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Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Well, they lost to the US National Development Team 6-3 but I did not find it too discouraging.

Harvard was clearly a bit rusty as they have not played a game since last Spring. The USNDT have played 18 games since the beginning of September.
First period the Crimson did not look good and scored nothing. Second period they scored one goal and third period they scored two. You could see the improvement as the game progressed. Harvard got two goals from Adam Fox plus a goal by Baker Shore on a nice assist from Jack Donato. Despite the USNDT getting 4 goals in the second period the Crimson defense did not give up and gave up only one goal in the third. It appears that the rust was wearing off of Harvard's game.

I do hope we get a better crowd for future games. Bright-Landry seems to be colder than ever. I have to remember an extra sweater for next time.

We no longer have Boynton Lounge to warm up in before the game and between periods. For years season ticket holders could pay for membership in the old Blue Line Club and later the new, nicely furnished Boynton Lounge. A place to warm up, meet friends and during the Boynton Lounge years get a bite to eat. I called the athletic department and asked why and was told that it cost too much to run and membership had fallen. Part of the reason may be that the food provided by the new caterer was truly appalling.
I never ate the food there anyway. I never got wine or beer. I would prefer something like the old Blue Line room with coffee, hot chocolate and a couple of bowls of pretzels and peanuts. I suspect that the athletic department is too focused on basketball to think about hockey fans.
 
Veritas said:
Well, they lost to the US National Development Team 6-3 but I did not find it too discouraging.

Harvard was clearly a bit rusty as they have not played a game since last Spring. The USNDT have played 18 games since the beginning of September.
First period the Crimson did not look good and scored nothing. Second period they scored one goal and third period they scored two. You could see the improvement as the game progressed. Harvard got two goals from Adam Fox plus a goal by Baker Shore on a nice assist from Jack Donato. Despite the USNDT getting 4 goals in the second period the Crimson defense did not give up and gave up only one goal in the third. It appears that the rust was wearing off of Harvard's game.

I do hope we get a better crowd for future games. Bright-Landry seems to be colder than ever. I have to remember an extra sweater for next time.

We no longer have Boynton Lounge to warm up in before the game and between periods. For years season ticket holders could pay for membership in the old Blue Line Club and later the new, nicely furnished Boynton Lounge. A place to warm up, meet friends and during the Boynton Lounge years get a bite to eat. I called the athletic department and asked why and was told that it cost too much to run and membership had fallen. Part of the reason may be that the food provided by the new caterer was truly appalling.
I never ate the food there anyway. I never got wine or beer. I would prefer something like the old Blue Line room with coffee, hot chocolate and a couple of bowls of pretzels and peanuts. I suspect that the athletic department is too focused on basketball to think about hockey fans.
Click to expand...
I thought the freshmen looked very good and think the offense should be more evenly distributed than last season. Shots were 28-28, but USA blocked a lot of shots, so we actually had a lot more shot attempts.
Defense made some bad turnovers which led to goals. Goaltending could have been a little better the first couple periods - would have liked to have seen one or two more saves made. USA's goalie was off the charts.

Team just needs to work on a couple things and they will be good to go this season.
 
Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

In 24 hours, the first matches of the conference schedule will be over and you will no longer be able to enter the ECAC Pick the Standings contest (or change your picks if you already entered). It takes very little time to enter, so head on over to the thread and make your pick!
 
Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Okay so at least we know the power play will be awesome this year. Other than that?? Yikes!
 
Skate79 said:
Okay so at least we know the power play will be awesome this year. Other than that?? Yikes!
Click to expand...

Hey Donato,

On a 4x3 against with 11 secs to kill, you may want to have your best face off guy on the ice?? Why Floodstrand takes that face off (and not Drury) is beyond me.

Also, why Lackey completed the 3rd was also beyond me.

Really like this team, but coaching required this year.
 
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Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Game0n said:
The team looks very good. But that game was agonizing to watch. I think they will have a good season
Click to expand...

100% agreed not because of the outcome but because of the lack of flow. If you weren't on the PP/PK units you probably needed to re-stretch to keep the muscles loose. Refs determined very early ticky tack penalties were going to be called on both ends.

And yes you guys will be alright! You guys did what you wanted on your PP and the BIG Green just kept feeding into it. I think we will all agree the the goal tending was less than stellar on both sides! I was thinking how can the BIG Green stop/contain it. It starts and ends with Fox, again I will it his poise, skill, and decision-making is off the charts! However, I do feel bad for him on the last play to end the game.
 
Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Takes from last night:
- Harvard looked really, really good. It might be tough to say that after giving up 7 goals, but they were great. PP was lethal, the speed was there, they dominated the face off dot. I think this is going to be a fun and deep team to watch all season
- Gornet has to start next weekend. Lackey did not make a big save all night. The margin for error is less for this Harvard team and with Lackey, they have a goalie who has given up 12 goals in 5+ periods. That is not acceptable.
- I thought Teddy could have coached better last night. As I mentioned earlier, Harvard was killing a 4v3, had 12 seconds to kill on a defensive zone face off, and you have Floodstrand take the draw? Makes no sense not to have Badini or Drury (best faceoff guys) take that face off, win it, dump the puck back down and come out for a change. Given Harvard's lower margin for error, coaching smart through these situations will be critical for success
- You can't have your two captains (Gossage and Floodstrand) take dumb penalties 200 feet from your own net. Again, unacceptable.
- Needless to say, Harvard needs to work on the PK

I thought the frosh (Rathbone, Dornbach, Drury, Shore) all looked really good out there. This is going to be a very fun group to watch over these next few years.
 
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Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

bothman said:
Takes from last night:
- Harvard looked really, really good. It might be tough to say that after giving up 7 goals, but they were great. PP was lethal, the speed was there, they dominated the face off dot. I think this is going to be a fun and deep team to watch all season
- Gornet has to start next weekend. Lackey did not make a big save all night. The margin for error is less for this Harvard team and with Lackey, they have a goalie who has given up 12 goals in 5+ periods. That is not acceptable.
- I thought Teddy could have coached better last night. As I mentioned earlier, Harvard was killing a 4v3, had 12 seconds to kill on a defensive zone face off, and you have Floodstrand take the draw? Makes no sense not to have Badini or Drury (best faceoff guys) take that face off, win it, dump the puck back down and come out for a change. Given Harvard's lower margin for error, coaching smart through these situations will be critical for success
- You can't have your two captains (Gossage and Floodstrand) take dumb penalties 200 feet from your own net. Again, unacceptable.
- Needless to say, Harvard needs to work on the PK

I thought the frosh (Rathbone, Dornbach, Drury, Shore) all looked really good out there. This is going to be a very fun group to watch over these next few years.
Click to expand...

This is where we are going to miss Paul Pearl. I doubt he would have let Teddy have Floodstrand take that faceoff. Maybe I'm reaching but when Pearl came on the scene, the team seemed to gain structure and discipline for the most part. Teddy just doesn't seem to have that understanding of game situations which is odd because of his experience playing in multiple situations as a pro.
 
Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Harvard has some real talent, but with their youth and the late start, they’re a raw mix right now. The breakdowns in coverage, poor decisions, and bad penalties will continue under this coaching staff. There’s not going to be a lot of structure, discipline, or clear, consistent communication coming from them. ( The most recent coaching staff addition is a total head scratcher. ) It's going to be free range hockey, and that’s great hockey to watch. Love this freshman class! Outstanding recruiting job by Teddy. The man can talk a dog off a meat truck-- his coaching is another deal.

Fox is such a special player, but for his own good I hope he’s gone after this season. He’s just wasting his time here now. Nothing left to prove, and his development will only stagnate sticking around. Being selfish, i’d love to see him stay, but I think developing his game to the fullest extent is more important. Defensive shortcomings aside, he can QB many NHL teams' PP right now. Carolina was smart to acquire his rights. For Teddy to be able to point out ex-Crimson doing well in The Show it has its recruiting advantages as well.

Bright ice surface was in mid-season form. My favorite thing: parking as easy as ever, and not too crowded
in Bright itself, easy to get around. I like a big crowd but it comes with drawbacks. Tonight, I think Q had as many
fans as we did, maybe more. No matter.

Keep it up boys, better results are around the corner.

Harvard beats Princeton by 2 tomorrow night.
 
Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

PizzaRing said:
Harvard has some real talent, but with their youth and the late start, they’re a raw mix right now. The breakdowns in coverage, poor decisions, and bad penalties will continue under this coaching staff. There’s not going to be a lot of structure, discipline, or clear, consistent communication coming from them. ( The most recent coaching staff addition is a total head scratcher. ) It's going to be free range hockey, and that’s great hockey to watch. Love this freshman class! Outstanding recruiting job by Teddy. The man can talk a dog off a meat truck-- his coaching is another deal.

Fox is such a special player, but for his own good I hope he’s gone after this season. He’s just wasting his time here now. Nothing left to prove, and his development will only stagnate sticking around. Being selfish, i’d love to see him stay, but I think developing his game to the fullest extent is more important. Defensive shortcomings aside, he can QB many NHL teams' PP right now. Carolina was smart to acquire his rights. For Teddy to be able to point out ex-Crimson doing well in The Show it has its recruiting advantages as well.

