Beanpot, 1st round: Feast for women, famine for men

After an auspicious start, men lose to Terriers in 2-1 heartbreaker

To true believers, the opening round of this past Monday’s (Feb. 3) Beanpot tournament at the FleetCenter started auspiciously for the Harvard men’s hockey team. Heading into the 51st edition of this storied event, the Crimson pucksters were undefeated in games in which they managed to score first (a perfect 12-0, all told). So, when Kenny Smith ’04 netted the opening goal in the second frame, coach Mark Mazzoleni’s squad appeared not only capable, statistically or otherwise, but poised to upend the reigning Beanpot champs. The Terriers, however, owners of nine of the past 10 Beanpot titles, bucked the Crimson trend by responding with two unanswered goals to take the semifinal contest, 2-1.

With the loss, Harvard drops to 13-7-1 overall, while B.U., who will face Boston College in the championship game on Feb. 10, improves to a 15-10-2 mark.

Following a scoreless opening frame, Harvard struck first at 6:59 in the second period when sophomore Tom Cavanagh pounced at the face-off deep in B.U.’s zone and delivered the puck to Smith. The junior defenseman promptly fired a wrister past Terrier goalie Sean Fields (28 saves) to end the 0-0 stalemate.

The Icedogs got on the board at 11:19 in the second frame when defenseman Bryan Miller dazzled the FleetCenter crowd with a nifty move. Sliding the puck between the legs of Noah Welch ’05 on the breakaway, Miller beat Harvard netminder Dov Grumet-Morris ’05 (32 saves) with a high shot to the left side to tie the game at 1.

In the final period, the Crimson offense created some great looks – firing a game-high 32 shots in the third period alone – but it was B.U. who broke the standstill when at 13:21 Terrier David Kelma zipped a quick pass to team captain Freddy Meyer right off the draw. Meyer netted the game-winner past a screened Grumet-Morris. Despite inspired play from Harvard in the final minutes, Fields made a series of key saves to secure the B.U. victory.

Harvard travels to Rensselaer on Friday (Feb. 7) for a 7 p.m. game at Houston Fieldhouse, before facing Northeastern in the consolation game of the Beanpot on Feb. 10 at 5 p.m.

Women mortify B.U. in 7-0 Beanpot blowout

The top-ranked Harvard women’s hockey team busted opened the 25th annual Beanpot with a 7-0 shutout of Boston University this past Tuesday night (Feb. 4) at the Bright Hockey Center. With the win, the Crimson advance to the finals against Boston College on Feb. 11, when Harvard will look to capture its fifth straight title as the “Best in Boston.”

In a contest that looked more like a game of keep-away than college hockey, the No. 1 Crimson overwhelmed the Terriers – who, to be fair, are still a club team awaiting varsity sponsorship – for 60 solid minutes. With victory never in doubt, coach Katey Stone activated the entire roster during the duration of the game. All told, Harvard tallied two goals in the opening period, four in the second, and an insurance goal in the final stanza, while the Crimson discharged 43 total shots to B.U.’s 6.

Crimson goalie Ali Boe ’06 made four saves for Harvard, while a very busy Amy Levine made 11 saves for the Terriers through two periods. Terrier teammate Jennifer Whitten posted one save in the final period.

Six minutes into the opening period, senior Pamela Van Reesema notched an unassisted goal to give Harvard the 1-0 edge. Right winger Jaclyn Pitushka ’06, who netted two goals and an assist in the win, put the Crimson up 2-0 off a feed from Sarah Holbrook ’05 to close out the first period.

Mina Pell ’04, Ali Crum ’05, Pitushka, and Holbrook all tallied goals in the second to build the lead to 6-0. At 6:37 of the third period, Emily Haigh ’05 notched the game’s final goal.

Harvard hosts No. 4 Dartmouth on Friday (Feb. 7) at 7 p.m. and Vermont on Saturday (Feb. 8) at 4 p.m., before the Beanpot showdown with B.C.