Harvard Crimson 2022-2023

[Skate79]

The good: a win on the road against your rival, Karpa and Gibson back healthy.

the bad: team lacked cohesion, lots of hero hockey, some costly turnovers and lack of hustle back, faceoff struggles, and another indifferent 1st period / slow start.

brown is always a tough place to play as Harvard found out last year.

Yeah, I was disappointed in the effort. Seemed like the team was thinking last night's game was going to be similar to the November game. But Yale has been playing better of late even though their record doesn't reflect it. And they were super motivated after being embarrassed at Bright.

I am worried about our D-zone coverage. We're making some terrible decisions handling the puck or passing it aimlessly without awareness of the other team's forecheck. We need to clean this up before next weekend and the game against the Bobcats. And the 'hero hockey' has to stop. That never works.

Speaking of the Bobcats, Cornell laid the hammer down on them last night up at Lynah. Talk about a super-motivated team. Of course, now they'll have a letdown tonight and lose to the Tigers.

 

[40-Year Big Red Fan]

Speaking of the Bobcats, Cornell laid the hammer down on them last night up at Lynah. Talk about a super-motivated team. Of course, now they'll have a letdown tonight and lose to the Tigers.

Letdown yes, loss no.

 

[bothman]

Well, maybe Harvard needed to lose. 2 SOG in the 1st period is not going to get it done and the 2nd period was not much better. Finally decided to show up in the 3rd period, but that is not a winning formula. Donato seemed to be playing with line combos.

The defense has really taken a turn for the worse. Bad defensive positioning, indifferent breakouts, poor passing. They look slow and frankly, are too easy to play against.

And this play has existed for about 4 games now. The team is definitely in a lull.

Colgate and Cornell next weekend. Will be a 0pt weekend if the status quo persists.

 

[Skate79]

Well, maybe Harvard needed to lose. 2 SOG in the 1st period is not going to get it done and the 2nd period was not much better. Finally decided to show up in the 3rd period, but that is not a winning formula. Donato seemed to be playing with line combos.

The defense has really taken a turn for the worse. Bad defensive positioning, indifferent breakouts, poor passing. They look slow and frankly, are too easy to play against.

And this play has existed for about 4 games now. The team is definitely in a lull.

Colgate and Cornell next weekend. Will be a 0pt weekend if the status quo persists.

Harvard never showed up to play either game this weekend. Maybe it is a carryover from the third period of the SLU game. Whatever, for the first time all season, the team was healthy with a full roster and submitted two stink bombs. This is as much on the coaching staff as it is on the players. You can't just show up and expect to win in any league. Hopefully that lesson got drilled into them this weekend.

I still maintain that Teddy should reunite the Jersey Boys line with Gaffney, Farinacci, and Laferriere. The first line needs a true center and Severo isn't the answer there. Moving Tresca for his faceoff abilities and willingness to go into the corners might be worth a look. And since Joe Miller seems to be able to score with anyone as his linemates, move him to the third line with Baker Shore and Zach Karpa. Gives you three solid lines that can score, at least in theory.

The D is a whole other matter and I agree with your assessment. Too soft and easy to play against and not enough awareness on the breakouts. Ian Moore has taken a step back this year. If Jack Bar isn't playing physically, he too seems to disappear. Healey seems to be gaining confidence and should be on the second pairing with Aucoin. Maybe elevate Christian Jiminez and give him a look on the third pair. A message needs to be sent to this group.

Gibson was less than stellar last night as well. He didn't have a great weekend. Should see more of Muhllaly perhaps splitting the duties.

The next three games will tell us a lot about this team going forward.

 

[Veritas]

I was at the Colgate game tonight. Really good hockey to watch whoever you cheer for. Very fast skating by both teams. Crimson were flying but behind 2-4 for a while but succeeded in tying it late in 3rd. Good win in overtime. Hope they are like that tomorrow night.

 

[ROMD]

Yes, the game was a thriller. You saw that last sniper's goal and could easily see Coronato as the next Tage Thompson in a few years playing in an All Star Game instead of at Bright. No, Harvard hasn't bounced back from Brown and Yale. This was more of the same with the D looking like retreads from one of Teddy's well recruited poorly coached and underperforming teams from the first half of his tenure. That said the Colgate top lines have a higher level of skill than the likes of Princeton, Yale and Brown. Harvard should want to avoid Colgate in the playoffs as next time Colgate might finish them off. A fourth sloppy performance in a row tonight will result in beating at the hands of the Big Red.

