CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - No.19 Harvard men's ice hockey (0-0-1, 0-0-1 ECAC) opens its 2023-24 home schedule with a pair of games at Bright-Landry this weekend. The Crimson welcomes Ivy rival Princeton on Friday at 7:00 p.m. before facing Quinnipiac on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Harvard is coming off a shootout win at Thompson Arena last weekend after a record-breaking 18-round shootout. Both ECAC matchups this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+

WHAT TO KNOW

HOME OPENER

• The Crimson opens its home slate against Princeton. A rematch of last season's ECAC quarter-final matchup, Harvard won both games against the Tigers in the all-ivy matchup by a score of 6-1 on both nights.
• Last season, Harvard finished second in the ECAC regular season behind Quinnipiac and fell to the eventual National Champions in both meetings. 
• Since 2010-2011 Harvard has a 7-3-2 record in the home opener and has won five of its last six. 
• Dating back to last season, Harvard has not lost in six consecutive ECAC conference matchups.  

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION

• Harvard welcomes Princeton and Quinnipiac to Bright-Landry in the first homestand of the season. 
• Both teams start their conference schedules with the trip to Bright-Landry. Princeton has played just one exhibition game to date after defeating the University of Toronto on home ice. 
• No. 8 Quinnipiac comes to Cambridge after already playing seven games this season. The reigning national champions have wins over Maine, New Hampshire, and AIC. In their nationally ranked matchups, Quinnipiac has fallen to Boston College and tied Northeastern.

OPENING NIGHT 

•  Harvard earned the extra point on the road after a 2-1 shootout win over the Big Green. The Crimson lone goal came from Casey Severo who scored his first goal since New Year's Day of last season. 
• The win over Dartmouth marks ten consecutive wins over the Ivy rival dating back to February 1st, 2019. Harvard has outscored Dartmouth 48-20 over that span. 
• Throughout the Ted Donato era, Harvard holds an 11-5-2 record on opening night and is 8-1-2 since 2012 with the only loss coming in overtime.

SHOOTOUT THRILLER

• Jack Bar scored in the 18th round of the shootout last week to win the game for Harvard. The junior defenseman faked a slap shot before wiring a wrist shot blocker side for the win in game one. 
• The 18-round marathon was the longest shootout in NCAA history and just two rounds shy of the NHL record of 20. 
• Derek Mullahy was rock solid for the Crimson between the pipes in game one. The senior made 25 stops in regulation and the three on three frame before not allowing a goal throughout the 18-round shootout. Mullahy was named ECAC First Star of the Night for his performance.  

THE PK UNIT

• The PK unit was tested in the first game of the season after having to kill back-to-back penalties at two different points on Friday. 
• The Crimson unit - backstopped by Mullahy was able to kill off all five Dartmouth power plays and finish the game a perfect 5/5.

BACK AT BRIGHT

• Over the last ten years, Harvard has had great success at Bright-Landry after sporting an 87-31-13 record on home ice. In the past two seasons, the Crimson has gone 26-5-0 in games played at home.

CHASING 300

• Ted Donato currently sits at 298 career wins as he looks to break the 300-win mark in the 2023-24 season.  

NEXT UP
Harvard hits the road to play Colgate and Cornell next weekend in its first doubleheader road trip of the season.