CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Men's Hockey (2-3-1, 2-2-1 ECAC) opens the Friendship Four with Notre Dame on Friday at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It's first trip to Europe, the Crimson will play Friday and Saturday before returning home. 
 
PUCK DROP

• The Crimson opens the tournament with Notre Dame at 2:00 p.m. ET on Friday with an opponent and time on Saturday yet to be determined. 
• Depending on the outcome, Harvard could play Boston University or Merrimack on Saturday to close the trip. 
• All Friendship Four games will be available on ESPN+, NESN, and TSN+ in Canada.  

LAST TIME OUT

• The Crimson dropped a 5-3 decision to No. 20 UMass on the road last Friday. 
• Its first non-conference game of the season, Harvard led 2-1 to start the third period before UMass potted four goals in the final twenty. 
• Marek Hejduk, Mick Thompson, and Joe Miller all scored for the Crimson. 
• Hejduk now has two goals in his last three games. 
• Philip Tresca picked up his first point of the season on Joe Miller's second tally of the year.  

LOOKING BACK 

• Harvard will play Notre Dame for the first time in nine years when the puck drops on Friday. 
• The Crimson skated to a 4-1 win at Compton Family Ice Arena in 2015. 
• The victory over the Irish nearly a decade ago was the first meeting between the two in 37 years. 
• Harvard leads the all-time series 6-2. 

AMONG THE NATIONS BEST ROOKIES 

• Mick Thompson has added seven points in his first six games in a Crimson uniform. 
• Scoring the overtime winner against Princeton and finding the back of the net against UMass, the rookie currently has 1.17 PPG. 
• Good for sixth in the nation among first-years, Thompson also is in the top-25 among all players in college hockey. 
• The Mississauga, Ont. Native has points in four of six games this season with two-point performances against both Princeton and Quinnipiac.  

100 CAREER GAMES 

• LA King, Alex Laferriere played in his 100^th career NHL game last weekend. 
• He becomes the 19^th Crimson Alum to suit up in at least 100 NHL games.   

ECAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 

• Mason Langenbrunner picked up the second consecutive weekly honor for the Crimson after being named ECAC Defender of the Week on Nov. 18. 
• With goals in back-to-back games against Colgate and Cornell, Langenbrunner became the first Crimson d-man to score goals in back-to-back games since Ryan Healey did against Brown and Yale last January. 
• Aku Koskenvuo earned ECAC Mac Goaltender of the Week on Nov. 11 after stopping 41 of 44 shots over the weekend against Princeton and Quinnipiac. 
• The Espoo, Finland native recorded his third career shutout and his first since the first round of the ECAC playoffs last season. 
• The shutout over the Bobcats was the first time they had shut out on home ice since 2022.  

THE NEW KIDS

• Justin Solovey, Lucas St. Louis, and Mick Thompson have been great additions to the Crimson offense this season as the trio has combined for 11 points over the first six games of the season. 
• All three rookies added their first career goals in the Princeton – Quinnipiac weekend.
• Harvard is the fifth youngest team in the country, with an average age of 21.3 as of Oct. 1.

RANKED CRIMSON 

• For the first time since the beginning of last season, Harvard made its first appearance in the weekly national rankings on Nov. 11. 
• Picking up a win over No. 15 Quinnipiac, Harvard checked in at No. 20 on the week 7 USCHO poll while coming in at No. 19 on the USA Hockey Coaches poll.  

A BUSY PRESEASON

• The Crimson began the preseason with games against the U.S. NTDP and No. 3 Boston University.
• Hosting the U.S. NTDP on Oct. 18, the Crimson fell behind 3-1 heading into the third period.
• Mick Thompson, Cameron Johnson, Kyle Aucoin, and Justin Solovey all scored in the third to give Harvard a 5-4 comeback win.
• First-years Mick Thompson, Lucas St. Louis, and Justin Solovey combined for five points in the third period; Thompson pulled Harvard within one, Solovey netted the game-winner, and St. Louis added three assists.
• The Crimson then skated to a 2-2 tie with the nationally ranked Terriers on Saturday.
• Harvard scored the first two goals after Justin Solovey netted a breakaway goal and Lucas St. Louis added a power-play marker.
• Aku Koskenvuo was solid in goal, making 31 saves against the Terriers. 

LEADERSHIP GROUP

• Last season's captains Ian Moore and Zakary Karpa return, joined by Jack Bar in the leadership group.
• Seniors Karpa (92), Moore (96), and Bar (98) are all approaching 100 career games in a Crimson uniform.
•  Newport Beach, Calif. native Karpa added four goals and four assists in 31 games last season.
• Moore, a third-round selection by the Anaheim Ducks, netted a career-high three goals last season and added three goals and five assists in 21 games. Moore scored the overtime winner against Yale at Bright-Landry and the game-winning goal against Princeton in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.
• A native of Newmarket, Ont., Bar added one goal and five assists in 27 games while leading the team in blocked shots. 