 

[Skate79]

Yes, the game was a thriller. You saw that last sniper's goal and could easily see Coronato as the next Tage Thompson in a few years playing in an All Star Game instead of at Bright. No, Harvard hasn't bounced back from Brown and Yale. This was more of the same with the D looking like retreads from one of Teddy's well recruited poorly coached and underperforming teams from the first half of his tenure. That said the Colgate top lines have a higher level of skill than the likes of Princeton, Yale and Brown. Harvard should want to avoid Colgate in the playoffs as next time Colgate might finish them off. A fourth sloppy performance in a row tonight will result in beating at the hands of the Big Red.

For the most part, I agree with what you're saying. For the D, it has been frustrating to see the pairings jumbled almost every game. Part of the problem is that Harvard is too righthanded. Forces them to play a pairing with two right shot D; it hasn't worked so far.

 

[Skate79]

Did not expect to see what transpired last night but was happy that the Crimson were able to find their game and take it to Cornell. Gibson played much better than in recent outings and the first line with Karpa at center seems to be coming together freeing up Matthew Coronato to do his thing. I expected a response from Cornell in the third and they had some great chances to get back in it. Still concerned about the D pairings and the inability to manage the puck for breakouts. Laferriere was a beast last night. He and Farinacci were attacking all night.

Bring on the Bobcats! Should be another great game.

 

[bothman]

Did not expect to see what transpired last night but was happy that the Crimson were able to find their game and take it to Cornell. Gibson played much better than in recent outings and the first line with Karpa at center seems to be coming together freeing up Matthew Coronato to do his thing. I expected a response from Cornell in the third and they had some great chances to get back in it. Still concerned about the D pairings and the inability to manage the puck for breakouts. Laferriere was a beast last night. He and Farinacci were attacking all night.

Bring on the Bobcats! Should be another great game.

Agree. We haven't seen that Harvard team since SLU and even that Harvard team only played for the 1st 2 periods. Still got some work to do on the faceoffs, but the energy was exceptional and the D was taking the body all night.

Cornell will always play their cycling system, using its size to shield the puck and trying to either hit the player cutting through the slot or trying the wrap around and score from the others crashing the net and putting in the rebound....but as I've said before and I will say again, that style is tough to win against teams with exceptional skill and speed (the top 10 programs). Harvard consistently came the other way and its speed and skill (ability to finish) is not something that Cornell can match (The Farrell to Coronato 2v1 was a textbook example of this as was the Laferriere snipe). I also like Shane (Cornell goalie), but based on what I have seen this year and last, I don't think his quality is as high as what we've seen from Cornell goalies over the years which maybe other than BC (and more recently Quinny), have been the best in the East. He's still young, but he does not seem as positionally sound as some of the greats Cornell has had over the years.

On Cornell's 2nd goal, Gibson was way far to the left which gave Mailinski (very impressed with him) way too much of the net to shoot at. It was a great goal (with Farrell draped all over him), but it should have been even a harder goal with better goalie positioning. Gibson was very good though and no doubt, this is his team coming down the stretch. Mullahy can be the guy next year (with Thatcher Bernstein out of Nobles hopefully following suit down the road).

This is the meat of Harvard's schedule. Cornell, Quinny, BC. 1-0 so far and the good thing about Quinny on Friday night is that it is definitely not a trap game. Thaty Friday night game before the Beanpot against a lesser opponent has been a problem in the past.

 

[Skate79]

Agree. We haven't seen that Harvard team since SLU and even that Harvard team only played for the 1st 2 periods. Still got some work to do on the faceoffs, but the energy was exceptional and the D was taking the body all night.

Cornell will always play their cycling system, using its size to shield the puck and trying to either hit the player cutting through the slot or trying the wrap around and score from the others crashing the net and putting in the rebound....but as I've said before and I will say again, that style is tough to win against teams with exceptional skill and speed (the top 10 programs). Harvard consistently came the other way and its speed and skill (ability to finish) is not something that Cornell can match (The Farrell to Coronato 2v1 was a textbook example of this as was the Laferriere snipe). I also like Shane (Cornell goalie), but based on what I have seen this year and last, I don't think his quality is as high as what we've seen from Cornell goalies over the years which maybe other than BC (and more recently Quinny), have been the best in the East. He's still young, but he does not seem as positionally sound as some of the greats Cornell has had over the years.

