Crimson Gives Up Lead Against Colgate

Skating off the ice Friday night, the Harvard men’s hockey team must have been in disbelief. The Crimson had built a 4-1 lead over Colgate through two periods and looked poised for an easy win. But in the final frame, the Raiders surged back and Harvard watched its advantage quickly disintegrate. Colgate (4-2-3, 2-0) notched four goals in the third period to capture a 5-4 victory.

“I think we got away from our gameplan and were a little too satisfied being up 4-1,” captain Alex Biega said.

“For lack of a better term, we had a little downfall,” he added.

At the start of the contest, Harvard was decidedly in control. Seven minutes into the first period, junior defenseman Chris Huxley netted a power play goal off assists from sophomores Ryan Grimshaw and Alex Killorn. Five minutes later, Killorn scored one himself, and two minutes after that, sophomore Eric Kroshus made the score 3-0 when he snuck the puck past Raider goaltender Alex Evin. Evin was pulled in favor of a new goalie, Charlie Long, immediately following the third goal. By the end of the first period, Harvard had built a sizeable lead and looked to be firing on all cylinders.

“I think, offensively, we moved the puck really well,” senior Doug Rogers said. “We’re very effective when we transition fast. Our combination of speed and puck movement has really caught teams off guard and led to goals.”

In the second period, Colgate inched back into the game with an even-strength goal midway through the frame. But Harvard freshman Marshall Everson responded with a power play lamp lighter just a minute later to reclaim the three-score lead. The goal was assisted by freshmen Alex Fallstrom and Louis Leblanc, who had two assists on the night. The freshman class, which has accounted for six of the Crimson’s 12 goals this season, has added some much needed fire to the Harvard attack.

“Years past we’ve only had one to two scoring lines,” Biega said. “This year we only lost three forwards up front and we brought in a tremendous class in the freshmen, who’ve been immediate impact players for us and add a valuable aspect of the team up front.”

Up 4-1 going into the third period, it looked as if Harvard was on its way to an easy victory. But Colgate had other plans.

The Raiders beat Crimson senior goaltender Kyle Richter 30 seconds into the frame to close the gap to two. Then Raider forward Austin Smith brought his team even closer with a goal at the 10-minute mark. Just two minutes later, Smith tallied another, tying up the game at four. With four minutes remaining, Colgate freshman Robbie Bourdon broke the deadlock, giving the Raiders a 5-4 edge. A late-game Crimson power play and other attempts on goal were unsuccessful.

The loss was Harvard’s first of the season, and ought to be a memorable one.

“We need to learn a little how to play with the lead,” Rogers said. “And I think that will come with experience. I think we had some defensive breakdowns, but I think you can expect that at the beginning of the year.”

The Crimson’s porous defense overshadowed some dynamic play from its offense.

“I think we showed that we have a very explosive offense,” Rogers said of the first period surge. “We scored goals in patches.”

The Crimson also took advantage of its power plays, scoring two times on four opportunities. The penalty kill was effective, as Harvard limited the Raiders to just one goal on seven attempts. Overall, Colgate outshot the Crimson, 40-29.

—Staff writer Jake I. Fisher can be reached at jifisher@fas.harvard.edu.