Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

[john0128]

All the excuses were ready. Too tired. Too much pressure. A hot goalie in Leonoff. Missed opportunities. On and on. Yet somehow, some way Harvard got it done tonight. Just an immense game. For the second straight night, Harvard ruled and dominated play in stretches. Yale relied so heavily on their D and their goalie and tonight, it backfired on them. That and not getting the help from officials they got last night. Tonight the officials put their whistles away in OT and let both teams decide it for themselves. As it should be.

What can you say about Miye D'Oench? My goodness, she gave it all she had and played about 75 minutes tonight. At times she never came off the ice. That kid has heart and soul that is beyond off the charts. She is playing on another level and I only hope she has something left for tomorrow. Her effort on the winning goal was pure desire.

Leonoff again was great and kept Yale in this game. Harvard had so many chances and some incredible looks right in front of her yet she stood tall. In the first OT, she cramped up something fierce yet stayed in and kept fighting. Lots of heart there as well.

Crowell rolled the dice with Liang in goal and it paid off. Brianna remained calm and steady throughout the game and came up with a season saving stop just before Dylan Crugnale tied the game. She also had a beauty in the second OT right before D'Oench won it. But again, and this is baffling to me, Crowell shortened her already short bench by limiting the minutes of Sydney Daniels and Elizabeth Parker late in the game and into the OTs. Daniels has had a great two games and I just don't understand these moves. She got away with it tonight but I can't see this helping Harvard tomorrow.

BTW, for those interested, I spoke to Mary Parker before the game. She has a concussion and if Harvard makes it to Clarkson next weekend, she may play. She is feeling much better so hopefully Harvard wins tomorrow and we get her back next weekend.

I'll say it again; Harvard is the better team. Yale has been living off Leonoff but the number of saves she has had to make these past two nights has to take its toll. I expect the same kind of game tomorrow unless Harvard is completely gassed and has nothing left. But they have too much courage and heart not to fight to the end. So buckle up and let's have it.

Who do you think will be in nets tomorrow for Harvard? Do you play the freshman or your MVP? If Laing plays and Harvard wins, what does this do for next weekend? Also, Daniels took yet another senseless penalty early in the game. Maybe this is why she got less ice time? Perhaps Crowell thinks she needs to discipline her young players, I am curious to see Daniel's ice time tomorrow.

D'oench has been an absolute star for Harvard. She is such a talent and so much fun to watch. What a gritty goal in OT. In game one she scored off of the Yale dmans skate to tie the game. And tonight she tied the game at 1 off a great screen by the Yale dman off the faceoff. The box score has her down for 16 shots on goal tonight. She is the biggest reason Harvard is still alive. As an aside, it would have been nice to see a more creative penalty shot from her!

I cannot imagine Yale winning tomorrow. This game means too much to the crimson. They will find a way to win and keep the season alive.

 

[D2D]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I cannot imagine Yale winning tomorrow. This game means too much to the crimson. They will find a way to win and keep the season alive.

On the other hand, if Yale can keep it close, and with the much-discussed Crimson's short bench and possible fatigue factor, I wouldn't be too surprised if Yale were to spring the upset.

 

[dave1381]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

On the other hand, if Yale can keep it close, and with the much-discussed Crimson's short bench and possible fatigue factor, I wouldn't be too surprised if Yale were to spring the upset.

For all the talk, it's not like Yale benefits a ton from playing more its third line more. These games have been much more about goaltending & penalties than depth. Yes, there's some relation between fatigue & penalties, but Harvard seemed to control play throughout in Game 2. Just avoid taking 3 penalties in a game's second overtime, and get good goaltending as they have all season, and Harvard should be fine.

 

[Call It]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

For all the talk, it's not like Yale benefits a ton from playing more its third line more. These games have been much more about goaltending & penalties than depth. Yes, there's some relation between fatigue & penalties, but Harvard seemed to control play throughout in Game 2. Just avoid taking 3 penalties in a game's second overtime, and get good goaltending as they have all season, and Harvard should be fine.

Penalties, should Daniels be receiving the ice time she does? 2 dumb penalties yesterday, -3 in the last two games and no points. Seems to be more of a liability than the upside.

 

[dave1381]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Penalties, should Daniels be receiving the ice time she does? 2 dumb penalties yesterday, -3 in the last two games and no points. Seems to be more of a liability than the upside.

Agreed.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

For all the talk, it's not like Yale benefits a ton from playing more its third line more. These games have been much more about goaltending & penalties than depth. Yes, there's some relation between fatigue & penalties, but Harvard seemed to control play throughout in Game 2. Just avoid taking 3 penalties in a game's second overtime, and get good goaltending as they have all season, and Harvard should be fine.

