CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- No. 7/7 Harvard (24-7-2, 18-4-0 ECAC Hockey), the No. 2 seed in the Bridgeport Regional, will make its 27th NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend, qualifying with an at-large bid after finishing the regular season seventh in the Pairwise rankings. The Crimson will take on No. 8/8 Ohio State (20-15-3, 11-11-2 Big Ten) which also earned its NCAA bid as an at large selection after placing ninth in the Pairwise and fourth in the Big Ten. Harvard and Ohio State will meet for the just the second time in the history of both programs (Ohio State won the lone previous game, 4-2 in 2007) in the Ohio Hockey Classic. Harvard and Ohio State will play at 2 p.m. on Friday (March 24) on ESPNU.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Harvard returns to the NCAA Tournament for the 27th time in program history and the sixth time (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023) in its last seven completed seasons (discounting 2019-20 and 2020-21), as well as the eighth time under head coach Ted Donato (in 19 seasons since 2004-05). The Crimson made its longest run in the Donato era in 2016-17, when Harvard reached its 13th Frozen Four in program history, falling to eventual national champion Minnesota-Duluth, 2-1, on April 6, 2017 in Chicago. Donato was part of Harvard's lone NCAA title winning team in 1989 as a sophomore - the Crimson defeated Minnesota, 4-3 (OT) in St. Paul, Minn. on April 1, 1989, with Donato earning Most Outstanding Player honors. Harvard has advanced to the Frozen Four 13 times in program history (1955, 1957, 1958, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1983*, 1986*, 1987*, 1989*, 1994, 2017; *advanced to championship).
- Harvard had one of its best seasons in the last three decades, reaching the 24-win mark for the third time since the 1993-94 season. The Crimson were in the top 10 of the national polls for virtually the entire season, starting the year at 7-0-0 in its first seven games, its best start since the 1988-89 season. Harvard finished 9-1-0 against Ivy League teams, placed second in ECAC Hockey at 18-4-0, its highest finish since 2016-17, and reached the Beanpot final for the first time since 2016-17. For the second consecutive year, Harvard played in the ECAC Hockey Tournament final. At 16-5-0 (.750) since Christmas, Harvard has the fourth-best record of all teams in the NCAA Tournament since Dec. 25. Most notably, Harvard had its fair share of late-game magic, winning seven games in overtime (7-1-2 in games that went to OT).
- Harvard has 16 players on its current roster that have competed in an NCAA Tournament game between appearances in 2019 and 2022. As first-years, current seniors Wyllum Deveaux and Baker Shore were in the lineup in against UMass (L, 4-0) in March 2019. Last year, again as a No. 4 seed, Harvard took on No. 1 overall seed Minnesota State in a close 4-3 defeat. Sean Farrell (goal, assist) and Alex Laferriere (two assists), Alex Gaffney (goal), and Mitchell Gibson (36 saves) had important roles in that contest.
- Sean Farrell was named one of 10 finalists for the 2023 Hobey Baker Award this week. Farrell is Harvard's 16th Hobey Baker Award Top 10 finalist in program history. Farrell leads the Crimson in scoring with 52 points (20 goals, 32 assists) in 33 games played. The ECAC Hockey and Ivy League Player of the Year, and a two-time ECAC Hockey Player of the Month selection, Farrell is just the third Harvard skater in the last 20 years to top 50 points, joining Jimmy Vesey (32-26-58 in 2014-15) and Dominic Moore (24-27-51 in 2002-03). He is second in the nation in per game scoring with an average of 1.58 points per contest, and second in the nation averaging an 0.97 assists per contest. Harvard has had four winners of the Hobey Baker Award (Mark Fusco, 1983; Scott Fusco, 1986, Lane MacDonald, 1989; and Jimmy Vesey, 2016).
- Harvard is the only team in the nation that has three 20-goal scorers, with Alex Laferriere (21 goals), Sean Farrell (20 goals), and Matthew Coronato (20 goals) all reaching that milestone.
UP NEXT
The winner of the Harvard-Ohio State game will advance to the NCAA Bridgeport Regional Final against the winner of Quinnipiac-Merrimack. That game will air on Sunday, March 26 at 4 pm. On ESPN2.
