Harvard Men’s Hockey Crashes Out of ECAC Playoffs in 4-1 Loss to Cornell

Cornell University (12-6-4) only needed the minimum in the best-of-three ECAC quarterfinal series to send the Harvard men’s hockey team (6-10-6) packing on Saturday, as the Crimson fell 4-1 to the Big Red.

Harvard’s elimination came following a tough loss to the second-seeded Cornell on Friday, in which the Crimson dropped game one by a score of 4-3, despite a valiant comeback attempt in the third quarter.

Saturday’s matchup proved to be a case of déjà vu for the Crimson from Friday, as their third period comeback attempt fell short after the Big Red controlled the first 40 minutes of play.

Cornell held a 2-0 lead heading into the third period, but it was cut in half by junior captain Ian Moore, who buried the puck after a pass from sophomore defenseman Ryan Healey. But it was too little too late for Harvard, as it allowed two empty net goals in the final minute of play, cementing an end to a disappointing season.

Cornell dominated the first two periods in both games of the series, outscoring Harvard 6-1. In each game the Crimson offensive did enough to make things interesting, but could not manage to bring Harvard even.

This season fell far short of the Crimson’s previous one, where they had a regular season record of 24-8-2, and a ECAC record of 18-4-0. Head Coach Ted Donato ’91 led the team to the ECAC championship, where they fell to Colgate. The team also qualified for the NCAA tournament, where it fell in the regional semifinals to Ohio State.

Despite a season to forget, the future is bright for Harvard. It is only losing three seniors, ensuring that a large part of the team’s core will return for another season, along with a talented freshman class.

This story will be updated.

—Staff writer Owen Butler can be reached at owen.butler@thecrimson.com.