Men's Hockey To Face Nebraska-Omaha in NCAA Tournament Opener

For three weeks, the No. 10/8 Harvard men’s hockey team had only one goal: win the ECAC Men’s Hockey Tournament to guarantee a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

And, with wins over No. 11/11 Quinnipiac and Colgate in Lake Placid last weekend, the Crimson finally did just that.

In its push to bring the Whitelaw Cup back to Cambridge for the first time since 2006, the team notched accomplishments that, when taken out of the context of the championship push, stand on their own merit.

Harvard finally overcame its shortcomings against archrival Yale in the ECAC quarterfinals and did so in dramatic fashion with a double overtime winner from junior forward Jimmy Vesey.

“[Beating Yale] was one of my favorite moments of the season,” Vesey said.

Individual accomplishments also stood out during the run. Vesey had one of the best statistical seasons in program history, leading Division I in goals on the season with 31 en route to winning the Walter Brown Award.

Along with Vesey, fourth-year defenseman Patrick McNally returned unexpectedly from a knee injury to knot the equalizing goal in the rubber match of the same Yale series en route to being named, along with junior co-captain Kyle Criscuolo, to the All-ECAC Second Team.

“It’s definitely rewarding to have a good season this year,” Criscuolo said. “Some of these other guys [and I], we had great options other than Harvard to go, and they’ve had some good seasons along the way and you might think about that for a second. But...you can’t give up the chance to come to Harvard….You feel blessed to be here.”

But even though the Crimson pulled through and took home the conference title, the team will not spend this week celebrating. Rather, Harvard will spend it preparing to accomplish its next goal. None of the excitement of the turnaround season will make an early-round exit for the team in the NCAA Tournament any easier on the players.

The Crimson (21-12-3, 11-8-3 ECAC) travels to South Bend to take on No. 9/9 Nebraska-Omaha in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night. The winner will take on either No. 2/2 Minnesota St. Mankato or the Rochester Institute of Technology on Sunday for a chance to advance to the Frozen Four in Boston.

The Mavericks (18-12-6, 12-8-4 NCHC)  did not have to go through the ordeal the Crimson did in order to earn a tournament berth. Despite being swept in the first round of the NCHC playoffs by No 13/13 St. Cloud State, the team ranked eighth in the PairWise Ranking at the end of the year and comfortably earned an at-large berth in the tournament.

“Being in a situation where you have to win two best-of-three series and the semifinal game against Quinnipiac...makes us battle-tested,” Vesey said. “To face that pressure and come out with the ECAC championship gives us confidence going forward. Omaha…[hasn’t] played a playoff game in a while. That could work in our advantage.”

Even without the postseason experience, as the team has not played since March 14, the Mavericks still pose a threat to end the Crimson’s season on Saturday night. Sophomore forwards Jake Guentzel and Austin Ortega ranked ninth and eleventh, respectively, in points in the NCHC, while senior goaltender Ryan Massa led the conference with a  save percentage of .934.

“Their goaltender has been outstanding all year,” Harvard coach Ted Donato `91 said. “In a one-game set, I think we’re going to really try to focus on our game and what we want to bring instead of being reactive. We’ll certainly have a lot of respect for Nebraska-Omaha.”

While Vesey is the obvious answer to solve Massa in net, the team will not depend on him to win the game, instead calling upon its depth to secure a victory against the Mavericks as it has in the past few weeks.

Senior forward Colin Blackwell and sophomore forward Tyler Moy have stepped up in the past few weekends. Blackwell scored two goals over the last two games in the ECAC tournament, while Moy added a goal and an assist.

Along with the strength of the team’s top point earners, it also has many other players waiting in the wing if need be.

“I honestly think our depth has the potential to be a strength for us,” Donato said. “We expect that everyone in our lineup can be helpful to us winning.”