Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

[Skate79]

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

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!

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I don't think that Pizza was referring to Adam's off the ice life at Harvard when he said he was wasting his time. He was pointing out that Adam is good enough now to run an NHL PP and that alone should make him feel good about his prospects at the next level. What Adam does with his time away from the rink presumably is to keep his grades up and enjoy being a junior at Harvard. I don't know this for sure but if he thought Harvard was not the place for him, he would have left after his freshman season. Fact is that Calgary who owned his rights at the time was stacked with young D.

I think Ryan Donato is finding out that life in the NHL is a lot tougher than he imagined even with his Dad to give him advice and guidance. You can't blame him for leaving but staying to finish his senior season I think would have allowed him to continue to refine parts of his game that are absent at the moment. I'm sure he'll figure it out.

 

[bothman]

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

Harvard needs to get its goaltending figured out (positioning is horrendous as is the rebound control) and get Badini off of the 4th line (what a waste!). Also, what is with Harvard's PK? I have never seen such a passive box from a Harvard team (especially since Harvard has some real speed), basically allowing Yale to set up and pass the puck without pressure. Is this because of Harvard's goaltending challenges?

Walsh had a really tough game and his needless turnover in his own zone resulted in a gimme Yale goal.

Any point on the road against Yale has always been tough (even for great Harvard teams), but this is fairly pedestrian Yale team and I thought Harvard took its foot off the gas pedal in the 3rd period (stopped skating and really cycling the puck and moving it on the PP - don't think Harvard got one shot off on that last PP).

 

[Skate79]

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

Harvard needs to get its goaltending figured out (positioning is horrendous as is the rebound control) and get Badini off of the 4th line (what a waste!). Also, what is with Harvard's PK? I have never seen such a passive box from a Harvard team (especially since Harvard has some real speed), basically allowing Yale to set up and pass the puck without pressure. Is this because of Harvard's goaltending challenges?

Walsh had a really tough game and his needless turnover in his own zone resulted in a gimme Yale goal.

Any point on the road against Yale has always been tough (even for great Harvard teams), but this is fairly pedestrian Yale team and I thought Harvard took its foot off the gas pedal in the 3rd period (stopped skating and really cycling the puck and moving it on the PP - don't think Harvard got one shot off on that last PP).

We have yet to play 60 minutes of hockey with any sort of consistency. I've outlined the flaws from the first three games in previous posts and it seems like some were repeated last night. Coaching is part of what's wrong at the moment and Teddy needs to figure this out quickly or the season will be lost. Two games coming up against Cornell including the Madison Square tilt so there are no gimmes ahead (maybe ASU but who knows?). Hopefully we can begin the turnaround tonight at Meehan.

 

[bothman]

We have yet to play 60 minutes of hockey with any sort of consistency. I've outlined the flaws from the first three games in previous posts and it seems like some were repeated last night. Coaching is part of what's wrong at the moment and Teddy needs to figure this out quickly or the season will be lost. Two games coming up against Cornell including the Madison Square tilt so there are no gimmes ahead (maybe ASU but who knows?). Hopefully we can begin the turnaround tonight at Meehan.

1st period was not great, but team played real well in the 2nd. Definitely will be a better and more fun team to watch this year. Hopefully Bowlby just misses Brown and is back next weekend against Top 5 ASU.

Walsh / Olsen D pairing needs to tighten things up, but lots of good things from this team tonight.

Lackey played well. He was too deep in the cage on Brown’s 1st goal, but settled in and played well.

 

[HUJFKLINE]

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

I don't think that Pizza was referring to Adam's off the ice life at Harvard when he said he was wasting his time. He was pointing out that Adam is good enough now to run an NHL PP and that alone should make him feel good about his prospects at the next level. What Adam does with his time away from the rink presumably is to keep his grades up and enjoy being a junior at Harvard. I don't know this for sure but if he thought Harvard was not the place for him, he would have left after his freshman season. Fact is that Calgary who owned his rights at the time was stacked with young D.

I think Ryan Donato is finding out that life in the NHL is a lot tougher than he imagined even with his Dad to give him advice and guidance. You can't blame him for leaving but staying to finish his senior season I think would have allowed him to continue to refine parts of his game that are absent at the moment. I'm sure he'll figure it out.

