Despite the darkness of NHL arenas around the country and the media hooplah surrounding college football, the underground realm of Division I men’s ice hockey remains the most exciting and unpredictable venue available in all of American sports. Starved NHL fans need not look to the local bingo tournament for entertainment — the Ivy League alone can provide enough edge-of-your seat hockey action to make one easily forget that elusive B10. And with brawls erupting on both the basketball court and the football field these days, it appears as if everybody just wants to be more like hockey.
Here’s a quick glance at Saturday’s post-Turkey Day Ivy hockey action:
Harvard 3, Clarkson 2
In this battle of perennial ECACHL powers, the Crimson stole a tight game from the Golden Knights as senior center Tom Cavanagh recorded three points and the game-winning goal at Cheel Arena in Potsdam, N.Y. With the victory, Harvard (5-3-1, 3-3-1 ECACHL) sealed a weekend split and recorded its fifth win in its last six outings. In this rematch of last season’s ECACHL Tournament Championship game, the Crimson rode the play of sophomore goaltender Justin Tobe, who made 27 saves in his first ever start for Harvard.
The Golden Knights (3-9-1, 1-5-1) fell behind early when Harvard junior Charlie Johnson scored a rebound goal only 5:34 into the game. Leading 2-0 at the onset of the third period, the Crimson watched its lead evaporate as Clarkson netted two goals only 31 seconds apart. However, Cavanagh preserved the victory for Harvard with a low shot at the 7:49 mark of the third that beat goaltender Dustin Traylen and sent the Golden Knights to their third straight loss.
Yale 7, Princeton 1
The Bulldogs appeared hungry for some Thanksgiving leftovers on Saturday as they devoured a hapless Princeton squad at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn. Yale goaltender Matt Modelski stopped 36 shots — including 16 in the first period — to keep the Tigers (4-5-1, 4-4-0 ECACHL) off the board and insure the Bulldogs’ (1-9-0, 1-7-0) first victory of the season. Yale junior Joe Zappala led his once-beleaguered squad in scoring with two goals and an assist and sophomore Brad Mills added a goal and three assists.
Despite the virtually even shot count (Yale led, 38-37), the Bulldogs solved Princeton netminder Eric Leroux early and often while Modelski methodically gobbled up the Tigers’ scoring chances. Yale opened up a 2-0 lead in the first period behind scores from Zappala and junior Christian Jensen and poured on four more unanswered goals before Princeton could respond. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the win could not uproot the squad from its current last-place spot in the ECACHL standings.
Brown 4, St. Lawrence 1
The Bears captured their third straight victory Saturday in Canton, N.Y. despite being out-shot by the Saints, 44-24. Brown rookie goaltender Adam D’Alba stopped 43 shots en route to his third win of the season and the Bears (4-4-1, 3-3-1 ECACHL) climbed into a logjam at the top of the ECACHL standings with the victory.
The Saints (7-7-1, 3-4-0) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period when junior winger T.J. Trevelyan scored his eighth goal of the season on a power play just over five minutes into the game. However, the early score would be the culmination of St. Lawrence’s offensive output as the Bears buried three goals in the third period to seal the win. Brown sophomores Sean Dersch and Brian Ihnacak each netted two goals.
Dartmouth 0, No. 10 Maine 0
In non-conference action Saturday, both the Green (4-4-1, 3-3-0) and the Black Bears (9-6-1, 5-3-0 Hockey East) failed to record a goal in the first scoreless contest ever played at Dartmouth’s Thompson Arena. Black Bears goaltender Jimmy Howard made 33 saves — including a point-blank opportunity by Dartmouth’s Darcy Marr in overtime — and Green netminder Dan Yacey stopped 22 shots.
Archived article by Kyle Sheahen
Sun Assistant Sports Editor