Team Notes: Harvard Returns Home, Faces Colgate, Cornell

Game On
The Harvard men's hockey team returns home to face Colgate for the first time this season Friday and takes on Cornell in one of college hockey's most celebrated rivalries Saturday. The opening faceoff for each game is slated for 7 p.m.

Game Notes (PDF)
ECAC Hockey Live Scoreboard
Vote for Hobey - Alex Killorn

Friday – Faculty and Staff Night
Harvard faculty and staff can celebrate the beginning of a new semester with a pre-game reception, giveaways and more. Faculty and staff receive free admission to the game against Colgate and should RSVP to dharsvp@fas.harvard.edu.

Saturday – White Out!
Crimson fans are encouraged to wear white to the game against Cornell. The first 200 Harvard students will receive a White Out T-shirt. Full details are available here.

Follow From Home
Live video of the games is available with a Crimson Central subscription on GoCrimson.com, which also provides free live statistics. WHRB-FM 95.3 and WHRB.org offer live audio with Brendan Roche and Raafi Alidina on the call.

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 a 94-104-20 record, three ECAC title-game appearances and two NCAA tournament bids.

Last Weekend
A dominant third period was not enough for the Crimson to catch No. 14 Rensselaer in a 3-2 loss Friday night in Troy, N.Y. Harvard outshot the Engineers by margins of 38-16 in the game and 18-3 in the third period but could not come all the way back from a two-goal deficit in the final frame. Allen York made 36 saves for RPI, allowing goals to Harvard senior forwards Michael Del Mauro (Watchung, N.J.) and Pier-Olivier Michaud (Mont-Joli. Que.). Chase Polacek scored twice for the Engineers.

Mat Bodie scored with 2:17 remaining to lift No. 12 Union to a 2-1 win against Harvard a night later in Schenectady, N.Y. Bodie's goal completed a Dutchmen comeback from a goal down in the third period. Ryan Carroll (Hackensack, N.J.)made 40 saves, including 10 on five Union power plays. Michael Biega(Montreal, Que.) scored a power-play goal for the Crimson.

History Nearly Repeats
The Crimson came just shy of repeating last season's successful road trip to Rensselaer and Union, almost exactly one year later. Harvard faced a 3-1 third-period deficit at RPI both Jan. 23, 2010 and Jan. 21, 2011. The Crimson rallied furiously on both occasions, earning a 3-3 tie last season and coming up a goal short this year. A year to the day before Saturday's game at Union, Ryan Carroll made 47 saves to lead Harvard to a 4-1 win over the No. 13 Dutchmen. Carroll made another 40 stops this year but Union rallied for the win.

The Killers
Harvard killed all 12 of its opponents' power plays in three games last week and has not allowed a goal in its last 16 power plays against. The Crimson penalty killers went 6 for 6 Wednesday at Northeastern.

Power Trip
The Crimson scored a power-play goal in each game last weekend and has had a man-advantage tally in five of the last seven games.

Busy Crimson
The Crimson just completed stretches of four straight road games and three games in four nights. Three of those four road games and four of the last five games overall have been against ranked opponents. This weekend's games are the fifth and sixth of eight in a 20‑day span for Harvard and the only two home games in that stretch.

Close Calls
Harvard has lost six games by a single goal and another game by two goals with one coming on an empty net. Three of the Crimson's last four league games have been one-goal losses.

Leading the Crimson
Alex Killorn (Montreal, Que.) and Michael Biega are Harvard's leading scorers with six goals and 14 points each. Danny Biega (Montreal, Que.) paces the Crimson with nine assists and ranks third with 12 points. Eric Kroshus (Calgary, Alta.) and Conor Morrison (London, Ont.) have seven points each, while rookie defenseman Dan Ford (Skaneateles, N.Y.) has logged six.

A New Teammate
The Crimson adopted Nathan Potvin as a member of the team in a Friends of Jaclyn Foundation gathering Jan. 14 at Bright Hockey Center. Nathan, a 12-year-old left wing from Hooksett, N.H., has been battling a spinal cord tumor since age 5 and travels to Boston frequently for treatment.

Through Friends of Jaclyn, Nathan has been attending Harvard games and meeting the team throughout the 2010-11 season and is now a member of the Crimson, complete with his own stall in the Harvard men's hockey locker room.

Vote for Alex
Alex Killorn is one of 68 nominees in the preliminary fan-voting phase of the Hobey Baker Award selection at www.hobeybakeraward.com, running through March 6. The fans' vote accounts for one percent of the total ballot in each phase.

Clutch Performer
Alex Killorn has scored all three of Harvard's game-winning goals, including the lone goal with 8.2 seconds left on the clock against then-No. 18 Rensselaer Nov. 6. He is tied for 15th nationally in game-winners and tied for second leaguewide with two winning scores in ECAC action.

Top of the [Blue] Line
Danny Biega has registered three goals and eight assists in ECAC Hockey play. He ranks second in scoring among defensemen in league games.

All in the Family
Michael Biega has notched five goals and four assists in the last eight games, and brother Danny has three goals and five assists in the last seven games. A Biega brother has scored or assisted on 10 of the last 11 Harvard goals.

