved over the course of the No. 7/7 Crimson’s latest two-game slate, it’s that Donato might have finally found a unit worth sticking with.

Just in time for Friday night’s rematch of the 2015 ECAC championship game against Colgate, Harvard (11-4-3, 7-3-2 ECAC) rolled out the same second-line combination it went with in Lake Placid—junior Luke Esposito on the left wing, junior Sean Malone at center, and senior Colin Blackwell on the right.

And this time—nearly 200 miles farther south—the move paid off yet again.

At Starr Rink in Hamilton, N.Y., Malone opened the scoring; then Blackwell set up co-captain Kyle Criscuolo for the eventual game-winning goal, carrying the Crimson to a 4-2 win.

One night later at a hostile Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y., Blackwell was at it again, scoring the game’s first goal and assisting sophomore defenseman Wiley Sherman on another, bringing about a 6-2 victory over then-No. 10/10 Cornell.

“With the way Sean was going and the way Colin Blackwell was going, it really makes us a much more dangerous team,” said Donato on Friday after the Colgate game.

With a goal and three assists over the weekend, Blackwell—The Crimson’s Athlete of the Week—earned his first four-point weekend since 2012, when he logged four assists in the ECAC tournament semifinals against none other than the rival Big Red. The San Jose Sharks draft selection now has 13 points in 12 games so far in the 2014-2015 campaign, good for fourth on the team.

Blackwell has only skated on the second line this season, but the fifth-year senior missed six consecutive games from November to December, forcing Donato’s hand as he rotated through various line pairings throughout the winter.

Esposito and freshman forward Ryan Donato received significant time on the wings, while junior center Tyler Moy and rookies Michael Floodstrand and Lewis Zerter-Gossage made spot appearances, but few combinations lasted very long.

This weekend, however, with Malone jumping up a unit to join Esposito and Blackwell, the second line was flying high in New York. The trio finished with seven points (3 G, 4 A) in the Crimson’s sweep of the Raiders and the Big Red.

“We feed off each other really well,” Blackwell said. “We played with each other last year, and we complemented each other really well. We’re really good friends off the ice too...and I think we’re all very similar players.”

“The way we play is we kind of get pucks in deep to down their defensemen,” he added. “Then eventually with our speed and being able to protect the puck down low, once we wear them down, that’s when we can take advantage.”

That’s exactly how Blackwell found Sherman in Ithaca, to produce the goal that put Saturday night’s contest out of reach.

Holding the puck deep in the corner, the senior suddenly burst up the boards, leaving a defenseman in the dust as he fed Sherman at the point. Then the 6’7” sophomore came through, blasting a one-timer past Cornell goaltender Mitch Gillam to put Harvard up 4-2.

Blackwell, whose five-year tenure with the Crimson has largely been hindered by injuries, has now played in eight straight games—a stretch that began with the Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis.

The senior logged a goal and an assist at the tournament, afterwards revealing that he was finally feeling healthy.

“I feel good right now,” said Blackwell after Harvard’s title-clinching victory over Minnesota on Jan. 2. “I had three weeks [during break] to go on my own, and skate, and get back into shape. I feel like I’m in really good shape, but it’s just a matter of game shape. That takes a little bit of time.”

Now over three weeks removed from the mid-season tournament, Blackwell looks as sharp as ever. Donato revealed after the game on Saturday that he is more than pleased with the recent strides that the senior has made.

“It’s good to see that he’s back playing the game that he loves and he’s very good at,” Donato said. “He’s a guy that elevates his game under the spotlight, so we’re happy to have him back…. He’s a big part of our team—when he gets going, he gives us an X-factor.”

Blackwell will look to provide that offensive X-factor once again Friday night, when the Crimson returns to action at its home rink against Princeton. And for the first time in a long time, Harvard’s second line looks to be set.

-Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com.