Team Notes: Harvard Set for Home-and-Home Clash with Dartmouth

Game On
The Harvard men's hockey team meets travel partner Dartmouth in a Thanksgiving-weekend home-and-home series. The Crimson and Big Green face off Friday at 7 p.m. at Bright Hockey Center and Saturday at 7 p.m. at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H.

Follow From Home
Live video of Friday's game is available with a Crimson Central subscription here on GoCrimson.com. Links to a subscription broadcast of Saturday's game and free live statistics for both games are also available at the top of the page. WHRB-FM 95.3 and WHRB.org offer live audio.

Signing Day
Members of the Crimson will stick around following Friday's game for a free autograph session in the Bright Hockey Center concourse.

In the News
The Boston Globe: Chris Huxley adds firepower to Crimson hockey defense
New England Hockey Journal: First Payoffs Coming for Alex Biega '10

Behind the Bench
Former Crimson captain, NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player and 13-year National Hockey League veteran Ted Donato '91 is in his seventh season as The Robert D. Ziff '88 Head Coach for Harvard Men's Ice Hockey. He owns an 93-93-20 record, three ECAC title-game appearances and two NCAA tournament bids.

Last Weekend
Harvard suffered one-goal losses at Princeton and Quinnipiac. The Tigers' Mike Condon made 36 saves to hand the Crimson a 1-0 loss in its Ivy League opener Friday. Kyle Richter (Calgary, Alta.) made 34 saves for Harvard.

The Crimson came back from a 4-1 second-period deficit Saturday, only to see the Bobcats score early in the third period and withstand a late Harvard push for a 5-4 win. Conor Morrison (London, Ont.), Colin Moore (Medfield, Mass.), Rence Coassin (Hamden, Conn.) and Alex Killorn (Montreal, Que.) scored for Harvard. Coassin, who was playing in his hometown, and Moore added assists.

Getting Defensive
Harvard ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 2.17 goals per game, and has held four of six opponents to two goals or fewer.

Outside the Box
The Crimson is the nation's least-penalized team, averaging only 6.7 penalty minutes per game. Harvard has been whistled for five total penalties over the last three games.

The Killers
The Crimson entered Saturday's game at Quinnipiac with the nation's top penalty-kill percentage. Harvard surrendered one power-play goal in that contest but still ranks 12th in penalty killing at 88.2 percent (15 for 17). With one shorthanded goal, courtesy of Rence Coasssin against the Bobcats, Crimson penalty killers have allowed just one more goal than they have scored.

First Blood
Harvard has scored first in both of its wins, and its opponents have scored first in all four Crimson losses. The Crimson is 2-0-0 when leading at any point in a game and 0-4-0 when trailing.

Close Calls
Three of Harvard's four losses and four of the Crimson's six games overall have been decided by a single goal. The other two games were two-goal decisions.

Leading the Way
Alex Killorn (3-1-4) leads Harvard in goals and shares the team scoring lead with assists leaders Danny Biega (Montreal, Que.) (1-3-4) and Michael Biega(Montreal, Que.) (1-3-4).

Hard to Beat
Kyle Richter ranks sixth nationally with a .939 save percentage and 14th with a 2.06 goals-against average. He has held the opponent scoreless in nine of the 17 periods he has played and has allowed just one goal in five other periods.

Clutch Performer
Alex Killorn scored the game's lone goal with 8.2 seconds left on the clock to lift Harvard to a 1-0 win against Rensselaer Nov. 6. He netted another game-winning goal Nov. 12 at St. Lawrence and is one of only two ECAC players with two game-winners in league action. He is tied for sixth nationally in game-winning tallies.

Ivy Implications
These are the second and third Ivy League games for both Harvard and Dartmouth. The Big Green opened Ivy play with a win Saturday at Princeton, a night after the Tigers spoiled Harvard's Ivy opener. Princeton leads the Ancient Eight with six points but has already played half of its 10 Ivy games.

Scouting the Big Green
Dartmouth is coming off a 3-2 win Saturday at Princeton and has lost just once, 2-0 at Quinnipiac, in its last five games. Rookie Matt Lindblad leads the Big Green with eight points and five assists. He shares the team goals lead at three with Dustin Walsh. James Mello has taken over as starting goaltender over in recent weeks and is 3-1-1 while leading Division I with a .968 save percentage and 0.99 goals-against average.

Series History
Harvard owns a 6-1-1 record in its last eight meetings with Dartmouth. The Crimson previously lost just once (7-0 in 2000-01) to the Big Green in a 20-game span from 1996 to 2004 and owns a 125-56-9 all-time series edge. The teams first met Feb. 7, 1907, a 12-3 Crimson win at Harvard Stadium.

Harvard vs. Dartmouth in 2009-10
The teams met three times last season. Alex Killorn scored two goals and assisted on another to lead Harvard to a 5-3 road win in both squads' season opener Oct. 30, 2009. Kyle Richter made 41 saves, while Marshall Everson (Edina, Minn.) and Daniel Moriarty (Bienfait, Sask.) each registered a goal and an assist.

Dartmouth got two goals and an assist from Scott Fleming, four points from Adam Estoclet and 27 saves from Jody O'Neill in a  6-2 non‑league win at Bright Hockey Center Nov. 29. Moriarty scored both Harvard goals, and Alex Fallstrom (Stockholm, Sweden) assisted on both. Ryan Carroll (Hackensack, N.J.) made 34 saves.

Carroll made 37 saves as Harvard won the deciding game of the season series, 4-1, Jan. 18 at Bright. Matt McCollem (Westford, Mass.) and Michael Biega were among Harvard's goal-scorers. Biega also notched an assist, while Killorn logged two helpers.

Happy 50th
The Crimson, like its fellow league members, is wearing a patch on its jerseys this season commemorating the 50th season of ECAC play. ECAC Hockey has been home to seven NCAA champions, witnessed over 15,000 games and produced more than 500 NHL players and nearly 300 All-Americans. The league will honor its rich history with initiatives throughout the season.

A Balanced Attack
Six different players have scored Harvard's last six goals: Eric Kroshus (Calgary, Alta.), Michael Biega, Conor Morrison, Colin Moore, Rence Coassin and Alex Killorn.

Staying Positive
Danny Biega leads Harvard with a +4 rating, tying him for fifth among all ECAC Hockey players and second among defensemen in league play. Michael Biega and Alex Killorn own +3 ratings.