Family Tradition
A Biega brother has led Harvard in assists in each of the last two seasons, Alex Biega '10 with 16 in 2008‑09 and Michael with 15 last season.

Help from the Blue Line
Defensemen have assisted on or scored 15 of Harvard's last 18 goals, totaling three goals and 14 assists in the last six games.

Outside the Box
The Crimson averages just 11.8 penalty minutes per game, the 13th-lowest mark in the nation.

Shooting Gallery
Alex Killorn leads ECAC Hockey with 56 shots on goal in league play.

Leading by Example
Seniors have scored Harvard's last three goals.

Harvard vs. Colgate Series History
The Crimson owns a 44-20-6 series lead against the Raiders since the teams' first meeting Jan. 7, 1961, a 4-1 Harvard win. Harvard is 8-0 in playoff meetings against Colgate, including a win in double overtime in the 2005 ECAC emifinals.

Harvard vs. Colgate in 2009-10
Colgate won both meetings last season. In an early-season tilt in Hamilton, N.Y., Austin Smith scored twice as the Raiders came back from three goals behind for a 5-4 win. Alex Killorn led the Crimson with a goal and an assist while Chris Huxley (Weymouth, Mass.), Eric Kroshus and Marshall Everson (Edina, Minn.).

In Harvard's 2009-10 home finale, Alex Evin made 15 of his 38 saves in the third period, and an empty-net goal in the final seconds iced a 4-2 Colgate victory. Danny Biega and Luke Greiner (Faribault, Minn.) scored for the Crimson.

Scouting the Raiders
Colgate is seeking its first win in 12 games, but included in its 0-10-1 stretch are seven one-goal losses. Three of those defeats came in overtime, and another came by a 6-5 score against No. 4 Boston College. The Raiders have defeated Army twice and Sacred Heart once. They tied Cornell, 2-2, Friday. The travel partners were tied again through two periods of Saturday's rematch, before the Big Red pulled away to a 5-2 win.

Francois Brisebois and Brian Day share the Colgate lead in points with 19 on seven goals and 12 assists each. Kurtis Bartliff also has 12 helpers, and Austin Smith paces the team with eight goals. Alex Evin has started a team-high 14 games in net, but Eric Mihalik has started the last four and holds a 2.98 goals‑against average and .888 save percentage.

Harvard vs. Cornell Series History
The Crimson had won seven of its previous nine meetings with Cornell before the Big Red swept last year's regular-season matchups and an ECAC quarterfinal series in Ithaca, N.Y. Cornell holds a 69-58-7 all-time series lead.

The teams first met Jan. 8, 1910, a 5-0 Harvard win in New York City. The games have been closer in recent years, with 15 of the last 20 being decided by two goals or fewer. The Crimson and Big Red have faced off in eight of the last 11 ECAC tournaments.

Harvard vs. Cornell in 2009-10
The Big Red scored five unanswered goals, including four after the Crimson entered the third period with a 3-2 lead, to win, 6-3, in Ithaca, N.Y. Joe Devin scored the tying and winning goals, while Conor Morrison netted his first goal for Harvard and Chris Huxley had two assists. Ben Scrivens made 22 saves for a 3-0 shutout in the late-season meeting at Bright Hockey Center.

The Crimson defeated Princeton in the opening round of the ECAC playoffs, earning a quarterfinal date with the Big Red. Pier-Olivier Michaud tied the score at 1-1 in the first period of Game 1, but Nick D'Agostino scored the first two of four straight for Cornell in a 5-1 win. Scrivens made 17 saves in a 3-0 win in the second game.

Championship Quality
The Crimson and Big Red have combined for three NCAA titles, with Cornell capturing two and Harvard one. They rank first and third in ECAC Hockey regular-season championships (Harvard 13, Cornell 9) and first and second in league tournament crowns (Cornell 12, Harvard 8). They alternated playoff titles from 2002 to 2006 and faced each other in the championship game in four of those tournaments.

The rivals have accounted for nine of the 18 ECAC regular-season and tournament titles awarded over the last nine seasons. For six of those nine championships, the other rival was the runner-up.

Either Harvard or Cornell has won or shared the Ivy League crown in 37 of the league's 53 seasons, with Harvard totaling 21 titles and Cornell 18. The teams shared the honor in 1983-84 and 1984-85.

Scouting the Big Red
Cornell won just twice in its first eight games but has posted a 4-1-1 record in its last six contests heading into last night's game at Dartmouth.

Tyler Roeszler logged three goals and an assist in the win Saturday against Colgate and leads the Big Red with eight goals this season. Greg Miller is the team's top scorer, with 16 of his 18 points coming on assists. Mike Garman and Andy Iles have split time in net, with Iles typically starting on Saturdays. Iles owns a .910 save percentage and 2.50 goals‑against average.

The Bright Stuff
The Crimson is 58-34-3 (.626) at home under Ted Donato and 280-127-28 (.679) all-time at Bright Hockey Center, which opened in 1979-80.