BOSTON -- Two points mean the same at every point in the college hockey season, but they’re especially important at this crucial time of the year when teams are looking to build consistency as the second half begins in earnest.
Harvard feels it may have let a few slip as it entered the semester break with a 2-3-2 mark in ECAC play. But there’s plenty of opportunity to make a run during the busy two months of hockey that lie ahead, especially with all league games until March aside from Tuesday’s game with Boston University and the Beanpot on the first two Mondays of February.
Friday’s 3-2 overtime win over RPI at Bright-Landry Hockey Center was a good start, giving the Crimson two crucial points to move to .500 in the league as well as some to learn.
“I thought we started the game pretty well, but I don’t think the compete level was consistent enough for us to be able to separate,” Harvard head coach Ted Donato said. “(RPI) worked hard, blocked shots, and their goalie (freshman Owen Savory) made some big saves, but we talked after the game about having a higher standard for ourselves as to how we’re going to compete for 60 minutes.
“I’m happy that our guys stayed with it and we got a bounce at the end. That’s a big two points for us.”
Harvard held a 43-26 shot advantage in the game, but a two-goal lead in the first period was almost not enough as it took a redirection from freshman Casey Dornbach ― his second point of the game after setting up captain and linemate Lewis Zerter-Gossage’s opening goal ― at the 2:58 mark of overtime and beating Savory at the end of a 40-save effort to earn the win.
While the Crimson just rose to .500 in league play and 6-4-2 overall with a second consecutive win, the play of Dornbach and freshman classmates like U.S. World Junior representative Jack Drury, former Dexter School defenseman Jack Rathbone (West Roxbury, Mass.), and others have been vital to the team’s success.
In fact, no freshman in all of college hockey has been more productive than Dornbach, who concluded his junior career as the leading scorer for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars last season. He averages a nation-leading 1.5 points through his first 12 collegiate games, including three goals and 15 assists; the latter mark is tied for the national lead with a teammate in junior defenseman Adam Fox.
“It's definitely a luxury to play with someone that you can trust will hit you once you get into the zone,” Zerter-Gossage said. “I think he and (sophomore Henry Bowlby) have a mix of speed and hockey sense that make it easy for a center to play with. Both of them had really good games tonight, and I think we were depended on to get those goals.”
Those attributes were shown on both scoring plays for the first-time line combination that was put together in the absence of Drury, who skated between the Edina, Minn., natives Dornbach and Bowlby during seven of Harvard’s first 11 games.
Dornbach streaked up the left side and whipped a perfect backhand pass through the slot to Zerter-Gossage, allowing the senior from Montreal to bury his team-leading ninth goal of the season 10:03 into the first period.
After freshman Baker Shore scored his second of the season to give the Crimson a two-goal lead after one period and the visitors ultimately tied the game less than a minute into the third, Roles reversed on the game-winning goal as Zerter-Gossage shot Bowlby’s short feed on net and Dornbach’s skate redirected the rebound home.
Closing out games can be a challenge for teams that so heavily rely on freshmen, but the momentum a win like this can provide is important entering the stretch run and so, too, is that little bit of chemistry between linemates in creating winning plays.
“I was just trying to get to the net because I knew ‘Goose’ was going to shoot it if he got to the slot, and luckily it went in,” Dornbach said. “He’s really helped us freshmen feel comfortable, showing us the ropes on and off the ice, and how hard you have to work to win and be successful at this level. His skillset makes it easy to play with, and we’re lucky to have had some chemistry so far.”
Throughout the season, Dornbach has made many of his plays at the most opportune times in games as he assisted on four of the Crimson’s first five game-winning goals before scoring one on Friday. In addition, nine of his helpers have come on the power play.
“Casey has been a guy who has made a lot of plays for us and continues to make important plays whether it's on the power play or 5-on-5,” said Donato. “That was a big goal for us, one that we needed. It looked like he had some jump in the overtime and created space for himself a couple of times. We'll need some more guys pulling on the rope for us to have success, but Casey made some big plays again tonight.”
The Crimson have plenty of offensive talent, but it’s putting it all together and finding ways to continue to win games that will allow them to break away from hovering around .500.
Three of the first four losses were by a single goal and the other by two, so the 15th-year head coach is hoping some of those early opportunities lost can turn around now. After all, it’s all about the finish.
“We haven't gotten off to the kind of start we want in the league, but we've played some real good hockey and haven't been rewarded at times,” Donato said. “That usually will continue to even out if you continue to play hard. … A couple teams on top (Yale and Quinnipiac) have gotten off to great starts, but everybody else is kind of stuck with four points separating 10th place from third, so it was a big two points for us as we're looking to put a few together here to get back into a spot where we can finish at the top.”
