Men’s Hockey Posts 4-0 Shutout Against Union, Earns Third-Straight Victory

Harvard men’s ice hockey (10-7-1, 8-4-0 ECAC) shut out the Union Chargers (14-8-2, 5-7-1 ECAC) in the final game of the Crimson’s homestand, winning 4-0.

Harvard secured its third-straight and 10th win of the season, recovering from a difficult 0-4 stretch on the road.

The outstanding turnaround owes much to the team’s mental fortitude, a quality Head Coach Ted Donato ’91 has often cited as key to overcoming the series of tough losses earlier this month.

“I thought tonight might have been our most complete game,” Donato said. “We played aggressively, but we played smart. We didn’t give up too many outnumbered rushes. We just had the one penalty again, so good discipline. And I think as a group, we’re starting to recognize what the formula is for us to have success.”

Freshmen forwards Will Hughes and Richard Gallant, as well as sophomore defenseman Lucas St. Louis, stood out for their jarring hits and for their chase-down forechecks that created and sustained offensive possessions throughout the game.

Describing the impact of Hughes and St. Louis, Donato said, “Will Hughes does a lot of things that don’t show up on the score sheet for us: he takes a lot of big faceoffs. That line has a real identity for us and is usually on the right side of the puck.”

“I thought Lucas St. Louis all weekend and really most of the year has just been great for us – breaking pucks out of the zone, key defensive plays, and really being in charge back there,” the coach added.

Meanwhile, Union’s level of play this season has been hard to gauge despite its 14-win record, as the team has yet to truly establish itself in the ECAC.

With nine of its wins in out-of-conference games, Union is only 5-7-1 in ECAC play compared to Harvard’s 8-4-0 in-league record.

While the Crimson has a 2-3-1 out-of-conference record, two of those losses and the tie came against No. 1 Michigan and No. 13 UConn, two of the best programs in the country.

Moreover, Union is yet to play a game against No. 10 Dartmouth and lost its first games to Clarkson and Colgate, teams Harvard has already defeated.

What keeps Union on the edge of the national standings seems to be its split-series performances against the No. 7 Quinnipiac Bobcats and No. 18 Princeton Tigers, both of whom defeated the Crimson.

Donato emphasized Union’s strengths in preparation for the game, saying, “I had watched Union play enough times doing pre-scout video for some of the other teams we played. So I had a lot of respect for them. They’re statistically one of the top power plays in the country.”

“They’re one of the top offensive producing teams in the country, and a top defensive team, so they have great balance. And we knew it was going to be a tough game,” the coach added.

Donato’s vigilant mindset helped Harvard play hard and fast in all three periods, eventually scoring near the end of the first period on a goal from forward and captain Joe Miller.

Miller’s goal came on one of several instances where the Chargers failed to cover the entire defensive zone and let up open passes to oncoming skaters who made their way to the net unguarded.

Defenseman and captain Mason Langenbrunner, who got the secondary assist on the play, was named the ECAC ADAPT Nutrition Defender of the Week this morning. He had two points in the Friday night game against St. Lawrence.

Though Union was successful in killing two penalties, one in each of the first two periods, it failed to hold onto any momentum.

After a lengthy possession for the Chargers in the offensive zone, Harvard made a quick line change to set up in the opposite end.

Despite play stopping after freshman forward Chase Stefanek missed a rebound off the Union goaltender’s left pad, Stefanek returned seconds later to score his first career goal from the left point.

“I’ve been really impressed with Stef’s poise, his kind of calmness under pressure in the defensive zone, and his ability to hold onto pucks and use his line mates offensively,” Donato said.

Discussing the turnover that led to his goal, Stefanek added, “I think the game revolves around turnovers, and then if we cause them, we can end up on the right side.”

The third period featured goals from two of Harvard’s less-frequent scorers.

At 11:17, junior forward Ben MacDonald got one through for his third goal of the season and first since the Dec. 6 game against Brown.

Then at 5:02, junior defenseman Matthew Morden put the game away with his second goal of the season. Both of the defender’s goals have come in the last three games for the Crimson.

Harvard now sets its sights on a two-game road trip versus the Colgate Raiders and the No. 12 Cornell Big Red, having split the earlier November series in a 6-5 win over Colgate and a 1-3 loss to Cornell. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST, and both games can be streamed on ESPN+.

Harvard will then play host to RPI on Jan. 30 before its first matchup of the 73rd annual Beanpot Tournament against No. 15 Boston College coming up on Feb. 2.

—Staff writer Nate M. Bolan can be reached at [email protected].