On Cornell's 2nd goal, Gibson was way far to the left which gave Mailinski (very impressed with him) way too much of the net to shoot at. It was a great goal (with Farrell draped all over him), but it should have been even a harder goal with better goalie positioning. Gibson was very good though and no doubt, this is his team coming down the stretch. Mullahy can be the guy next year (with Thatcher Bernstein out of Nobles hopefully following suit down the road).

This is the meat of Harvard's schedule. Cornell, Quinny, BC. 1-0 so far and the good thing about Quinny on Friday night is that it is definitely not a trap game. Thaty Friday night game before the Beanpot against a lesser opponent has been a problem in the past.

I expect the game against the Bobcats to be much the same as last night. And I think we can take BC in the Beanpot. After that, it's Dartmouth up there and the RPI/Union Senior Weekend. By then we should have second place locked up.

 

[sezenack]

I expect the game against the Bobcats to be much the same as last night. And I think we can take BC in the Beanpot. After that, it's Dartmouth up there and the RPI/Union Senior Weekend. By then we should have second place locked up.

Cornell is currently 2nd by points % due to having 2 games in hand, so I don't think Harvard is in the driver's seat for 2nd place right now

 

[Skate79]

Cornell is currently 2nd by points % due to having 2 games in hand, so I don't think Harvard is in the driver's seat for 2nd place right now

We have the tiebreaker head to head with Cornell. Cornell has to win those games to make the % difference count.

 

[Dutchman]

Every home game is a sellout. I never remember that happening before. Is there something besides the team's success that is driving this? I remember many past games at Bright where the visiting team had more fans than the Crimson. I should have bought season hockey tickets when I had the chance. I get season tickets for Football to get the same seats each year.

 

[BigRedBeer]

Agree. We haven't seen that Harvard team since SLU and even that Harvard team only played for the 1st 2 periods. Still got some work to do on the faceoffs, but the energy was exceptional and the D was taking the body all night.

Cornell will always play their cycling system, using its size to shield the puck and trying to either hit the player cutting through the slot or trying the wrap around and score from the others crashing the net and putting in the rebound....but as I've said before and I will say again, that style is tough to win against teams with exceptional skill and speed (the top 10 programs). Harvard consistently came the other way and its speed and skill (ability to finish) is not something that Cornell can match (The Farrell to Coronato 2v1 was a textbook example of this as was the Laferriere snipe). I also like Shane (Cornell goalie), but based on what I have seen this year and last, I don't think his quality is as high as what we've seen from Cornell goalies over the years which maybe other than BC (and more recently Quinny), have been the best in the East. He's still young, but he does not seem as positionally sound as some of the greats Cornell has had over the years.

On Cornell's 2nd goal, Gibson was way far to the left which gave Mailinski (very impressed with him) way too much of the net to shoot at. It was a great goal (with Farrell draped all over him), but it should have been even a harder goal with better goalie positioning. Gibson was very good though and no doubt, this is his team coming down the stretch. Mullahy can be the guy next year (with Thatcher Bernstein out of Nobles hopefully following suit down the road).

This is the meat of Harvard's schedule. Cornell, Quinny, BC. 1-0 so far and the good thing about Quinny on Friday night is that it is definitely not a trap game. Thaty Friday night game before the Beanpot against a lesser opponent has been a problem in the past.

Lots of generalizations here, based on 2 games vs. Cornell. They beat QU 4-0 and a UCONN team who was flying in November 6-0. There two biggest duds have been vs. the Crimson...you guys are stacked with all those draft picks and future NHL'ers. We do cycle when the opportunity presents itself, but it feels like we are clogging center ice and getting into passing lanes and playing defense as a team. It didn't show last weekend at all.....6 goals against, pretty much a one off. Shane is ranked #6 in overall goaltending, and his play has been very solid...as you know, shutting out the Q is no easy feat, even with a stout D in front of you. The team was outplayed and out skated Saturday night...the odd man rushes and snipes made him look bad, but who wouldn't look bad in those case?

You guys are loaded and I hope to somehow avoid you Friday afternoon in LP. Best of luck and win the damn Beanpot!