Bright ice surface was in mid-season form. My favorite thing: parking as easy as ever, and not too crowded
in Bright itself, easy to get around. I like a big crowd but it comes with drawbacks. Tonight, I think Q had as many
fans as we did, maybe more. No matter.

Keep it up boys, better results are around the corner.

Harvard beats Princeton by 2 tomorrow night.
Click to expand...

Agree that we have the talent but if we continue to have defensive breakdowns and so-so goaltending, we will go nowhere fast. It is more than puzzling that we are experiencing some eye popping gaffes in our own zone. Again, I'll say it, Paul Pearl will be and is missed. Yes we're young but that doesn't excuse giving up 12 goals in two games. Something isn't right here and they need to fix it and soon.
 
Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

On a positive note, it seems like we have strong scoring ability - which may have been a worry after losing Donato and Pelton-Byce. They just need to figure out how to not give up 5-7 goals every game. This is very much a north-south team.
 
Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

A few thoughts after last night's game:

1. Harvard's speed is impressive. We had a good amount of offensive zone time and our forecheck was superb. We created a number of opportunities and that bodes well going forward.

2. Gotta love the Drury line. They will cause havoc in the ECAC and will be a nightmare for opposing coaches. Dornbach got rewarded for his hustle last night - the kid is relentless.

3. I don't know who coached the penalty kill last night but whoever it was should be locked in a room for a week to review the two Princeton PPs which were essentially carbon copies. The first PP you could excuse by saying it was a great setup. But the second? How about some instruction between periods for spacing and taking that low man out so it doesn't happen again? And we need a goalie coach because Lackey simply isn't cutting it. He should have been covering that side well aware of what Princeton did on the first PP.

4. The coaches get an F for last night's game. Maybe for the weekend. Harvard is lazy and unstructured especially on D. The defense holds on to the puck way too long and makes careless plays. The Princeton shortie should never have happened except for the fact that the Crimson fell asleep and stopped skating. Too many 'soft' moments during the game where the team is mentally or physically or both disengaged. This can't continue or they'll finish 8th or 9th. And they have far too much talent to be that low in the standings.

5. The frosh are great - Rathbone is a stud in the making and Dornbach, Drury and Shore are the real deal. They will only get better with more playing time.

6. Good to see Justin Szeto get a shot. He gave the fourth line some energy and overall, they played well.

The team has a lot of work to do and we can see where Paul Pearl made such a difference for this program. Teddy is a great recruiter but his x's and o'x fall short and he needs someone he can lean on to put a structure and system in place that maximizes the talent he recruits. I'm not sure the new assistant head coach is the answer but it's early.

Onward and upward.
 
Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

PizzaRing said:
Harvard has some real talent, but with their youth and the late start, they’re a raw mix right now. The breakdowns in coverage, poor decisions, and bad penalties will continue under this coaching staff. There’s not going to be a lot of structure, discipline, or clear, consistent communication coming from them. ( The most recent coaching staff addition is a total head scratcher. ) It's going to be free range hockey, and that’s great hockey to watch. Love this freshman class! Outstanding recruiting job by Teddy. The man can talk a dog off a meat truck-- his coaching is another deal.

Fox is such a special player, but for his own good I hope he’s gone after this season. He’s just wasting his time here now. Nothing left to prove, and his development will only stagnate sticking around. Being selfish, i’d love to see him stay, but I think developing his game to the fullest extent is more important. Defensive shortcomings aside, he can QB many NHL teams' PP right now. Carolina was smart to acquire his rights. For Teddy to be able to point out ex-Crimson doing well in The Show it has its recruiting advantages as well.

Bright ice surface was in mid-season form. My favorite thing: parking as easy as ever, and not too crowded
in Bright itself, easy to get around. I like a big crowd but it comes with drawbacks. Tonight, I think Q had as many
fans as we did, maybe more. No matter.

Keep it up boys, better results are around the corner.

Harvard beats Princeton by 2 tomorrow night.
Click to expand...

