Harvard 2021-22: Back to Work

[Skate79]

Okay, so thanks to Quinnipiac's win over Yale, Harvard now has a clear path to finishing first. Take care of business today against Union in regulation and they lock up first place. The Lady Bobcats have a realistic shot at finishing second if they can get help from Princeton today.

[thirdtime's . . .]

Q: What did it take yesterday for Harvard (20-7-1) to defeat Union (4-28-1) in order to secure its first place finish in the ECAC?
A: 57 SOG, for 2 PPGs and an empty netter.
Q: What's that goalie's name again?
A: Sophie Matsoukas, class of '25.

[Skate79]

Q: What did it take yesterday for Harvard (20-7-1) to defeat Union (4-28-1) in order to secure its first place finish in the ECAC?
A: 57 SOG, for 2 PPGs and an empty netter.
Q: What's that goalie's name again?
A: Sophie Matsoukas, class of '25.

Yeah, Union has a gem in Matsoukas. She played very well. Made some ten bell saves. This should have been a 7-0 game. I was really worried we were going to lose on a fluke goal or wind up tied going into OT and coming out with only 1.5 points. Which would not have been enough. Thankfully, we avoid Colgate in the semis should we make it that far. Being home the rest of the way is special.

[Watson Rink]

Beanpot title, Ivy title, ECAC regular season title....congratulations, student-athletes!

And yet, the margins in the ECAC this year are razor thin. As Sparky Anderson put it after his team defeated the Red Sox in the epic 1975 World Series, "What did this World Series prove? It proved that this year the Cincinnati Redlegs are the best team in baseball...though not by much."

[Watson Rink]

Well, so much for my predictions! A weekend of surprises.....

Here are the final results:

Hvd: RPI and U. (Original prediction 51+) Predict 6 points for a total of 50.5 points ACTUAL 50.5
Yale: Q, Pr. (Original prediction 51.5+) Predict at least 4 points for a total of at least 50.5+ points ACTUAL 49.5
Q: Y, Br. (Original prediction 48+) Predict at least 5 points for a total of 47+ points ACTUAL 45 and 4th not 3rd
Clarkson: Colgate, Cornell. (Original prediction 47.5+) Predict at least 4.5 points for a total of 46+ points ACTUAL 41.5 and 5th not 4th
Colgate: Clarkson, StL. (Original prediction 43.5+) Predict at least 3.5 points for a total of 43+ points ACTUAL 45.5 and 3rd not 5th
Pr: Y, Br. (Original prediction 42+) Predict at least 3 points for a total of 32+ points ACTUAL 30.5
StL: Colgate, Cornell. (Original prediction 40+) Predict at least 3 points for a total of 40+ points ACTUAL 38
Cornell: Clarkson, StL. Predict at least 1 point for a total of 29+ points ACTUAL 38

[Skate79]

Beanpot title, Ivy title, ECAC regular season title....congratulations, student-athletes!

And yet, the margins in the ECAC this year are razor thin. As Sparky Anderson put it after his team defeated the Red Sox in the epic 1975 World Series, "What did this World Series prove? It proved that this year the Cincinnati Redlegs are the best team in baseball...though not by much."

Tremendous regular season with all that hardware. Now Harvard begins the "REAL" season so let's see if they can keep it going.

[thirdtime's . . .]

What were just some of the things of possible interest to the Harvard fan last night? The failure of the first line to take the opening faceoff. Zero points from the first line. The absence of Petrie. The subsequent collapse of any second line. The uneven reintroduction of Moy (ARM’s post-Olympics law?). The questionable breaking of a successful goalie rotation. The inexplicable reinsertion of a pulled goalie when Harvard could have had a 6-on-4 with a faceoff in the Princeton end.

What was of any interest at all to announcer guys? NOTHING BUT BLATHER. This was a new low in a season of lows for those of us dependent on the screen this year. They “called” maybe 4 (possibly 4.5) percent of the action that took place in front of their collective face. I’ll scream if we don’t get a different tandem this afternoon, though they’re usually just a variation on the theme of NOTHING BUT BLATHER. Is Harvard the only one of 41 teams that puts up with this? I would rather have Kenny and A.J. go on for sixty minutes about the ’98 Olympics.

