Rematch Against Yale Begins Hectic Week

After an early-season stretch of eight games in 16 days, the Harvard men’s hockey team found itself 7-3-1 and ranked No. 14 in the country—very solid results, considering the schedule. But it’s been a week now since the team’s last contest, and the skaters aren’t complaining.

“Well,” said senior defenseman Tom Walsh, “this week we’ve been getting back to long, difficult practices, which we’re not obviously looking forward to.”

He’s mostly kidding, of course: eight games in 16 days all but eliminates the possibility of any consistent practice time, and “days off” are as much for recuperation as they are for improvement.

But with last Saturday’s 4-3 win over St. Lawrence in the bag and a Sunday contest at Yale the next event on the docket, things are at least a bit more relaxed.

The recent three-game-a-week scheduling “basically destroys the regular routine,” admitted Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91. “There is no routine. Whereas you might [normally] have one day off in a week, we’re looking at maybe three days off and still being tired.”

“I guess there is nobody to blame but myself, seeing that I have a hand in making the schedule,” he added with a smile.

And though it’s not over yet—after Yale this Sunday comes a Tuesday home game against Quinnipiac and then a Thursday road game at New Hampshire—this week of relative downtime has been a welcome change.

“Once the lights go on, you feel all right,” Walsh said. “But we we’re getting worn down a little bit, definitely. It was a good stretch. We’re happy with the way it went [5-2-1], but we’re thankful for the time off, too.”

MINDING THE CREASE

Senior John Daigneau started eight of Harvard’s first nine games, going 6-1-1, but he gave up four goals in two periods last Friday against Clarkson and was subsequently replaced by junior Justin Tobe.

The backup went a perfect nine-for-nine in the third period of that contest, and his 43 saves in the following night’s 4-3 win over the Saints earned him conference honors as the week’s best netminder.

“The goalie situation has become interesting again,” Donato smiled. “I think that’s a good sign for everybody.

“[It was] a lot of games to expect John to take in a short period of time,” the coach added, “but he did a heck of a job. And certainly, Justin was outstanding [against the Saints].”

As for the upcoming Yale game, Donato won’t commit to a starter, relying instead on his old standby, “We’ll wait until the end of the week.”

“But,” he added, “I’m comfortable and confident that whoever grabs the net for us will do a good job.”

FROM THE INFIRMARY

His right arm in a sling, freshman defenseman Jack Christian missed last Saturday’s game thanks to a hit the previous night that injured his shoulder.

Donato listed the rookie as “day-to-day,” and Christian said Wednesday that though he’d skated in practice, he felt pain when attempting to shoot.

Meanwhile, sophomore forward Paul Dufault practices despite an open-ice hit last Friday that left him wobbly on his feet.

“I don’t think he’s 100 percent out of the woods,” Donato said, “but hopefully, over the next few days, he’ll start to feel improved.”

Sophomore J.D. McCabe saw time on defense in Christian’s place, and freshman Steve Rolecek at forward for Dufault.

ON TAP

Harvard’s 6-3-0 record in the ECAC has the team in a tie atop the conference standings, while Yale’s 0-6-0 mark puts the Bulldogs alone in the cellar.

Yale is 1-8-0 on the season, though it pushed the Crimson to a 3-3 overtime Nov. 18 in the Bright Hockey Center before Harvard’s Ryan Maki notched the game-winner.

The Bulldogs have played three goaltenders this season, but their best, freshman Alec Richards, has allowed 4.73 goals per game in his seven contests.

Yale’s power play is currently converting 7.9 percent of its attempts—second to last in the nation—while Harvard is fifth from the top with a 23.9 success rate.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs’ penalty kill is dead last in the country, stopping only 72.5 percent of opposing teams’ chances.

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Seesel can be reached at seesel@fas.harvard.edu.