Men’s Hockey Pummeled 9-1, Suffers Worst Loss Since 2023 at Quinnipiac

The No. 18 Harvard men’s ice hockey team skidded to a 9-1 loss against the No. 10 Quinnipiac Bobcats. This stunning collapse disrupted a hot streak for a team that managed seven goals against Brown in its most recent game and took top teams to overtime in its games with then-No. 9 UConn and No. 1 Michigan earlier this season.

Friday night’s game marked the team’s worst loss since it fell 8-1 in the 2023 NCAA Regional Semifinal to Ohio State in Bridgeport, C.T.

The last time Harvard fell by nine goals or more was in 2008 during a 10-1 loss to North Dakota.

One of the hallmarks of the Crimson team, coached by Ted Donato ‘91, is starting games quickly. The lone bright spot for Harvard came early with freshman forward Richard Gallant’s unassisted goal just 1:09 into the contest, his third of the season.

Unfortunately for Harvard fans, it was all downhill from there. An already poor first two periods snowballed into an avalanche in the final period for the worst defensive showing in over a decade.

In the remaining 58:59 of the contest, Quinnipiac dominated Harvard. The Bobcats scored two goals in the first and middle periods and buried the Crimson with another five goals to officially end it.

Strong passing and swift rebound recovery fueled Quinnipiac’s charge. The Bobcats punished Harvard for losing pucks in the neutral and defensive zones and letting too many Bobcat forwards float through the crease unguarded.

Even when one of Bobcats’ many shots was deflected or held onto by Harvard junior goaltender Ben Charette, the team was able to pummel the Aurora, Ont. native with many more as the Crimson repeatedly failed to secure and clear saved shots. Quinnipiac ended the game with a 40 to 17 advantage in shots on goal and capitalized on many of its opportunities, as Charette’s .788 save percentage is the lowest he has recorded so far this season.

The Bobcats’ senior forward Victor Czerneckianair and freshman forward Ethan Wyttenbach led their team in scoring, each tallying two goals. Freshman forward Antonin Verreault, with 1 goal and 3 assists, led the team in points.

Though Harvard recovered from its injuries in the game against Brown over the winter break, the team seemed ill-prepared to start up play again in the new year.

A key factor in Harvard’s disappointing performance was the absence of a budding star. Freshman forward Heikki Ruohonen, who has five points for Harvard, is currently playing for Finland in the World Junior Cup. He won Player of the Game in Finland’s 4-3 overtime win against the reigning champion United States while the Crimson played Quinnipiac.

With Finland advancing to the semifinals to play Sweden, Ruohonen will miss Saturday night’s game against Princeton but should be available to play for Harvard come January 9 against Dartmouth.

The Crimson must adapt to the loss to bounce back from the catastrophic start to the new year.

The next three games are crucial for Harvard as it hopes to rebound against Princeton on Jan. 3, Dartmouth on Jan. 9, and BU on Jan. 12. The BU game marks the start of an important four-game homestand. The games all start at 7:00 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.

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