Richter Shines In Net as Harvard Rides Third-Period Surge to Crucial Series Sweep

Although the Harvard men’s hockey team has had its fair share of troubles throughout its season, it proved this weekend that it can win when it counts, sweeping Princeton (12-16-3) in the ECAC Hockey first-round playoff series.

After a 4-2 comeback victory on Friday, the Crimson continued its dominant performance on Saturday in a 3-0 shutout win.

Sophomore Daniel Moriarty and freshmen Danny Biega and Luke Greiner each logged a goal for Harvard, while junior goaltender Kyle Richter posted 37 saves to preserve the sweep.

“Obviously, we’ve had a bumpy road in regular season,” captain Alex Biega said, “but we look at playoffs as a brand-new season.”

The Crimson (9-19-3) finished its regular season on a pair of one-goal losses to St. Lawrence and Clarkson on the road.

Fortunately, Harvard was able to find the back of the net in the Princeton series and hold its lead for the entirety of the game.

Before the decisive third period, Princeton had claimed most of the momentum of the early half of the game.

“Princeton kind of took it to us a little bit early in the game and early parts of the second period,” senior Doug Rogers said. “We were confident that no matter how long it took we would score eventually.”

And score they did.

The first goal of the game came from Moriarty off of a Crimson power play after two scoreless periods. The sophomore capitalized off of passes from junior Michael Biega and freshman Louis Leblanc to put the puck behind Tigers’ goaltender Zane Kalemba.

Just over seven minutes later, Danny Biega secured the Harvard lead with another goal. Biega was able to take control of a high pass from Greiner and beat a duo of Princeton defenders to put the puck between the pipes with a backhanded shot.

It was the fourth goal in five games for the rookie, who has eight points on the season.

Biega returned the favor for Greiner with just over a minute remaining in the game, sending a pass to the freshman for an empty-net goal. Kalemba, who recorded 14 saves on the game, had been substituted for an additional offensive player.

The real standout performance of the night came from Richter, whose goalkeeping upheld not only the victory but also the shutout, the fifth of his career. The junior logged 33 saves on Friday night and 37 on Saturday, allowing only two goals on the weekend and none in the final four periods of the series.

Richter earned All-Ivy League honorable mention honors for posting a .924 save percentage in Ancient Eight play, saving 121 of 131 shots. On Saturday, Richter proved his worth with a shutout in the midst of a shot differential skewed to the Tigers’ side. Princeton took 37 shots to the Crimson’s 17, a statistic that exemplifies talented goalkeeping and effective shooting.

“Obviously, Kyle Richter played incredible [this weekend],” Rogers said. “He made some great saves for us.”

This is the first time Harvard has defeated the Tigers this season, after a 3-3 overtime tie in November and a 2-1 loss at the end of January.

The difference for the Crimson is consistency, the ability to play a full three-period game rather than a match of shining moments and mental breakdowns.

“[Tonight] our team really bought into the system...and followed it consistently whatever the score was,” Biega said. “I think we’ve really started to play 60 minutes and are sticking collectively to our strategy.”

Although Harvard has had an unpredictable season, it exemplified this weekend that it may be reaching its potential. After streaks of wins and losses throughout the season, perhaps it has found a working strategy.

“I think this team is capable of doing wonderful things,” Biega said. “The key is just to show up every night...and leave everything on the ice.”

The Crimson may have only survived the first round of ECAC play, but the sweep provided it with not only two victories, but also momentum moving forward in the postseason. Harvard will hit the road again next weekend to play ***RESULT***

“I think our mindset going forward is a confident one,” Rogers said. “If we bring our best and smartest effort, we can beat everyone.”

—Staff writer B. Marjorie Gullick can be reached at gullick@college.harvard.edu.