Cleary Cup at Stake on Final Night of Men's Hockey Season

Beating Cornell’s men’s hockey team at Lynah Rink is no easy task. Showered with seafood or not, guests of the Big Red have emerged victorious from the arena only 30 percent of the time throughout its 60 years of existence.

Nonetheless, nine of the ECAC’s last 10 regular-season champions have all picked up two points on their trips to Ithaca, New York. And based on how things have shaped up in 2017, there’s a considerable chance that trend continues.

Tonight, No. 7 Union (23-8-2, 16-4-1 ECAC) will pay its annual visit to Lynah—this time on the final day of the ECAC regular season—knowing that a victory inside the home of No. 9 Cornell (18-6-4, 13-4-4) would wrap up its fourth regular-season crown in the last seven years.

A tie or a loss, on the other hand, would leave the door wide open for a team that took care of business in Ithaca just last month—Harvard. More than 300 miles to the east, the No. 3 Crimson (21-5-2, 15-4-2) will take on No. 20 St. Lawrence (16-10-7, 12-5-4) tonight at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center, needing a win of its own to have a chance at capturing its third major trophy of the season.

In the latest meeting between Harvard and Union, the Crimson upended the Dutchmen by a 6-2 margin at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. By Thomas W. Franck

Last week, Harvard put in its first two claims on hardware, winning the Beanpot championship for the first time in 24 seasons and the outright Ivy League title for the first time in 11. This time in front of a home crowd, the Crimson will aim to grab the Cleary Cup—named in honor of Harvard Hockey legend Bill Cleary ’56—for the first time in 23 seasons.

Tonight will also be the night where the Crimson honors its eight seniors, who represent the highest-scoring veteran class (151 points) in all of college hockey. But even with post-game festivities in store, Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 is focused on the task at hand.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of time to really digest it all and have a great perspective,” Donato said. “I think we’re pretty focused on going out to try to get two points tomorrow and give ourselves a chance to win the regular season title.”

Currently one point behind Union (33 points), the Crimson (32 points) must win and receive help from Ivy League rival Cornell to capture the championship. A Harvard win and a Union loss would give the Crimson the ECAC title outright. Meanwhile, a Harvard win paired with a draw at Lynah would mean the Crimson would share the crown with the Dutchmen. But thanks to a tiebreaker, Harvard would earn the top seed in the conference tournament.

When Harvard and Union met for the first time this season at Messa Rink, Hobey hopeful Mike Vecchione set up the game-winning goal in what amounted to a 2-1 victory for the Dutchmen. By Thomas W. Franck

The Crimson nearly gained control of its own destiny Friday night when 10th-place Colgate gave Union a serious run for its money in Hamilton, New York. The Raiders scored twice in a row early in the third period to take a 3-2 lead over the Dutchmen, but Union’s Mike Vecchione—a legitimate contender for the Hobey Baker award—assisted on a late equalizer and netted an overtime winner to keep the Dutchmen in the driver’s seat.

Of course, Harvard never realized how close the inside track to the trophy truly became because the Crimson was simultaneously engaged in its own contest against Clarkson, which it won by a 4-1 margin. When asked how long it typically takes to start checking scores upon reaching the locker room, senior Luke Esposito provided a candid answer.

“Normally not that quick,” said Esposito, beginning to break into a grin. “But on nights like tonight, pretty quick.”

Despite not reading off the score he was hoping for, however, Esposito and the Crimson know that tonight’s a new night.

“Hopefully we get a little help from the Big Red,” Esposito concluded.

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MeagherTHC.