Harvard will be attempting to build on streaks of 12 consecutive wins and 14 games unbeaten when it plays in the ECAC hockey tournament semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y., Friday. But the Crimson will be leaving behind another impressive skein — a 12-0-2 home record, capped by a 4-3 victory over Yale in the quarterfinals Saturday night at Bright-Landry.
Things did not go smoothly for the No. 2-ranked Crimson (24-5-2), who have not lost at home since a 2-1 defeat against Rensselaer Feb. 12, 2016. Harvard had to twice rally from deficits for the second successive night against the Bulldogs (13-15-5), clinching the result with a strong final period that included two late penalty kills, following goals by Tyler Moy and Lewis Zerter-Gossage.
“It wasn’t pretty, it was a grind out there,’’ Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “But this time of year, we’re not concerned with style points. I thought we kept coming, especially in the third, down a goal. The senior class, undefeated at home, was a badge of honor they wanted to carry for the year.’’
This will be the third consecutive semifinals appearance for Harvard and Donato, who improved his 13-season record to 200-185-48.
“I’m more excited for our seniors to be able to finish off a great season here at home,’’ Donato said of his 200th victory. “This group has really come full circle. Their freshman year, we were down – defensemen playing as forwards.
“Maybe at the end of the season I’ll be excited that it’s a milestone. I enjoy what I do and I have a great group of kids and I love the university and, hopefully, there will be more to come.’’
The Crimson penalty kill played a crucial role early, also, as they blanked the Bulldogs for 1:45 of a two-man, shorthanded situation in the first period and capitalized on two power plays.
Yale started strong as Mike Doherty opened the scoring from the right circle off a Ted Hart feed at 1:09. Harvard rallied on power-play goals from Luke Esposito (9:42) and Alexander Kerfoot (15:52). Esposito finished from the edge of the crease off a Sean Malone pass and Kerfoot scored on a one-timer from a tight angle near the right circle off assists from Ryan Donato and Moy. The Bulldogs had squandered chances to break the tie after Jake Horton was penalized for slashing at 10:21 and Ryan Donato for cross checking at 10:36.
“There’s an unwritten rule in hockey, that if you don’t score on the 5 on 3, that usually comes back to bite you,’’ Ted Donato said. “And I think it’s one of those things — you can end up with multiple goals or, if you end up with none, it can swing the momentum a little bit. I think our guys definitely took some momentum from it but Yale was able to bounce back and able to get the lead there.’’
Yale captain John Hayden equalized with a power-play goal at 1:02 of the second period. Both teams then had chances to go ahead. Ryan Donato’s power-play attempt was gloved by Sam Tucker. And Yale’s Robbie DeMontis was stopped by Merrick Madsen on a short-handed breakaway, then Doherty shot ricocheted off the inside of the right post. Yale took a 3-2 lead into the final period as Andrew Gaus stayed on-side and finished off a Doherty pass at 18:27, the play validated by a video review.
Harvard, which had outscored the Bulldogs, 3-0, in the final period of a 6-4 win Friday night, again took control in the final period.
“They’re a very good team and took it up a notch in the third period,’’ Yale coach Keith Allain said.
Moy equalized, going in alone on Tucker off a Malone assist, at 5:46. Zerter-Gossage converted the deciding goal, finishing inside the right post off a Kerfoot feed following a faceoff in the left circle, six seconds into a power play, at 6:36. The Crimson stopped two Yale power plays over a 4:51 span.
Harvard went 3-0-1 against Yale this season, starting its current winning streak after a 1-1 tie with the Bulldogs Jan. 21, and its unbeaten streak (13-0-1) after an 8-4 loss at Dartmouth Jan. 17.
