Strange game tonight. We dominated in pretty much all facets of the game and yet had to sweat out the last minute to seal the deal. It never should have been a one-goal game. If we had converted a couple of chances in the first two periods, it would have been all she wrote. Yale has no offense to speak of. They play hard but can't generate sustained pressure. Harvard's D did a good job of breaking plays up at the blue line and except for a flurry here and there, it was a quiet night for Ben Charrette. Pretty goals by Richard Gallant and Justin Solovey in the third. Bring on the Bears!
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Harvard Hockey 2025-'26: Crimson Ascending
- Thread starter Skate79
- Start date
Nice way to end the first semester by doing a number on Brown. Although we outshot them by a wide margin, things got a little prickly in the third before Aiden Lane put things away with his second goal of the game. Harvard doesn't seem to enjoy the prosperity of a lead. That's just me being nitpicky.
The all frosh line is coming together nicely, creating chances on almost every shift. It will be fun to watch their development. And I like Matthew Biotti's game. Tough, physical defender who can move the puck. I'd like to see him get more minutes instead of Mason Lagenbrunner, who just doesn't seem to play with much intensity. And he is often out of position or caught up ice unnecessarily.
Oh well ... Merry Christmas, and looking forward to the first weekend in January at QPac.
The all frosh line is coming together nicely, creating chances on almost every shift. It will be fun to watch their development. And I like Matthew Biotti's game. Tough, physical defender who can move the puck. I'd like to see him get more minutes instead of Mason Lagenbrunner, who just doesn't seem to play with much intensity. And he is often out of position or caught up ice unnecessarily.
Oh well ... Merry Christmas, and looking forward to the first weekend in January at QPac.
3 of the four lines seem to be really clicking. Not surewhat to make of the Solovey, Miller, MacDonald line - but with the other 3 playing well, not sure if there is a lot of maneuverability.
7-3-1 at the break. Any Harvard fan would have taken that. Hope the team enjoys the break. Quinny, Princeton, Dartmouth, and BU are the first 4 games (all away except for BU)....so there won't be any margin to ease back into the season.
7-3-1 at the break. Any Harvard fan would have taken that. Hope the team enjoys the break. Quinny, Princeton, Dartmouth, and BU are the first 4 games (all away except for BU)....so there won't be any margin to ease back into the season.
cinnamoroll
baby sharks enthusiast
Amazing commitment flip for Harvard: 07 F Justin Graf, over a point per game in the USHL. Was committed to Merrimack.
You might be familiar with his older brother Collin Graf, who won the natty with Quinnipiac in 2023 and is currently in the NHL with the Sharks. Biggest difference between the two atm is that Justin apparently had his growth spurt earlier than Collin did
You might be familiar with his older brother Collin Graf, who won the natty with Quinnipiac in 2023 and is currently in the NHL with the Sharks. Biggest difference between the two atm is that Justin apparently had his growth spurt earlier than Collin did
I'm in Virginia visiting with classmates and friends when I checked in on this weekend's action. I wish I had stuck to partying. Not having seen either game, I have nothing but the stats to go on. What happened at Quinny is shocking to say the least. The Bobcats were missing several players due to the World Juniors and Spengler Cup, and yet they laid that beatdown on the Crimson? Did anyone see the game? What the hell happened?
And then to top it off, we lost last night after overcoming a 2-0 deficit by giving up a goal with two seconds left in regulation. Inexcusable.
It's time for the coaching staff and the players to figure out who they are and commit to being a tougher, more resilient team. I thought with the comeback in the second Michigan game, they had turned a corner. Apparently not.
And then to top it off, we lost last night after overcoming a 2-0 deficit by giving up a goal with two seconds left in regulation. Inexcusable.
It's time for the coaching staff and the players to figure out who they are and commit to being a tougher, more resilient team. I thought with the comeback in the second Michigan game, they had turned a corner. Apparently not.
This is great news. Colin Graf was a terrific player for the Bobcats. Looking forward to seeing his brother in a Crimson uni.Amazing commitment flip for Harvard: 07 F Justin Graf, over a point per game in the USHL. Was committed to Merrimack.
You might be familiar with his older brother Collin Graf, who won the natty with Quinnipiac in 2023 and is currently in the NHL with the Sharks. Biggest difference between the two atm is that Justin apparently had his growth spurt earlier than Collin did
Crimson Faced
Member
Harvard played hard for the first ten minutes of the Quinnipiac game, but were dominated for the rest of the game.
