Men’s Hockey Bested in Matchup Against Quinnipiac After Holiday Break

In its New Years Day contest, Harvard men’s ice hockey (3-5-3, 2-3-3 ECAC) fell to the No. 18 Quinnipiac Bobcats (10-6-1, 6-3-0 ECAC) 3-2 in overtime despite two consecutive goals by Harvard that nearly fueled a comeback.

The Crimson initially returned to the Bright-Landry arena after the holiday break with the same minimal success entering the offensive zone and creating scoring opportunities as it had before it.

Also staying the same was freshman goaltender Ben Charette’s position in net since his first appearance in the first round of the Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland back in November.

Though Charette has proved to be a formidable netminder for Harvard, earning the shutout win against St. Lawrence on Dec. 7, his second win in his four collegiate games, he was unable to stop the top-ranked Quinnipiac offense from slipping one by over his left pad in just over a minute into the contest.

Harvard Head Coach Ted Donato said that turnovers were a thorn in the Crimson’s side throughout the game.

“I felt like we had the puck twice on our stick and turned the puck over, and one time led to a 3-on-2, and the other time, ended up being a play at the net that they were able to finish on a rebound,” he said

Bobcats sophomore goaltender Matej Marinov, on the other hand, prevented numerous Harvard attempts on net from multiple parts of the zone.

The first major save was against Crimson junior defenseman Ryan Healey who took a slapshot in an attempt to even the score before the first period’s halfway point.

Harvard’s only other significant chance in the period came after a 7:30 Quinnipiac goal. Sophomore forward Michael Callow, who played the puck off the offensive boards, passed it out to senior defenseman Kyle Aucoin who skated up the left wing and shot in front of Marinov’s crease.

Following extensive review on the scuffle that ensued in front of the net, the officials ruled that indeed no goal was scored on the play.

The only miscue for Quinnipiac was a late, 1:21 slashing minor on Bobcats left wing Jack Ricketts, offering Harvard a much-needed power play to redeem its earlier attempts.

Despite being unable to score in the first period, Harvard still displayed spectacular puck control to open the beginning of the second in the power play’s final 39 seconds.

While the Crimson didn’t convert during the power play, the positive momentum translated soon after when freshman forward Justin Solovey took control of the puck in the offensive zone before passing out to Callow. Callow managed to make the quick pass across the back of the zone setting up a one-timer goal for junior defenseman Mason Lagenbrunner.

But the team was unable to hold onto its sliver of success and build greater momentum as senior captain and forward Zakary Karpa was called for a two-minute boarding minor.

A successful penalty kill for Harvard ushered in a calmer rest of the period as teams traded shots with no change to the score.

While the Crimson and the Bobcats often aired shots wide of the net in the first period, including on the late Harvard power play, both teams were more patient in setting up offensive chances near the end of the second.

It even seemed Harvard might have taken charge in the game. Nearing the final minute Karpa rewarded Solovey for his earlier assist on Langebrunner’s goal and set him up on an odd-man rush off a slow Bobcat line change that brought the game to a 2-all contest.

This was just Solovey’s second goal of the season and snuck in up high on Marinov’s short side for the goal.

The mid game struggles continued for Quinnipiac as Ricketts took a second slashing minor. Although not resulting in any goals for Harvard, Ricketts’ penalties were uncharacteristic of him after setting a Division I program record on Sunday scoring four goals including a natural hat trick in the Bobcat’s 6-5 win over AIC.

However, the Bobcats had another opportunity during 4-on-4 play that led to an ugly odd-man rush for the Bobcats.

Charette miraculously saved the resulting shot off his left pad from sliding across the ice to prevent the pass and one-timer.

Donato defended Charette’s performance when asked about who to put in the net moving forward.

“It’s really no different than all the other positions on the team,” Donato said. “It’s a constant evaluation.”

“He made a couple of spectacular saves,” he added “The one going across on that two on one was a world class save.”

Another late penalty put Harvard down one of their top defensemen in senior captain Ian Moore at 3:38 for slashing, the same penalty Ricketts was called for.

While this too was killed by the Crimson, it prevented any scoring opportunities late for the team and made the uphill climb more difficult in the overtime period.

Speaking after the game, senior defenseman Jack Bar noted that the team “obviously need to work on some things, key in on little details, getting pucks deep, getting pucks out, and staying out of the box.”

“The penalty kind of killed some of our momentum tonight,” he added.

A simple rebound shot and putaway by Quinnipiac freshman forward Chris Pelosi ended Harvard’s first night back in nearly a month.

Despite the setback, the team looks to move forward with its existing mindset.

“I think everyone in our dressing room believes in our team,” said Bar, “and I think that’s been the same throughout the whole year.”

Donato also expressed faith in his team.

“There is a team in our locker room, we just got to be able to play a complete game,” he said.

—Staff writer Nate M. Bolan can be reached at nathan.bolan@thecrimson.com.