On Season-Worst Slide, Harvard to Host Colgate, Cornell

The taller you are, the harder you fall.

Such has been the case with the No. 14/13 Harvard men’s ice hockey team over the past two weeks.

After holding down a top-five spot in the Division I rankings for several weeks, the Crimson have strung together three weeks of subpar play, culminating in a loss to conference bottom-feeder Brown last Saturday.

Harvard is now in jeopardy of missing out on a first-round ECAC playoff bye, something that seemed like a certainty at the start of 2015. Sitting on the bubble for a bid to the NCAA Tournament, coach Ted Donato ’91 has three weeks to right the ship before the postseason. But calm waters do not sit in front of the Crimson.

Harvard (12-8-2, 8-6-2 ECAC) will take the ice at the Bright-Landry Center for the first time this month to face Colgate (15-10-3, 7-6-3) on Friday and Cornell (10-10-3, 8-7-1) on Saturday. The Crimson will look to avenge a last-minute loss to the Big Red in January.

“I think we realize we have to get back on the horse here and go back to what we were doing before break,” sophomore Sean Malone said. “We’re positive right now, and we know this is a huge weekend for us.”

This weekend will go a long way to help determine who earns byes in the conference tournament. While ECAC leaders No. 13/14 Quinnipiac and No. 20/- St. Lawrence appear to be locks for first-round byes, there is a contested battle for the remaining two. Four teams—including Harvard —are tied for third, with the Big Red and Raiders sitting one point behind.

Cornell robbed the Crimson of an opportunity to earn at least a point in their matchup in Ithaca on Jan. 23. After a goal from freshman defenseman Eddie Ellis tied the game at two in the third, the teams seemed to be headed to overtime before sophomore Eric Freschi sniped the puck past junior goaltender Steve Michalek with 41 seconds on the scoreboard to give the hosts the late push they needed.

“Cornell is a huge rivalry game,” Malone said. “Usually guys get more pumped up about these types of games than any others. We certainly want to win.”

Senior Cole Bardreau heads the attack for Cornell, ranking in the top 10 in points scored in conference games. The fourth-year member of the Big Red opened the scoring against Harvard at Lynah Rink.

Although Cornell has struggled to generate offense at times, the team has had the most effective power play in conference games this year, converting on 21 percent of opportunities. Harvard ranks just below with a 20 percent conversion rate.

The Big Red also boasts the goaltender with the highest save percentage in the conference, sophomore Mitch Gillam. The second-year star has saved 95 percent of the shots he has faced this season.

The previous matchup with the other team on Harvard’s slate went much differently than the one in Ithaca. After Freschi beat the clock, Harvard rolled into Hamilton and put up its largest rout of the season, earning a comfortable 6-1 victory.

Colgate relies on a balanced attack, starting with junior Kyle Baun and senior Joe Wilson, who lead the Raiders in goals scored in conference play. Baun and Wilson have combined for only 10 strikes in ECAC contests. Harvard junior Jimmy Vesey, meanwhile, has notched 14, two of which came in Hamilton.

The Raiders’ top goaltender, sophomore Charlie Finn, will be out with an upper body injury this weekend.

The weekend slate was made a little easier for the Crimson when the Beanpot consolation game against No. 10/11 Boston College on Monday was postponed to Feb. 23. But even with the week’s reduced schedule, victory will not come easy for the Crimson on Friday.

“Especially with [Cornell and Colgate] being so close in the standings, it’ll be huge if we’re able to get wins and push ahead a little,” Malone said.

—Staff writer Kurt T. Bullard can be reached at kurt.bullard@thecrimson.com.