They were outplayed in the first period last night, and badly in the second, but came out fighting in the third period. I don't know what to make of the winning goal. A Harvard defenseman, don't know who it was because I shut the game off after Princeton's goal, attempted to lob a clearing pass out of Harvard's zone and hit the scoreboard, bringing the face-off back into the Harvard zone. Harvard is terrible on face-offs, 53rd in the country according to the play-by-play announcer. Princeton won the face-off cleanly, sent the shot in on Charette. It reminded me of the BC goal that won the Beanpot back in the 90's, a game they replayed on NESN last week,
I feel sorry for Charette. There is no viable back-up and there is a lot of pressure on him to play night after night.
Nevertheless, the clearing play was either sloppy, as the Harvard defenseman was not being pressed, or simply bad luck.
MarkEagleUSA
C'mon Q!
We had one guy (Pelosi) at the Spengler cup but he was in the lineup Friday and scored a goal.
Tough loss to the Green on Friday in Hanover. We never seemed to get untracked offensively and had too many defensive blunders that cost us. Dartmouth is for real despite what happened at Quinny and Princeton. I expect them to be in the NCAA tournament.
For Harvard, it's a different story. There are two storylines emerging with this team, and neither is positive.
1. Too many lapses in our D zone with turnovers that wind up in the back of our net. This has been going on since the beginning of the year. You'd think by now it would have been cleaned up. Where is the coaching?
2. Ben Charrette looks like he is wearing down. Teddy may have been surprised by Aku's decision to jump ship, but that's on him for not using the transfer portal to find another goalie, especially if he has no faith in Zhang. Why is the kid on the team other than to fulfill the rule that you must dress two goalies if he isn't going to give Charrette a break now and then?
D-1 hockey, like football and basketball, has undergone significant changes with the introduction of NIL and the transfer portal. Harvard cannot compete playing by the old rules. Either we adjust to the new landscape, or we should consider dropping down to D-II.
For Harvard, it's a different story. There are two storylines emerging with this team, and neither is positive.
1. Too many lapses in our D zone with turnovers that wind up in the back of our net. This has been going on since the beginning of the year. You'd think by now it would have been cleaned up. Where is the coaching?
2. Ben Charrette looks like he is wearing down. Teddy may have been surprised by Aku's decision to jump ship, but that's on him for not using the transfer portal to find another goalie, especially if he has no faith in Zhang. Why is the kid on the team other than to fulfill the rule that you must dress two goalies if he isn't going to give Charrette a break now and then?
D-1 hockey, like football and basketball, has undergone significant changes with the introduction of NIL and the transfer portal. Harvard cannot compete playing by the old rules. Either we adjust to the new landscape, or we should consider dropping down to D-II.
Been a tough stretch, but probably a bit of bad luck and regression to the mean.k The Princeton, Dartmuth, and BU games all could have gone either way and earlier in the season, more often than not, Harvard was on the right side of those kind of games.
Harvard has some very good players coming in (assuming they show) in 2026 and especially 2027....guys who I expect to be impactful out of the gate up top and on the back-end. I think we are playing some D this year that frankly, aren't quite ready for high-end college hockey.
Harvard has some very good players coming in (assuming they show) in 2026 and especially 2027....guys who I expect to be impactful out of the gate up top and on the back-end. I think we are playing some D this year that frankly, aren't quite ready for high-end college hockey.
I think that is one reason why Matthew Biotti and Donato Bracco are in the lineup and playing regular minutes. Lucas St. Louis looks overmatched defensively. He isn't contributing offensively either. Let's face it, the talent and skill on the roster are lacking when compared to high-end teams both in and out of conference.
A nice six-point weekend. Last night's game was a bit chippy, with Will Hughes mixing it up several times with Clarkson D. I thought Harvard played well in the first two periods, then let down in the third. The Knights have some talented freshmen (7 players from the Quebec and Ontario Juniors), so they will be heard from in the future.
The SLU game was so one-sided I almost felt sorry for the Saints. They are abysmal defensively. The Crimson should have had six goals; SLU's goalie was terrific, and he should sue for non-support. I didn't like the way the game ended with three straight SLU power plays off foolish Harvard penalties. Total lack of discipline.
Quick turnaround as Union comes in for a 4 pm matinee on Monday.
The SLU game was so one-sided I almost felt sorry for the Saints. They are abysmal defensively. The Crimson should have had six goals; SLU's goalie was terrific, and he should sue for non-support. I didn't like the way the game ended with three straight SLU power plays off foolish Harvard penalties. Total lack of discipline.
Quick turnaround as Union comes in for a 4 pm matinee on Monday.
