Penalties Cost Crimson
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SCHENECTADY, N.Y.-Union scored twice on six second-period power plays on the way to a 3-1 win against the No. 18 Harvard men's hockey team Saturday night at Messa Rink.
Matt Cook and Lane Caffaro scored Union's man-advantage tallies, and Luke Cain added a third-period goal. Freshman Alex Killorn registered his first career goal for the Crimson (2-2-0, 2-2-0 ECAC Hockey), which also got 29 saves from freshman Matt Hoyle. Twenty of those stops came in the penalty-filled second period. Union (4-2-1, 1-1-0) finished 2 for 11 on the power play, while Harvard was 1 for 6.
Junior Alex Biega had a goal taken off the board in the final minutes, when it was ruled a Harvard player interfered with Union netminder Corey Milan before the shot crossed the goal line. Milan finished with 27 saves as the Dutchmen owned a 32-28 edge in shots.
Early on, both defenses kept the action close to the boards and in the corners, avoiding many chances close to the goal. The Crimson's best opportunity of the period came just over 15 minutes in, when sophomore Michael Del Mauro took the puck deep on the right side and dropped a pass back to Rence Coassin. Milan came out to cut down the freshman's angle, make the save and cover for a faceoff.
The first of 17 penalties in the game did not come until more than 17 minutes into the contest, when Union's Mike Wakita was called for hooking. The Crimson attempted four shots on the power play, but just one made it on net, off the stick of sophomore Michael Biega. Milan was there for the save. The teams entered the first intermission scoreless, with Harvard holding a 7-5 edge in shots.
With a man in the box for each team, Union was assessed a protocol-violation penalty at the end of the first period and committed another infraction early in the second. Harvard maintained possession throughout its four-on-three, five-on-three and five-on-four advantages, but Milan made stops on Rogers and Michael Biega to keep the Crimson off the board.
Hoyle's toughest saves to that point came shortly after the game's midpoint. Mario Valery-Trabucco stole the puck at the goal line to Hoyle's right. The rookie goalie hugged the post to make one stop and then got a glove on Valery-Trabucco's second attempt. The Union forward then pushed Hoyle as he skated by, picking up a goaltender interference penalty.
On the ensuing power play, Matt McCollem appeared to have given the Crimson the lead when the red light went on to indicate that the sophomore's tough-angle backhand had gone in. A referee, however, waved off the would-be goal, and video replay confirmed that the puck slid across the goal line without crossing and hit the far post.
The Crimson netted one that counted seconds later. Killorn and senior Steve Rolecek put shots on net, and Milan lost sight of the puck. That's when Killorn skated in to backhand it through Milan's legs for a 1-0 lead.
Union got a power play of its own and struck back quickly. Cain fired a shot in on Hoyle on the rush. Cook took the rebound of Hoyle's left pad and put it away, erasing the lead barely two minutes after Harvard had gone ahead.
Harvard continued to hurt itself with penalties, taking two 17 seconds apart. Hoyle made several tough saves to keep the game tied, but Cook finally made it 2-1 at 17:19, wristing a shot from the top of the left circle past traffic and to the high stick side for a five-on-three goal. The score remained that way through the period, thanks in part to 20 stops by Hoyle in the frame.
Both teams got abbreviated power plays early in the third. Neither scored, but the Crimson used its man advantage to seize the momentum, notching four of the first five shots in the period.
Despite Harvard's control of the play, the Dutchmen doubled their lead at 12:30 of the third. Milan's save of Crimson freshman Colin Moore's shot bounced out to the left point, and Union's Jeff Christensen chipped the puck past a pinching Harvard player. Christensen fed Cain at the Harvard blue line, and Cain went in alone on Hoyle and, moved to his backhand for the finish. The goal was the first allowed at even strength by Harvard this season.
The Crimson appeared to cut the deficit to one with 40 seconds left as Alex Biega's wrist shot from high on the right side found the top right corner. The referees called the play a goal but disallowed it upon video review, and Harvard was assessed a goalie interference penalty and a bench minor.
Harvard returns home next weekend to host Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