 

[Skate79]

Lots of generalizations here, based on 2 games vs. Cornell. They beat QU 4-0 and a UCONN team who was flying in November 6-0. There two biggest duds have been vs. the Crimson...you guys are stacked with all those draft picks and future NHL'ers. We do cycle when the opportunity presents itself, but it feels like we are clogging center ice and getting into passing lanes and playing defense as a team. It didn't show last weekend at all.....6 goals against, pretty much a one off. Shane is ranked #6 in overall goaltending, and his play has been very solid...as you know, shutting out the Q is no easy feat, even with a stout D in front of you. The team was outplayed and out skated Saturday night...the odd man rushes and snipes made him look bad, but who wouldn't look bad in those case?

You guys are loaded and I hope to somehow avoid you Friday afternoon in LP. Best of luck and win the damn Beanpot!

I get a little tired of the "15 NHL draft picks" narrative. It's a specious argument. For every Ryan Donato and Alex Killorn, there are a bunch of other Harvard kids who were NHL picks and never got a sniff of training camp, much less a roster spot. Let's put this to bed once and for all.

 

[bothman]

Onto Quinny. Quinny is going to see a much healthier harvard team this time around. Let’s see if it matters.

 

[bothman]

Winnable game but congrats to quinny. Played a clean and structurally sound game. Can not believe Harvard let brindamour sit in slot and put that rebound home? Take a penalty, put him on his butt!

Harvard D needs some significant retooling.

big questions:
(1). Why is Siedem on the ice in leveraged situations when he struggles to control and move puck?
(2). Why is Aucoin not playing over Healey whose brutal turnover put the nail in the coffin for Harvard? Especially when Harvard short on LD?
(3). What gives with the 2nd PP which generates little to nothing and hasn’t all year ? Maybe mix it up to see if something else clicks?

Harvard D is not making good decisions - passing, breakouts and a team like Quinny (and all the top teams) will make you pay every time. Heck a Langenbrunner turnover would have been in Harvard’s net except for a diving poke check by bar.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Winnable game but congrats to quinny. Played a clean and structurally sound game. Can not believe Harvard let brindamour sit in slot and put that rebound home? Take a penalty, put him on his butt!

Harvard D needs some significant retooling.

big questions:
(1). Why is Siedem on the ice in leveraged situations when he struggles to control and move puck?
(2). Why is Aucoin not playing over Healey whose brutal turnover put the nail in the coffin for Harvard? Especially when Harvard short on LD?
(3). What gives with the 2nd PP which generates little to nothing and hasn’t all year ? Maybe mix it up to see if something else clicks?

Harvard D is not making good decisions - passing, breakouts and a team like Quinny (and all the top teams) will make you pay every time. Heck a Langenbrunner turnover would have been in Harvard’s net except for a diving poke check by bar.

Thanks... I thought it was a good road game by us.

What I saw, or more specifically didn't see, from Harvard was any urgency, especially since the announcers made a point of talking about having a full, healthy lineup compared to when they were in Hamden. They seemed content to pass around the perimeter looking for an opening, which you almost never get from Quinnipiac. Even in the last 2 minutes with the goalie pulled, they seemed to just go through the motions.

Not sure what Donato and his staff saw to use the challenge but it didn't look like a bad hit on the replays shown on the feed. That was a critical point in the game and, combined with the goal on the turnover in front, looked like it took a lot of wind out of the Crimson's sails.

Good luck the rest of the way.

 

[ICECAT1811]

Winnable game but congrats to quinny. Played a clean and structurally sound game. Can not believe Harvard let brindamour sit in slot and put that rebound home? Take a penalty, put him on his butt!

Harvard D needs some significant retooling.

big questions:
(1). Why is Siedem on the ice in leveraged situations when he struggles to control and move puck?
(2). Why is Aucoin not playing over Healey whose brutal turnover put the nail in the coffin for Harvard? Especially when Harvard short on LD?
(3). What gives with the 2nd PP which generates little to nothing and hasn’t all year ? Maybe mix it up to see if something else clicks?

Harvard D is not making good decisions - passing, breakouts and a team like Quinny (and all the top teams) will make you pay every time. Heck a Langenbrunner turnover would have been in Harvard’s net except for a diving poke check by bar.

Why does Coranato play 59 minutes a game??? You have 15 NHL draft picks…..aren’t the other guys any good?

 

[ICECAT1811]

Onto Quinny. Quinny is going to see a much healthier harvard team this time around. Let’s see if it matters.

Opps