Brian SullivanWas it Mike Willemsen’s nifty goal with nary four minutes to play in the second period, giving Clarkson a 3-1 lead, that put upstart Dartmouth to rest? Oh, no, it was actually Chris D’Alvise’s deke at 5:05 of the third, to put the Knights up 4-2, that actually sealed it. Think again. The Big Green … Read more
How about that; who in his right mind ever would’ve predicted that for all the parity and competition in the league this year, only one series of eight would go to a third game? Not only that, but there was only one upset in the first two rounds as well, when Quinnipiac upended Cornell at … Read more
Second round. Quarterfinals, to be more precise, and a third of the league is done for the season. Farewell and happy trails to Rensselaer, Yale, Brown and Union. See you again in October. Everyone knows they deserved better, but this is the ECACHL, and that means you have to earn it every single game. Which … Read more
Following Harvard’s brutal 2-1 victory over Yale on Saturday night, victorious goaltender Justin Tobe said, “I’ve been waiting for my chance all year.” The senior netminder may as well have been speaking for his entire team. The Crimson ended Yale’s season in the minimum two games at the Bright Hockey Center, and Tobe surrendered only … Read more
Friday night on the Bright Hockey Center’s ice, revenge was served-cold. The Crimson responded to a 2-0 first-period deficit with five unanswered goals, burying the Bulldogs 5-2 in the first game of the ECACHL Tournament’s first round. It was Harvard’s first victory over Yale this season, having lost each of the two regular-season meetings with … Read more
There’s nothing more to say about the regular season; bygones are bygones and now it’s playoffs all the way. All the coaching cliches have come out. It’s time for the ever-popular “lower-body injuries,” that it’s anyone’s game, and goodness knows no team holds any specific advantage over another any more. Every opponent is rife with … Read more
The Harvard Crimson rode strong defense, timely scoring and solid goaltending to victory on Saturday night, defeating visiting Cornell 3-1. The Crimson gained a season split with their nemesis, and now look ahead to hosting next week’s first-round series against Yale. “I’m happy for our seniors to get out of their last regular season game … Read more
Sometimes numbers are just numbers, worth less than the paper they’re printed on. But sometimes they’re more. Numbers can become patterns, and patterns on occasion can signify real-life trends and issues. Rarely, the documented trends can become so conspicuous as to weigh on the minds and performances of those that the numbers were meant to … Read more
From Canton to Cambridge, and the gorges to the Garden State, everyone is singing the same tune: it’s playoff time in the ECACHL. With one weekend left, the picture is moderately clearer than it was at this point last week. However, pretty much everyone still has something tangible to play for in this final week … Read more
All over the league, it’s the same story and the same mindset: eight points left, get ’em while they’re hot. And for good reason, no one really has much of anything wrapped up. St. Lawrence and Clarkson will have home ice, at least, and Quinnipiac looks good for it too — Rensselaer is the only … Read more
While Boston University and Boston College are pretty safe bets in the Beanpot, the Vegas line is a push every time Harvard and Northeastern square off. The two programs met for the ninth consecutive year in this 55th edition of the midwinter tournament, and despite the unavailability of their top three goal-scorers, the Huskies defeated … Read more
Aaaand here they come, around the bend and down the stretch! Saints in the lead by a nose, but the Bobcats are a half-step back. Golden Knights are nipping at the ‘Cats tails, and the Red and Green are neck-and-neck for fourth. It’s like rush hour out there, all jammed between the 23- and 12-point … Read more
Was this to be the year for Harvard at the Beanpot? No, came Monday’s result, and Brian Sullivan went looking for answers.
The Beanpot Tournament and league stretch run loom large for Harvard. But on the backs of goaltender Kyle Richter, forward Alex Meintel, and an incandescent power play, the gauntlet isn’t half as menacing anymore to the streaking Crimson. Tweny-four hours after defeating Union on the strength of a three-for-six power play, Harvard again converted on … Read more
After suffering two withering defeats and a dominant but disappointing tie, the Crimson were in no mood to mess around. Harvard’s power play scored the first three goals of the game and junior Alex Meintel registered a hat trick en route to a 5-2 victory over Union on Friday night. The win snapped a three-game … Read more
Just for something a little bit different, the Hosts decided to show up and throw their weight around this week. The home sides went 5-4-2 for only their third victorious column update of the season. St. Lawrence (2-0), Colgate (1-0) and Cornell (1-0) were perfect on friendly ice, while Clarkson (1-0-1) and Quinnipiac (0-0-1) escaped … Read more
Are you kidding me? Only five weeks of regular-season games left already? And yeah, it’s a segue into the predictable fact that through 11 weeks of full or partial ECACHL competition and eight columns masterfully penned by yours truly, the home side has only come out ahead twice. This week, however … is no different. … Read more
Hey, if you’re getting tired of this, just let me know, because I still find it fascinating The Hosts and Visitors played to a draw last weekend, 4-4-2. St. Lawrence (2-0) and Quinnipiac (1-0) were perfect on home ice, and Clarkson managed two 1-1 ties. Yale, Union, RPI and Quinnipiac each won their only road … Read more
Pattern recognition. It’s a good thing. Hosts went 2-5-0 this week. Back in the habit, I suppose. Rensselaer dropped its pair to Harvard and Dartmouth, while Princeton and Quinnipiac each went 0-1-0 on home ice. Union (beat Dartmouth, fell to Harvard) and Yale (gritty victory over Brown) represented the Hosts adequately. Harvard led the Visitors … Read more
Cliché New Year’s Resolution throwaway line: this year, I’ll pay better attention to the calendar. I made a rookie mistake, not realizing that my previous column was to be the last before the break. Hence, I lost the opportunity to make up valuable ground in my season’s predictions, which, to be fair, no one but … Read more