Thank you for your sensible comments. I too have been thinking about Ryan’s situation. While the demotion to Providence has to be difficult, I hope the extra ice time and close coaching will position him well going forward. We
Know he has NHL skills, but perhaps needs his confidence boosted.


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[HUJFKLINE]

Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

1st period was not great, but team played real well in the 2nd. Definitely will be a better and more fun team to watch this year. Hopefully Bowlby just misses Brown and is back next weekend against Top 5 ASU.

Walsh / Olsen D pairing needs to tighten things up, but lots of good things from this team tonight.

Lackey played well. He was too deep in the cage on Brown’s 1st goal, but settled in and played well.

I suspect Michael Lackey has the capacity to improve. However, we don’t have the luxury of time to test that assumption. In one of the Yale goals he seemed to flounder and flop across the crease in desperation. It may be time to consider putting freshman goal tender Derek Schaedig into the rotation or give him the start against the China team in exhibition. The contrast with the Merrick Madsen era could not be more stark.


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[bothman]

I suspect Michael Lackey has the capacity to improve. However, we don’t have the luxury of time to test that assumption. In one of the Yale goals he seemed to flounder and flop across the crease in desperation. It may be time to consider putting freshman goal tender Wyllum Deveaux into the rotation or give him the start against the China team in exhibition. The contrast with the Merrick Madsen era could not be more stark.


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Derek Schaeding is the frosh goalie. Deveaux is a power forward.

 

[HUJFKLINE]

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

Derek Schaeding is the frosh goalie. Deveaux is a power forward.

My mistake, I fixed the error in my original reply. Thanks for pointing this out.


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[Skate79]

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

We never should have lost last night. Game never should have gone to OT. The Crimson pretty much dominated play with a few exceptions but turnovers, poor decision-making in the offense zone and lack of clutch goaltending did them in. Frustrating beyond belief.

ASU borrowed a page from the Cornell playbook for this game. Play physical, be aggressive and pinch the Harvard D and make sure you don't give the Crimson any good looks on the PP. And get a great performance from your goalie. It all added up to a win they didn't deserve.

Bowlby didn't play so the lines were juggled and it's safe to say that Badini should stay at center and Zerter Gossage should return to wing. He isn't a 200 foot player and you need that from your first line center.

I don't want to be a downer but I can't see the Crimson finishing in the Top 4 this year. I'm pegging them for 7th or 8th in the conference. The D zone play is incredibly lax and the team seems intent on trying to individually figure things out by holding on to the puck way too long. Which leads to mistakes and eventually goals against.

 

[bothman]

We never should have lost last night. Game never should have gone to OT. The Crimson pretty much dominated play with a few exceptions but turnovers, poor decision-making in the offense zone and lack of clutch goaltending did them in. Frustrating beyond belief.

ASU borrowed a page from the Cornell playbook for this game. Play physical, be aggressive and pinch the Harvard D and make sure you don't give the Crimson any good looks on the PP. And get a great performance from your goalie. It all added up to a win they didn't deserve.

Bowlby didn't play so the lines were juggled and it's safe to say that Badini should stay at center and Zerter Gossage should return to wing. He isn't a 200 foot player and you need that from your first line center.

I don't want to be a downer but I can't see the Crimson finishing in the Top 4 this year. I'm pegging them for 7th or 8th in the conference. The D zone play is incredibly lax and the team seems intent on trying to individually figure things out by holding on to the puck way too long. Which leads to mistakes and eventually goals against.

Tough to win when:
- PP goes 1-7
- Best player goes -3
- Goalie gives up that last goal with no traffic in front

ASU packed it in, kept Harvard on the perimeter, and rode a good goalie against a Harvard team which made things too easy by not getting in front of him.

Still like this Harvard team way better than last year. Badini should stay on top line center with Zerter on wing. Bowlby goes back to 2nd line and Krusko drops to 4th line. Putting Badini on 4th Line makes no sense to me.

Could not believe that Kerfoot did not pass to floodstrand on that 2v0. A 3rd goal would have buried ASU but it was not to be.