By maintaining a firm belief in the value of education in its broadest sense, I realize these days I am in the minority, especially among fans of collegiate athletics. In my view suggesting Adam Fox is “. . . just wasting his time” at Harvard, (albeit perhaps true with respect to advancing his professional hockey career), discounts any potential a highly intelligent, motivated person can bring to any endeavor beyond the game which, at best will consume a small fraction of a young person’s active working life. Likewise, to suggest Adam has “Nothing left to prove, and his development will only stagnate sticking around” signals he has nothing to offer beyond the rink. If this were remotely true of any promising athlete they would not, nor should expect, to attend Harvard. A Harvard education can and should be transformative and is designed to open many doors, certainly not just one that is as ephemeral and low odds as professional sports. I really hope Adam stays for four years as I wished Ryan had and Jimmy Vesey, Alex (Biega, Kerfoot, Killorn), Kyle Criscuolo, Sean Malone, Wiley Sherman, Tyler Moy, Colin Blackwell, Dominic Moore and many other professional players have done. Dean of Admissions, William Fitzsimmons’ (a former Crimson hockey Goalie) team selects great all around student athletes who succeed in class and their sport and they do a terrific job.

BTW, I apologize if I appear too strident and opinionated. I recognize everyone has different valid perspectives. I can’t contribute much to discussions on hockey strategy, but this is a good conversation to have while debating our shared overriding imperatives: Beat Yale, Beat Cornell, win the Beanpot, the ECAC and NCAA — Go Crimson!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Skate79 said:
A few thoughts after last night's game:

1. Harvard's speed is impressive. We had a good amount of offensive zone time and our forecheck was superb. We created a number of opportunities and that bodes well going forward.

2. Gotta love the Drury line. They will cause havoc in the ECAC and will be a nightmare for opposing coaches. Dornbach got rewarded for his hustle last night - the kid is relentless.

3. I don't know who coached the penalty kill last night but whoever it was should be locked in a room for a week to review the two Princeton PPs which were essentially carbon copies. The first PP you could excuse by saying it was a great setup. But the second? How about some instruction between periods for spacing and taking that low man out so it doesn't happen again? And we need a goalie coach because Lackey simply isn't cutting it. He should have been covering that side well aware of what Princeton did on the first PP.

4. The coaches get an F for last night's game. Maybe for the weekend. Harvard is lazy and unstructured especially on D. The defense holds on to the puck way too long and makes careless plays. The Princeton shortie should never have happened except for the fact that the Crimson fell asleep and stopped skating. Too many 'soft' moments during the game where the team is mentally or physically or both disengaged. This can't continue or they'll finish 8th or 9th. And they have far too much talent to be that low in the standings.

5. The frosh are great - Rathbone is a stud in the making and Dornbach, Drury and Shore are the real deal. They will only get better with more playing time.

6. Good to see Justin Szeto get a shot. He gave the fourth line some energy and overall, they played well.

The team has a lot of work to do and we can see where Paul Pearl made such a difference for this program. Teddy is a great recruiter but his x's and o'x fall short and he needs someone he can lean on to put a structure and system in place that maximizes the talent he recruits. I'm not sure the new assistant head coach is the answer but it's early.

Onward and upward.
Click to expand...

Agree. Not sure if coaching or our general weakness on the left side of the D. But the PP goals were terrible. The Left D (Baughmann) needs to know where he is on the ice and where the Princeton forward is when we are on the PK.

With the youth we have on this team in key positions, there are going to be growing pains and some bad decision making. But the younger players are a joy to watch and they are going to be very tough for opposing teams to deal with over time.

Harvard also has a heralded goalie coming in next year (Mitchell Gibson). While I do expect Lackey and Gornet to improve, I don't ever expect us to have the shut down goalie you need to make a run. And while Lackey was better on Saturday than he was against Dartmouth, he still needed to make some more saves. I wonder if Donato will give Schaeding (Frosh) a look in goal?

As for Pelton-Byce, will he come back and play next year (assuming his academics improve) or have we seen his last game at Harvard?
 
Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

bothman said:
Agree. Not sure if coaching or our general weakness on the left side of the D. But the PP goals were terrible. The Left D (Baughmann) needs to know where he is on the ice and where the Princeton forward is when we are on the PK.

With the youth we have on this team in key positions, there are going to be growing pains and some bad decision making. But the younger players are a joy to watch and they are going to be very tough for opposing teams to deal with over time.

Harvard also has a heralded goalie coming in next year (Mitchell Gibson). While I do expect Lackey and Gornet to improve, I don't ever expect us to have the shut down goalie you need to make a run. And while Lackey was better on Saturday than he was against Dartmouth, he still needed to make some more saves. I wonder if Donato will give Schaeding (Frosh) a look in goal?

As for Pelton-Byce, will he come back and play next year (assuming his academics improve) or have we seen his last game at Harvard?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what the solution is, but Harvard's given up 16 goals in 3 games. While our offensive production is strong, it's sad to think that if we could have figured out a way to give up just one less goal in regulation against Dartmouth and Princeton, we'd be 2-1 instead of 0-2-1.
 
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