A depleted Princeton team was red hot. How was a should-have-seen-it-coming Harvard team ice cold? Never look for any answers coming from the booth. Katey bar the door!

[ARM]

I would rather have Kenny and A.J. go on for sixty minutes about the ’98 Olympics.

Thanks for providing my laugh of the day!

[D2D]

Thanks for providing my laugh of the day!

I was just getting around to post an "LOL"!

[Skate79]

There's no sugar coating it. While today was a gut check win, Princeton is outplaying Harvard and wants this series badly. They are getting the better looks and if not for two tremendous saves from Reed near the end of the third period, Harvard would be sitting in their dorm rooms lamenting what should have been a relatively straightforward quarterfinal series. Yesterday, they played like they only had to show up and Princeton would fold. Today was more of the same until they switched up the lines and put Jovanovich with Hyland and Hollands. They seemed to click and Hollands got the equalizer. Still, Harvard is struggling in their own zone and are not using their skating ability to force the Tigers out of their defensive structure. Which has been sound for the most part.

Hopefully Della Rovere's goal will break the ice for the first line. Harvard needs a much better effort tomorrow to advance. Princeton isn't going anywhere and I expect a max effort from them tomorrow.

[Watson Rink]

Couldn't believe my eyes......

When Princeton went in all alone from a blue line interception and Glover broke it up with a brilliant diving effort, I started counting and....why do we only have four players on the ice??????

Then when our foursome clear the puck, there's Jovanovich way beyond the red line, apparently coming off the bench????

When I got home I looked it up on espn.com and sure enough, at about 10:45 left in the third period, you'll see it. Four Crimson players on the ice. And the announcers say Jovanovich is coming off the bench. Only time I remember seeing anything like it was during a Winsor-Andover JV field hockey game decades ago. What if the Princeton player had scored during our voluntary 5-on-4?

[thirdtime's . . .]

Couldn't believe my eyes......

Yeah, that was weird, the old Playing Possum on the Bench ploy, which comes in handy when nothing else seems to be working. As I recall Jovanovich actually got a breakaway opportunity after this snafu, as if she’d just stepped out of the box.

[thirdtime's . . .]

There's no sugar coating it.

Don’t forget that Harvard is skating without their fastest, smoothest puck possessor, who has been known to eat D for breakfast. This series would not be the cliff-hanger that it is if Dominique Petrie were on the ice. (Surprise! The Booth Boys have not uttered her name once all weekend, while they have plenty of time to tell you the name of a Princeton player’s brother who was drafted in the third round by the Vegas Golden Knights. So, no consideration given at all to the relative havoc that Petrie’s absence has played with forward lines, special teams and the overall rhythm of Harvard’s play.) Hers is a giant absence in this series.

[Skate79]

Don’t forget that Harvard is skating without their fastest, smoothest puck possessor, who has been known to eat D for breakfast. This series would not be the cliff-hanger that it is if Dominique Petrie were on the ice. (Surprise! The Booth Boys have not uttered her name once all weekend, while they have plenty of time to tell you the name of a Princeton player’s brother who was drafted in the third round by the Vegas Golden Knights. So, no consideration given at all to the relative havoc that Petrie’s absence has played with forward lines, special teams and the overall rhythm of Harvard’s play.) Hers is a giant absence in this series.

I don't think playing without one player should make that significant a difference when you are playing a #8 seed. Yes, Petrie is special, but they got Keeley Moy back from the Olympics, so the drop-off isn't huge. And frankly the makeshift line of Jovanovich, Hyland and Hollands played very well. I expect that to continue today.

[vicb]

Prinny 3 Harvard 2 First time in the ECAC history that the #8 seed has eliminated the #1 seed.
Yale 3 SLU 2

Yale gets to host the ECAC semi and finals

Prinny vs Yale
Quinny vs Colgate