Penalties have been a problem for the Crimson all season. Marisa Gedman has had more than her fair share of dumb penalties - do you want to cut back her minutes and play Robin White more often? You take the good with the bad. Daniels creates offense better than most of the forwards on this team and with a hot goalie for Yale, you need scoring threats. D'Oench while seemingly a one woman wrecking crew, can't do it all by herself. Neither can Hilary Crowe. Today's game is going to be one team's last game for the 2014 season. You have to play your best and accept what comes with it. Especially when you have a short bench.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

On the other hand, if Yale can keep it close, and with the much-discussed Crimson's short bench and possible fatigue factor, I wouldn't be too surprised if Yale were to spring the upset.

At this point, it's anyone's series. You can roll out all the cliches but in the end, it will be decided by mistakes and goaltending. Leonoff has been immense. If Harvard continues to forecheck and put pressure on her, it will be interesting to see if fatigue catches up to her as well. And let's also remember that this is Yale's first foray in the ECAC playoffs since '08. None of these current players have faced a win or go home scenario.

 

[ARM]

Today's game is going to be one team's last game for the 2014 season.

I think Harvard gets into the NCAAs even with a loss today.

Especially when you have a short bench.

Is Yale's bench really any longer? It seems that the Bulldogs rely a lot on their top two lines, and someone like Staenz must be on fumes at this point coming off a draining experience at the Olympics. The advantages of playing at home should mitigate any perceived advantage of having an extra body up front.

 

[john0128]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

yale's dependence on leonoff and staenz may come back to bite them tonight. they need both to be on their A game for the team to be successful, especially against harvard, but lets put this in perspective. Staenz is just coming back from a grueling olympics in Russia. On top of the 2 double OT games, she must be feeling it. Leonoff has faced almost 115 shots in less than 24 hours. Put that all on top of a season total of 1030 saves, nearly 200 more than the next kid behind her around 880, which was the Brown goalie. The rest of the yale team is still very talented, but if these two players can be game changers tonight there is something to be said about adversity and heart. IMHO, no other team relies so heavily on two players AND is successful. You can make a case for lindenwood and minnesota state, but what Yale has done this year is more impressive.

harvard is running a very short bench and will need a standout performance from their goalie tonight. Expect harvard to play a disciplined game, and I expect D'Oench to be a star again tonight. There are a lot more questions up in the air for harvard tonight. You need to wonder if all these questions will be a distraction for the players. Despite everything, I still believe Harvard will win. They are too talented and too experienced to choke.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I think Harvard gets into the NCAAs even with a loss today.

Is Yale's bench really any longer? It seems that the Bulldogs rely a lot on their top two lines, and someone like Staenz must be on fumes at this point coming off a draining experience at the Olympics. The advantages of playing at home should mitigate any perceived advantage of having an extra body up front.

I hope you are right about the NCAAs. I'm just not sure. Won't it depend on results from other tourneys? If there are no other upsets, then doesn't this hurt Harvard if they lose today?

Yale actually started double shifting Staenz late in the third and into the OTs. But still having players you are willing to play from the get-go helps them when they do shorten later in the game. For Harvard, they are going short right from the start and actually are cutting back on minutes to Daniels and Elizabeth Parker as the game wears on. D'Oench looked at one point like she played ten consecutive minutes. I'm not kidding.

 

[dave1381]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I think Harvard gets into the NCAAs even with a loss today.
.

Yup, barring 3 teams outside the top 6 winning autobids which is highly unlikely to happen.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

harvard is running a very short bench and will need a standout performance from their goalie tonight. Expect harvard to play a disciplined game, and I expect D'Oench to be a star again tonight. There are a lot more questions up in the air for harvard tonight. You need to wonder if all these questions will be a distraction for the players. Despite everything, I still believe Harvard will win. They are too talented and too experienced to choke.

What questions exactly? And how are they a distraction? If you mean who starts in goal, I think the team has confidence in both their goalies. D'Oench certainly has been otherworldly in this series but she needs help. In some ways, the added ice time for Gina MacDonald and Dylan Crugnale has really helped their games. Crugnale came up huge yesterday with the tying goal and Gina almost won the game with her breakaway in the first OT.

