CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Riding a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) Harvard men's ice hockey (12-7-2, 9-5-2 ECAC Hockey) opens the 69th Beanpot against red-hot Boston University (14-10-3, 10-6-3 ECAC Hockey) on Monday night (Feb. 7) at TD Garden. BU has won four in a row and eight of its last nine games to surge into third place in Hockey East. 

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Harvard Game Notes

What to Know
Harvard and BU will meet for the 48th time at the Beanpot, with Harvard winning the last meeting (W, 5-2) in the consolation game of the 2019 Beanpot. BU has an 81-70-7 edge in the all-time series against Harvard, and is 29-18 against the Crimson at the Beanpot.

The Last Game
On Friday night (Feb. 4) against Dartmouth, senior forward Jack Donato had a goal and an assist, and first-year forward Matthew Coronato scored his third goal in as many games to lead Harvard to a 3-1 win over Dartmouth. The Crimson outshot the Big Green 34-14 for the game. Junior defenseman Henry Thrun added two assists, and junior goaltender Mitchell Gibson made 13 saves to help Harvard earn the win.

The Last Harvard-BU Meeting
On Dec. 3, 2019 at Agganis Arena, an early deficit was too much to overcome for Harvard, which fell, 5-2, to Boston University. BU outshot Harvard 33-25 for the night, with goaltender Cameron Gornet making 28 saves for the Crimson. Reilly Walsh (SHG) and Jack Drury scored goals for Harvard,
 
The Last Harvard-BU Beanpot Meeting
On Feb. 11, 2019, Frederic Gregoire scored twice to help lead Harvard to a 5-2 win over BU in the Beanpot consolation game. Defensemen Reilly Walsh and John Marino each recorded two assists, and Jack Badini, Adam Fox, and R.J. Murphy (first career goal) each scored to lead the Crimson attack. For Fox, the goal was his 100th career point, becoming the first defenseman in program history to reach that milestone in his junior season.

What Else To Know
• Sophomore Alex Laferriere recorded his team leading 11th goal of the season at Colgate last Friday, and on Jan. 21, had his third mulitple-goal game of the season, scoring a pair in a win over St. Lawrence. He was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Month for January. On Nov. 6 against Colgate, he recorded Harvard's first four-goal game since Ryan Donato '19 scored four on Feb. 10, 2017.

• Harvard's recent success has been in large part because of Laferriere's new line (Fr. LW Alex Gaffney-Jr. C John Farinacci-So. RW Alex Laferriere) – formed on Jan. 21. Those three played on the same line for the New Jersey Colonials (AAA 13U) together growing up in the same area of New Jersey. They have accounted for nine goals in seven games since being paired together.

• Harvard's early season success can be attributed to a potent offensive attack (3.38 goals per game, 11th, NCAA) and a solid defensive corps (2.33 goals allowed per game, 14th NCAA). Harvard has allowed more than 3 goals in a game just twice all season, while scoring 4 or more goals in a game on 10 occasions this season (10-0-0).

• Harvard has scored first in 13 of 21 contests this year (9-3-1 in those games) and is outscoring teams 28-13 in the first period of games this season. Harvard has outscored teams 7-0 in the third period of the last four contests.

Scouting BU
• BU has found its offensive stride, keying its recent successful run of eight wins in nine games. In that span, the Terriers have averaged 4.33 goals per game. Junior forward Robert Mastrosimone, a teammate of Nick Abruzzese on the Chicago Steel (USHL), leads the team in scoring with 21 points (11-10-21) and has five goals in his last six games. Junior forward Wilmer Skoog (9-11-20) and junior defenseman Domenick Fensore (4-16-20) are also top offfensive threats. In net, replacing Olympic bound Drew Commesso (U.S.) was Vinny Duplessis, who recorded 27 saves in a shutout against Maine on Friday night.

At the Helm
Following success as a player, Harvard head coach Ted Donato has compiled a long list of accomplishments as head coach of the Crimson. The former Harvard captain has guided Harvard to four ECAC Hockey titles and three Ivy League championships, claimed six NCAA Tournament berths, coached 13 All-Americans and 17 National Hockey Leaguers. Donato, who won an NCAA Championship as a Harvard player in 1989 and enjoyed a 13-year NHL career, has represented Team USA at the World Junior Championships, multiple World Championships, and was the leading scorer of the 1992 Olympic Team in Albertville, France.
 
Up Next
Harvard will host Yale at Bright-Landry Hockey Center on Friday night (Feb. 11) at 7 p.m. on NESN.