PRESEASON POLL

• Harvard finished sixth in the ECAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
•  Cornell (120 points) finished in first with 10 first-place votes, while Quinnipiac (111 points) picked up two first-place votes to finish second.
•  Harvard (73 points) follows Cornell, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth (93 points), Clarkson (82 points), and Colgate (75 points) while ranking above St. Lawrence (66 points). 

RETURNING TO THE CRIMSON

• The Crimson returns 99% of its goal scorers and 98% of its points from last season.
• The national leader in both categories, Harvard only lost one offensive senior.
• Harvard has the second-largest senior class (9) in the country, only behind Cornell (10).

UP FRONT

• Key offensive producers Joe Miller, Ben MacDonald, Cam Johnson, and Michael Callow all return for the Crimson.
• Miller finished last season with 13 goals and 14 assists, earning spots on the All-ECAC Third Team and All-Ivy First Team. He was named ECAC Forward of the Month in January.
• Rising sophomores Ryan Fine, Cam Johnson, Michael Callow, and Ben MacDonald combined for four of the top 10 points on the team.
•  Last year's freshman class was responsible for 24% of the total goals, with underclassmen accounting for 75% of total goals in the 2023-24 season.

ON THE BLUE LINE

• The Crimson returns a veteran D-corps in 2024-25.
• Highlighted by Ian Moore, Jack Bar, Ryan Healey, and Mason Langenbrunner, Harvard's top four have played in many key moments.
• Ryan Healey was one of the most productive defensemen in the country, finishing with nine goals and 13 assists in 29 games. He earned ECAC Defenseman of the Month in January and ranked fourth nationally among defensemen with six power-play goals. 

BETWEEN THE PIPES

• Junior Aku Koskenvuo returns as Harvard's starting goalie this season.
• A native of Espoo, Finland, Koskenvuo posted a 2.95 GAA and a .910 save percentage last season, with key performances against Yale and Princeton.
•  Koskenvuo made 21 saves in a 1-0 win over Yale in January and 29 saves in an overtime win at Bright-Landry, earning the Tim Taylor Award as the MVP of the Harvard-Yale game.
• Koskenvuo followed that up with a 38-save shutout against Princeton in the ECAC playoffs. 

CAREER CRIMSON

• Seniors Alex Gaffney (99), Ian Moore (96), Jack Bar (98), and Zakary Karpa (92) are on pace to play over 100 career games this season.
• With four seniors set to reach this milestone, it is the most since 2017-2018. 

THE 300 CLUB

• Ted Donato notched his 300th win against Yale on Jan. 13, 2024, making him one of only three coaches in Harvard hockey history to reach this milestone.
• Donato sits just 17 wins away from becoming Harvard men's hockey's all-time winningest coach.
• Donato is seventh in all-time wins among ECAC coaches and one of 15 active Division I coaches in the top 50 with over 300 wins. 

MATT GILROY JOINS THE STAFF

• A North Bellmore, N.Y. native, Gilroy played college hockey at Boston University, where he was a three-time All-American on defense.
• In 2009, Gilroy became the fifth player in history to win both the Hobey Baker Award and an NCAA championship in the same season.
• An undrafted free agent, Gilroy went on to play 225 NHL games, signing his first contract with the New York Rangers in 2009. He also played for the Lightning, Senators, and Panthers before spending five seasons in Europe.
• Gilroy served as an assistant coach with the U.S. NTDP for two seasons prior to joining Harvard 

FAMILY TIES

• Five Harvard Players have ties to family members that have played in the NHL.
  • Marek Hejduk - Father, Milan Hejduk
  • David Hejduk - Father, Milan Hejduk
  • Kyle Aucoin - Father, Adrian Aucoin
  • Zakary Karpa - Father, Dave Karpa
  • Mason Langenbrunner - Father, Jamie Langenbrunner
  • Lucas St. Louis – Father, Martin St. Louis 

NHL DRAFT PICKS

• For the second year in a row, Harvard is among the national leaders in NHL draft picks
• playing college hockey. Checking in No. 6 in the country, Harvard has 11 NHL draft picks currently on the roster.
  • Ryan Healey (MIN) 
  • Ian Moore (ANA)
  • Matthew Morden (UTA)
  •  Kyle Aucoin (DET)
  •  Jack Bar (DAL) 
  • Mason Langenbrunner (BOS)
  • Aku Koskenvuo (VAN), 
  • Ben MacDonald (SEA)
  • Joe Miller (TOR)
  •  Zakary Karpa (NYR)
  • Michael Callow (ANA)