They played really well today against Union building on the weekend games. The success from the penalty kill seems to have expanded to 5 on 5 defense. This team is clearly a step above last year but whether they can finish in the Top 4 in the ECAC or advance to the Beanpot final this year is still an open question.
Couldn't agree more . . . and this really applies to most major sports at Harvard. Harvard Hockey is facing the same issues that came up in the late 70s with Div. IA (now FBS) and Div. IAA (now FCS). The Ivy League, the Patriot League, etc. no longer belonged at the top level because they were playing a different game.
I thought the Crimson did a great job defensively against Union. It might have been their best defensive effort of the season. And the Ben McDonald goal was filthy - the passing to set up the goal from Stefanik to Lane to MacDonald was a thing of beauty. Keep the line together. They seem to be generating some chemistry.
Except for five minutes late in the second period, the Crimson pretty much had control of this game from the drop of the puck. Colgate had major problems in their own end and couldn't generate any sustained offense until late in the second period. Harvard contributed to that stretch by not moving their feet and letting Colgate set up shop.
Donato Bracco scored his first collegiate goal on the power play with a nice snap shot from the slot. Hope it's the first of many for him.
On to Ithaca. I checked in on the Dartmouth-Cornell game late in the third period and OT. The game winner was off a Big Green turnover in the Cornell end that led to a breakaway. Tough way to lose. The Cornell announcers then started talking about Harvard coming to town and how the Red need to keep their emotions in check. That may be an impossible 'ask'.
Donato Bracco scored his first collegiate goal on the power play with a nice snap shot from the slot. Hope it's the first of many for him.
On to Ithaca. I checked in on the Dartmouth-Cornell game late in the third period and OT. The game winner was off a Big Green turnover in the Cornell end that led to a breakaway. Tough way to lose. The Cornell announcers then started talking about Harvard coming to town and how the Red need to keep their emotions in check. That may be an impossible 'ask'.
Crimson Faced
Member
Getting their butts kicked by Cornell, as usual. There are many mediocre teams in the ECAC, Harvard takes advantage of them, but cannot play with Cornell, BU, Quinnipiac, plus they are boring to watch. Little offensive talent.
Unlike Cornell teams in the past, this edition has some skill and players who can skate. The Crimson, as you say, lack skill up front and are soft on D. A bad combination. Then again, look at what Colgate did to Dartmouth last night. Shocker.
I don't know what possessed me to go out in this weather for tonight's game. Maybe I just wanted to torture myself. And for the better part of two periods, I was beside myself for going to Bright Landry. Then Sean Keohane tied the game with a goal-mouth scramble goal, and everything seemed to 'warm up'.
To say that Harvard dominated this game would be the understatement of the year. RPI is a godawful hockey team with no semblance of offensive skill and a defense that can't figure out how to make a breakout pass. Seriously, they might lose to one of the better high school teams in the state. And yet for the better part of two periods, Harvard struggled because a) they refused to go to the front of the net to set up shop, and b) they played with a complacency and laziness that was confounding. Harvard doesn't have the skill to take even a team like RPI lightly.
Harvard's second goal was similar to their first: a goal-mouth scramble and persistence that paid off when Chase Stefanek wristed one past the RPI goalie on the third try. Sean Keohane scored his second of the game into an empty net, and that was that.
I don't see Harvard getting by BC on Monday. Our D structure is nonexistent, and the forwards can't find the openings needed to generate high danger scoring chances. And for the life of me, why did Teddy start the fourth line tonight? What was up with that? Bizarro coaching tonight.
To say that Harvard dominated this game would be the understatement of the year. RPI is a godawful hockey team with no semblance of offensive skill and a defense that can't figure out how to make a breakout pass. Seriously, they might lose to one of the better high school teams in the state. And yet for the better part of two periods, Harvard struggled because a) they refused to go to the front of the net to set up shop, and b) they played with a complacency and laziness that was confounding. Harvard doesn't have the skill to take even a team like RPI lightly.
Harvard's second goal was similar to their first: a goal-mouth scramble and persistence that paid off when Chase Stefanek wristed one past the RPI goalie on the third try. Sean Keohane scored his second of the game into an empty net, and that was that.
I don't see Harvard getting by BC on Monday. Our D structure is nonexistent, and the forwards can't find the openings needed to generate high danger scoring chances. And for the life of me, why did Teddy start the fourth line tonight? What was up with that? Bizarro coaching tonight.
You're a point out of first place in the league standings, NPI 18, and you've won 5 of your last 6. Sorry to hear you had such a bad night.