Harvard Topped By Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS-Minnesota scored four goals in the third period to
overcome two goals by Crimson senior Chad Morin and pull away to a
5-2 win against the Harvard men's hockey team Friday night at
Mariucci Arena.
Kyle Richter made 40 saves and Daniel Moriarty had two assists for
Harvard (2-9-2) in a game that was tied at 1-1 after two periods.
Luke Greiner and Matt McCollem also had assists. Greiner, from
Faribault, Minn., and Edina native Marshall Everson were played
their first collegiate game in their home state in front of a crowd
of 9,787. It was also the first game against Minnesota for Ted
Donato '91, the Robert D. Ziff Head Coach for Harvard Men's Ice
Hockey, since he scored twice to help the Crimson win the 1989 NCAA
title game.
Tony Lucia and Nico Sacchetti each had a goal and an assist for the
Golden Gophers (10-10-1), who held a 45-22 shots edge and got 20
saves from Alex Kangas. Lucia's goal was an empty-netter with two
seconds remaining in the game.
Michael Biega got Harvard off to a good start with a huge
center-ice hit on Cade Fairchild about a minute into the action,
leading to a scoring chance by Alex Killorn, but Kangas was there
to deny Killorn's backhand shot and rebound bid. It was the Gophers
got on the board first at 2:05. Sacchetti caused a turnover in the
Harvard defensive zone and got the puck to Jake Hansen for a
backhand shot and goal. Minnesota took the 1-0 lead and a 13-8
shots advantage to the first intermission.
Richter was the star of the second period, keeping Minnesota off
the scoreboard despite a 13-5 edge in shots. He kept Harvard within
a goal until Morin, known more for his strong defensive play, put
in his first tally since Jan. 4, 2010. Rushing up the right side
Moriarty got the puck from McCollem, waited for Kangas to commit
and slid a smooth backdoor pass to Morin for the finish on the
post.
Minnesota applied more pressure following the goal and drew a
penalty just before the end of the second period. Jacob Cephis
capilalized just 53 seconds into the third, finding the puck in a
crowd in front of Richter and scoring. Sacchetti made it 3-1 with a
shot into the top corner as he was being knocked to the ice by a
Ryan Grimshaw body check.
Zach Budish added a rebound goal at 11:06 before each team scored
during the game's final 83 seconds. Harvard briefly cut the lead to
two goals on Morin's second tally. Luke Greiner won the puck to
Moriarty, who dropped it off to Morin skating into the left corner.
He centered the puck toward Greiner, who was charging to the net,
and it slid past Kangas after hitting a skate. The Gophers then
survived some more Harvard pressure before sealing the win with an
empty-net goal from Lucia.