 

[Crimson Faced]

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

Have never seen ASU play this season; I thought Friday night they were unimpressive, but Saturday played like a team ranked #18 in the country. Harvard played well in the first period, but I thought they were outplayed in the last 2 periods by ASU, the more aggressive team. Cannot help but be happy for the ASU fans who travelled to the game; they were vocal and provided support for their team. If they had not provided some noise, the atmosphere would have been nonexistent both nights.

 

[Skate79]

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

Nice way to close out Thanksgiving weekend. Always great to beat Cornell especially in NY. This game could be the launching pad to get the team going in the right direction. Lackey played very well and Bowlby was a force. That second line is so much better with him at left wing. Still want Badini at center and I'm hoping that will be the case going forward.

I'm sure Cornell will be in a great mood next weekend at Bright Landry. Hopefully they'll take a few stupid penalties and we'll put them away again. Finish first semester on a high note.

 

[bothman]

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

Nice way to close out Thanksgiving weekend. Always great to beat Cornell especially in NY. This game could be the launching pad to get the team going in the right direction. Lackey played very well and Bowlby was a force. That second line is so much better with him at left wing. Still want Badini at center and I'm hoping that will be the case going forward.

I'm sure Cornell will be in a great mood next weekend at Bright Landry. Hopefully they'll take a few stupid penalties and we'll put them away again. Finish first semester on a high note.

Agreed. Cornell is missing some guys, but regardless, Cornell has underperformed relative to expectations starting with getting swept at home by Michigan State out of the gate so this result has to be taken into context.

I'd like to see Krusko move down off of the 1st line. Not sure who to put up there (Floodstrand comes to mind). Speed still kills Cornell and Bowlby was a menace all night. He skated right by the Cornell D and finished with a great slip of the puck between Galadja's pads as he came across the crease.

Would like to see Harvard be able to mix up the PP more. Cornell seemed to play a diamond which forced the puck out of Fox's possession up top and required more of the play to start with on the wing. Harvard needs to be able to adjust to that by putting someone down low.

I really love Harvard's frosh. Rathbone, Dornbach, Drury, and Shore are all going to have a very strong career's at Harvard and in the ECAC.

Finally, Lackey seems to be settling down. If Harvard can get consistent goaltending, I think they can challenge for 4-5 in the league vs 7-8 without it.

 

[bothman]

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

Solid win at home. Harvard dominated the first two periods, but then slept walk through the first 14-15 minutes of the third before turning it back on to finish the game. Lackey was not really tested, but stood tall when he was (though his rebound control needs to be better).

Fox had an absolute snipe on the PP, Dornbach had some unreal moves out there, and Zerter Gossage went to the dirty areas and was rewarded. Loved Rathbone's skating out there and Floodtsrand had a really nice re-direct on a Rathbone shot for a goal.

Big one tonight against a Cornell team that had a tough one last night up in Hanover. Cornell is also without its top goalie Galadja so hopefully Harvard can take advantage. Should be a charged environment tonight at the Bright and let's hope Harvard's superior speed and skill shines as it did last weekend at MSG.

 

[crimsoncat]

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

Solid win at home. Harvard dominated the first two periods, but then slept walk through the first 14-15 minutes of the third before turning it back on to finish the game. Lackey was not really tested, but stood tall when he was (though his rebound control needs to be better).

Fox had an absolute snipe on the PP, Dornbach had some unreal moves out there, and Zerter Gossage went to the dirty areas and was rewarded. Loved Rathbone's skating out there and Floodtsrand had a really nice re-direct on a Rathbone shot for a goal.

Big one tonight against a Cornell team that had a tough one last night up in Hanover. Cornell is also without its top goalie Galadja so hopefully Harvard can take advantage. Should be a charged environment tonight at the Bright and let's hope Harvard's superior speed and skill shines as it did last weekend at MSG.

I confess that I did not see the game, but looking at the box score it seems to me that Reilly Walsh was the first star of the game - most points (1G/2A); best +/- (+3); on the ice for all 6 Harvard goals scored; and not on the ice for the one goal against. It is not often that a player - and particularly a D - can claim all of those things in a single game ...