I agree that we are more talented than Yale but we need to continue to press the issue. A power play goal would also be nice - we are a big 'ofer' the series so far. At this point, all the players are feeling the pain of this series. It will be the team that minimizes their mistakes, capitalizes on their opportunities and gets the better goaltending. So far, Harvard has not led in this series until winning yesterday's game. It will be interesting to see what happens if they do get a lead and force Yale to play catch up.

 

[mnpokecheck]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

5 OTs and 3 losses in the last 10 games I would think gets a supporter questioning ....

 

[HockeyEast33]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

There is more to being a student-athlete than just playing varsity hockey. If you don't see it that way we strongly disagree then. Still no reason to call it BS or a poor/bad team. I would hope that one of the things student athletes get out of their experience is to learn some respect. Respect for the game, respect for the coaches, respect for the Officials, respect for the opponent. Respect for different viewpoints.

This is a forum about women's ice hockey. Saying a team is a bad team is not a commentary on the players as people, players as students, or school (it can be a commentary on the coaches however). It is a commentary that a team has not been successful from a hockey perspective. You need to separate the two issues. I don't think anyone on this board feels that any of the Ivy schools are bad schools or that the players are bad people or students - heck, we wouldn't even know if they are bad students (might know more about individual players from personal experiences). But we do have facts upon which to base an assertion that a team is a bad hockey team, especially at the end of a season.

Like it or not, Brown is a bad hockey team - you can't dress them up and make them better. There is NOTHING to suggest they aren't. I don't agree with Call It's assertion that Yale is not good. Yale is a middle of the pack team that is playing pretty well right now. The facts back that up.

 

[HockeyEast33]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Penalties, should Daniels be receiving the ice time she does? 2 dumb penalties yesterday, -3 in the last two games and no points. Seems to be more of a liability than the upside.

Sydney Daniels has a long history of penalty taking throughout prep school, club hockey, and the U18 team (injuries as well, but that is a different topic). With her, you get the good (which is very good when she is playing well and scoring) and the bad (penalties). Harvard coaches (and supporters) should not be surprised by how she plays the game - not much has changed in the last 5+ years. Similarly (but much more unfortunately), Mary Parker has a long history of concussions and this was well known to all coaches who recruited her. Like Daniels, you get the good (which is very good pretty much all the time she in on the ice) and the bad (injuries). Regardless, with such a realtively short bench, I don't know how Harvard can afford to sit Daniels because the other options aren't really very attractive.

 

[Hckynut12]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Looks to be going much better today for the Crimson 2-0 going to the third. Hopefully they will have enough in the tank to finish this one off.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Looks to be going much better today for the Crimson 2-0 going to the third. Hopefully they will have enough in the tank to finish this one off.

A much better day indeed. I wondered out loud earlier today what would happen if Harvard went up on Yale instead of trailing which they have been doing for the series so far. Well, I got my answer. The Crimson took care of business and except for a lull in the second period due to penalties (and yes Sydney Daniels got one), Harvard was the better team. In all three games really.

A big tip of the cap to Hilary Crowe and Miye D'Oench who literally took this team on their backs and carried them to next weekend. Heroic doesn't begin to describe how mentally and physically tough they were in this series. And how about Brianna Liang stepping in and playing so well in two one or done games. Very impressive.

Doesn't get any easier next Saturday but that is as it should be. Hopefully, it will be a great game. You have to wonder if Crowell will go back to Maschmeyer who played very well against Cornell in January or stick with Liang.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

5 OTs and 3 losses in the last 10 games I would think gets a supporter questioning ....

The Beanpot loss was somewhat surprising; the other was to a Clarkson team that deserved to finish first. It was still a tight game. I don't have a problem with any of the losses other than the aforementioned Beanpot game. I still contend that Friday's game should never have gone to OT and that the officiating in that game had a lot to do with the outcome.

 

[driventoit]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Harvard looked sharp this afternoon; lots of speed, short bench and all. Second goal a thing of beauty: a five/six pass connect the dots from deep in their own zone.

Question re schedule next weekend at Cheel: wasn't there a time when the ECAC semis were at the two higher seeds on a Friday, with the finals at the remaining higher seed Sunday?

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Harvard looked sharp this afternoon; lots of speed, short bench and all. Second goal a thing of beauty: a five/six pass connect the dots from deep in their own zone.

Question re schedule next weekend at Cheel: wasn't there a time when the ECAC semis were at the two higher seeds on a Friday, with the finals at the remaining higher seed Sunday?

Yes, there was a time when the semis were held at the two highest remaining seeds. They did away with that format after the '10-'11 season I believe. The semis were held on a Thursday and then the championship at the remaining highest seed was held on Saturday. I think the logistics made it difficult to continue that format.