Crimson, Bears Skate to Draw

Photo by Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff

Boxscore

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Senior captains Jimmy Fraser and Brian McCafferty each recorded a goal and an assist, but Brown goaltender Dan Rosen made 35 saves and his Bears came back from a goal down in the third period to tie the No. 18 Harvard men’s hockey team, 3-3, Tuesday night at Meehan Auditorium.

Freshman Colin Moore scored his first career goal as the Crimson (4-2-1, 4-2-1 ECAC Hockey, 1-0-1 Ivy League) and Bears (0-4-2, 0-2-2, 0-1-1) went to overtime for the sixth time in their last eight meetings at Meehan. Eric Slais had a goal and two assists for Brown, which withstood a dominant performance by Harvard in the third period and overtime.

Harvard had a 38-23 edge in shots, including a 13-4 advantage in the third period, but could not regain the lead after Brown tied the score at 3-3 less than seven minutes into the frame. The Crimson killed a penalty that covered most of the final two minutes of regulation and was interrupted for 11 minutes to clean the ice after a hard hit by McCafferty on Mike Stuart broke the glass in front of the Brown penalty box with 13 seconds left in regulation.

Rosen was at his best in the extra session, stopping great chances by freshman Alex Killorn and sophomore Michael Biega early in the overtime. Freshman Matt Hoyle, who had 20 saves for Harvard, then made an outstanding right-pad stop on a Ryan Garbutt on the other end. Rosen countered by foiling a McCafferty-and-Killorn two-on-one with about 20 seconds left.

Both teams were 2 for 6 on the power play, as Harvard scored on the man advantage for the seventh straight game. Senior Steve Rolecek registered an assist to extend his point-scoring streak to five games.

The Crimson wasted little time jumping on top. The Bears were whistled for slashing just 1:42 into the game, and Harvard scored off the first faceoff of the power play. Fraser had the goal at 1:52, taking a pass from Killorn, exchanging feeds across the point with McCafferty and sending a shot from the right side through a Matt McCollem screen and past Rosen.

Brown also converted on its first man advantage, tying the score at 6:03 of the first. Sean McMonagle did the damage, wristing a high shot through traffic and past the glove of a screened Hoyle for the first goal against the Crimson in over 106 minutes of play. The teams then exchanged unsuccessful power plays, with Rosen stopping junior Doug Rogers from the doorstep on the left.

The Crimson kept the puck in the Brown end for much of the final five minutes of the frame, including nearly full two minutes of power-play time to close the period, but could not get another shot past Rosen. The Brown goalie made three stops in rapid succession on Rogers on the left post and stopped a shot by Biega with his mask in the closing seconds. Harvard held a 10-8 edge in first-period shots.

Harvard had some early pressure in the second period, but it was the Bears breaking the tie. Following a turnover at the Crimson blue line, Jordan Pietrus took the puck in on the left and passed across to Eric Slais. Hoyle at first appeared to make the nearly impossible save with his left pad, but the puck found its way across the line.

After surviving a penalty kill shortly after the goal, the Crimson was resilient. The line of sophomores Joe Smith and Michael Del Mauro and freshman Eric Kroshus had a dominant shift, cycling in the in the offensive zone. The following lines kept up the pressure, resulting in a holding penalty on Brown, but Harvard could not cash in on some good possession and passing on the ensuing power play.

The Crimson’s steady attacking finally paid off at the 16:27 mark of the second period, on another power play. It was again the two Harvard captains combining on the play, as Fraser exchanged passes with McCollem and pulled the puck to McCafferty at the left point. McCafferty’s shot found the top right corner to send the game into the intermission tied, 2-2.

Harvard regained the lead just 40 seconds into the final period. Rolecek collected the puck low on the left side and guided it out to Ian Tallett at the left point. The junior sent a low shot at the net, and Moore redirected the puck between the legs of Rosen for his first career goal and a 3-2 lead.

The Bears again netted an equalizer on the power play. After a pair of Brown shots were knocked down and sent back out to the point, Jeremy Russell slapped a shot through a crowd in front of Hoyle. The Crimson rookie got a piece of the puck, but it trickled inside the right post and over the goal line.

The game was the first of four straight on the road for the Crimson, which visits Cornell Friday.