 

[crimsoncat]

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

I confess that I did not see the game, but looking at the box score it seems to me that Reilly Walsh was the first star of the game - most points (1G/2A); best +/- (+3); on the ice for all 6 Harvard goals scored; and not on the ice for the one goal against. It is not often that a player - and particularly a D - can claim all of those things in a single game ...

And to offer a few other Harvard hockey-related thoughts:
1. As evidenced by the poor home attendance and the fact that we are still on only page 3 of this forum on Dec. 1, clearly there has been a reluctance to embrace this team – although with a win tonight I’d hope that begins to change. I realize a .500 or sub .500 record has a lot to do with that, but this team is over .500 now, and that is despite very poor goaltending until very recently (I think team save % was something like .870 going into this weekend). Heck, given that Harvard has played 4OT games so far, has no wins in those games, and with even a pedestrian .900 save percentage would have given up 4-5 fewer goals on the season, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that with even average goaltending this team could be something like 6-2-1 right now. I know we all have our fingers crossed, but it looks like we may get average or better goaltending from here on, and that could make for a very interesting year.
2. Like other posters, I agree that this looks like a great crop of freshmen – maybe the best/deepest class in a long time. The freshmen on this team have 38 points, the most of any class by a mile. And the freshmen and sophomore classes combined have 50% more points than the junior and senior classes combined. Could be make for a formidable team in future years (and, hopefully, this spring).
3. Hard not to smile about a power play clicking at 40% over first third of the season. A potent power play is definitely part of the formula for college hockey success, and this is about as a Harvard power play as I can remember for a long while. Love watching Fox quarterback it, but there’s more to it than that, including being able to put a D on the other point who has some elite offensive skills (Reilly Walsh).
4. I am always torn about a team that has a statistically dominant player. If it’s Lane MacDonald, count me in, but if it’s a Ryan Donato, count me out. It is a team game, and to me great players are only great players if they put up the numbers and make their teams and teammates better – and that is very hard to do without being a 200-foot, two-direction player. To me, Donato never met that standard, and I think the Bruins are recognizing that. I can’t quite make up my mind about Fox. Don’t get me wrong, in many ways he is about as fun a player to watch live as I’ve seen – he does things that I’ve never seen a defenseman do, and he seems to have developed entirely his own style of play (in a loose way, I’d almost make a comparison to the way Bobby Orr introduced a completely new way of playing defense – and, really, hockey). At the same time, a lot of hockey is played without the puck and I don’t think Fox is more than an average player without the puck. Would be interested to hear what other Harvard watchers think …

 

[Snively65]

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

Looking forward to your visit on Tuesday night in the new Bentley arena. I really hope that the Falcons can figure out how to stay out of the penalty box, which they failed to do against Mercyhurst in the second period last night.

 

[bothman]

I can’t quite make up my mind about Fox. Don’t get me wrong, in many ways he is about as fun a player to watch live as I’ve seen – he does things that I’ve never seen a defenseman do, and he seems to have developed entirely his own style of play (in a loose way, I’d almost make a comparison to the way Bobby Orr introduced a completely new way of playing defense – and, really, hockey). At the same time, a lot of hockey is played without the puck and I don’t think Fox is more than an average player without the puck. Would be interested to hear what other Harvard watchers think …

I love Fox. He absolutely makes everyone around him better. What you write above is exactly the way I feel about Walsh. He puts up points, but generally speaking, he has been very leaky/indifferent in his own end. If he is going to go from power play finisher to team defensive leader, this must change. Fox likely is gone and with Baughmann and Olson graduating, Walsh will be the most tenured D back there with Marino.

 

[bothman]

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

Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s game, you need to watch the 1st period hit by Regush on Drury. I thought I was watching Tom Wilson of the Caps. Should have been 10 and game (and would have been in the NHL) and yet no call. Never did Regush look at the puck. That needs to be reviewed by the league.

 

[Skate79]

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

Echoing Bothman's remarks, Fox truly is a unique player. Reminds me of Mark Fusco. Mark influenced the way Harvard attacked and was part of a program changing class (1983). Adam's offensive instincts are second to none; defensively, his game needs improvement for the NHL but when you move the puck the way he does, it shouldn't matter. I think he leaves after this year and I wish him the best for the future.