CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 9/9 Harvard (10-4-1, 8-2-0 ECACH) plays its first home series since November when it hosts Clarkson (9-8-3, 3-3-2 ECACH) and St. Lawrence (10-9-0, 5-3-0 ECACH) at Bright-Landry Hockey Center this weekend, the first meeting of the year between Harvard and the North County pair. Harvard is coming off a road split against Princeton (W, 4-3 OT) and No. 2/3 Quinnipiac (L, 4-1). Trailing 3-0 with less than 10 minutes to play at Princeton on Friday night, Harvard rallied for a dramatic comeback victory capped off by
Alex Laferriere's OT goal with 27.9 left in the extra frame.
Matthew Coronato's two third period goals keyed the comeback.
WHAT TO KNOW
- After a slow start to the season, Clarkson has played well since early November, with a 7-2-3 record since Nov. 5. Sophomore forward Ayton Martino (4-18-22) is enjoying a strong campaign, leading the team in scoring. On defense, Noah Beck (5-12-17), a Second Team All-ECAC Hockey selection last year, leads the way. In net, junior Ethan Haider (9-8-2, 2.43, .909) has made 19 of 20 starts. St. Lawrence is nearing its win total (11) from all last season and has also played well of late at 5-2 in its last seven games. First-year forward Tyler Cristall (2-8-10) and junior defenseman (6-7-13) lead the way in scoring. Fifth-year Emil Zetterquist (10-10-0, 2.55, .907) has started all 20 games in net.
- Harvard has played five overtime contests in 15 games and is tied for second in nation with three (3-on-3) overtime wins (at RPI - Alex Gaffney GWG, at Cornell - Sean Farrell GWG, at Princeton - Alex Laferriere GWG). Most recently on Friday night at Princeton, Laferriere scored with 27.9 remaining to cap a comeback from a 3-0 deficit, Harvard's first three-goal comeback since ince March 11, 2022, when the Crimson rallied from down 3-0 to beat RPI, 4-3, in OT, in an ECAC Hockey quarterfinal contest.
- Sophomore forward Matthew Coronato and junior forward Sean Farrell have combined form a dynamic duo on the top line for the Crimson. Farrell leads Harvard in scoring with 22 points (7-15-22) while Coronato has 20 points (9-10-19) in that span. Farrell is fourth in college hockey with an average of 1.47 points per game, while Coronato is 12th in the nation with 1.27 points per contest.
- First-year forward Joe Miller (7-5-12) leads all ECAC Hockey first-years in goal scoring, and has been red hot of late, with nine points (6-3-9) in his last 10 games.
- Starting goaltender Mitchell Gibson (7-3-1, 2.22, .921) has been one of the nation's best in net and was named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List this week. He entered the year as one of the most experienced goaltenders in the nation and he currently has a career 36-21-5 mark in 63 games played, including a 2.33 GAA and .918 Save %. Gibson led Harvard's late season run in 2021-22, notching a career best 47 saves in the team's ECAC Hockey title game win against Quinnipiac.
UP NEXT
- Harvard hits the road next weekend to take on Yale and Brown in a road ECAC Hockey series on Jan. 20-21. Both games will air on ESPN+.
