HANOVER, NH. – No. 17/13 Men's Ice Hockey defeated Dartmouth 2-1 in an 18-round shootout on Friday evening.
Jack Bar scored the game-winner in the 18
th round after faking a slap shot and firing a shot that beat Cooper Black blocker side.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Harvard got its first power-play of the year less than a minute into the game after Tucker McRae took a tripping penalty. The Crimson was unable to convert on its first couple of chances on the man advantage but had two quality looks from first-year
Ben MacDonald and sophomore
Marek Hejduk.
MacDonald had yet another quality scoring chance after he and
Ryan Fine forced a turnover below the dots. Fine was able to strip the puck from a Big Green defender and found MacDonald who was all alone in the slot but the Massachusetts native couldn't beat Cooper Black.
Derek Mullahy was relatively untested throughout the first half of the opening period as the senior made his first stop of the game with just under ten minutes to play in the first. Mullahy was stellar in the second-half of the first period after Dartmouth started to generate some momentum. After Mullahy made a flurry of saves late in the first period he ended the opening frame with seven saves.
Opening the second period, Harvard was able to kill off an early holding call on
Matthew Morden before having to kill yet another penalty after
Philip Tresca was called for boarding. The Crimson PK unit successfully killed both penalties.
Halfway through the second period,
Cam Johnson was able to slip past a Dartmouth defender along the wall to begin some offensive pressure for the Crimson. Eventually, the puck found
Ryan Healey who walked down the wall and put the puck behind the net for
Cam Johnson. Johnson who found
Casey Severo crashing the net. Severo flipped it over Black for the first goal of the game.
Johnson registered his first career point on the assist while the Severo tally was his first since New Year's Day against Northeastern last season.
Mullahy had to make a flurry of stops as time winded down in the second period but none bigger than a kick save on a 2-1 to protect the one-goal advantage. After two periods, shots were tied at 18 apiece as both goalies had to be sharp at times.
For the second consecutive period, Harvard was forced to kill off a pair of early penalties after a holding call and a bench minor for too many men. The Crimson was able to kill off both penalties to remain perfect on the PK through five opportunities.
Dartmouth finally beat Mullahy after the netminder had to make multiple stops from in tight. Braiden Dorfman was able to jam a loose puck home after some chaos in the crease.
Shortly after the game-tying goal,
Cam Johnson forced a turnover in his own zone and was sent on a partial break. Looking to regain the lead, Johnson was tripped while trying to cut towards the net leading to another power-play for Harvard.
Michael Callow had the best look on the man advantage after deflecting a puck just wide.
Regulation solved nothing as the Ivy foes went to overtime tied at one apiece. Phil Tresca hit the post with time winding down in the 3-3 overtime period.
With nothing decided in the extra frame, the opening game of the 2023-24 season went to a shootout. In wild fashion, the shootout lasted eighteen rounds until
Jack Bar faked a slap shot and wired a snapshot blocker side to give the Crimson a win on opening night.
Mullahy stood tall when he needed to after saving sixteen of eighteen Dartmouth attempts with two shots missing the net.
QUICK NOTES
- Win the win tonight, Harvard has won ten consecutive games against Dartmouth dating back to Feb.1, 2019.
- Ted Donato improved to 12-5-2 on opening night throughout his tenure and now sits at 299 career wins.
- Derek Mullahy earned ECAC First Star of the night for his efforts in the win.
NEXT UP
Harvard returns to Bright-Landry for its home opener against Princeton at 7:00 p.m. next Friday before hosting Quinnipiac at 7:00 p.m. in a big matchup on Saturday night. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
