CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Men's hockey (3-5-2, 2-3-2 ECAC) returns from the holiday break to take on Quinnipiac on New Year's Day before taking on UConn on Saturday to begin 2025. Coming off a shootout win over St. Lawrence in the 2024 finale, Harvard looks to start the second half with a big win over No. 18 Quinnipiac.   
 
PUCK DROP

• The Crimson opens 2025 with a New Year's Day game against No. 18 Quinnipiac at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
• Playing in its fourth non-conference game of the season, Harvard hosts UConn on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. 
• Harvard will play its first weekday game of the season on Wednesday and its fourth non-conference game of the season. 

LAST TIME OUT

• Harvard dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 20 Clarkson in the first of the two games before the holiday break. 
• Casey Severo, Marek Hejduk, and Cam Johnson all scored for the Crimson while Ben Charette made 36 saves. 
•  Getting his third consecutive start, Charette backstopped the Crimson a shootout win over St. Lawrence after a 31 save shutout over the Skating Saints. Cam Johnson picked up the lone goal in the shootout to give the Crimson two ECAC points ahead of the holiday break. 

LOOKING BACK 

• The Bobcats will become the first ECAC opponent this season to see the Crimson twice. 
• Harvard shutout No. 15 Quinnipiac in the third game of the season in Hamden for its first win over the Bobcats since the 2022 ECAC Championship. 
• Aku Koskenvuo made 25 stops in the win while Ben MacDonald added a power-play marker and first-years Justin Solovey and Lucas St. Louis scored their first career goals. 
• The Crimson is 1-1 in two meetings against the Huskies all-time. 
• Harvard traveled to Storrs last season on New Years's Eve for its first trip to Toscano Forum. 
• Falling 4-2 to the Huskies, Joe Miller and Zakary Karpa scored for the Crimson.  

CHEVY'S NET

• Charette has been solid in net throughout his first four games between the pipes. 
• The first-year has allowed six goals on 113 shots in four games. 
• Among rookie netminders with at least four games played, Charette ranks second in the NCAA in save percentage (.960) and goals against average (1.63) 

100 CAREER GAMES

• Jack Bar and Alex Gaffney both skated in their 100^th career game against Merrimack at the Friendship Four. 
• Gaffney became the first forward to skate in 100 games since Baker Shore in 2023, while Bar became just the 41^st defenseman in the last 44 seasons to play in 100 games. 
• A week later, Ian Moore skated in his 100^th career game becoming the 42^nd defenseman in the last 44 seasons to hit the milestone. 
• With three players hitting 100 games in one season, it is the most for the Crimson since 2019. 

SHOOTOUT SHUTOUT

• Ben Charette recorded his first career shutout against St. Lawrence in the last game before the holiday break.
• Stopping all 31 shots in regulation and overtime, Charette was perfect in the shootout to help deliver the Crimson much needed conference points. 
• Charette becomes the first Crimson rookie netminder to shutout an opponent at home since Mitchell Gibson in the 2020 season. 

SCALLY TRICK 

• Casey Severo recorded the first Crimson hat-trick since Nov. 6, 2021 when Alex Laferriere added four goals in a win against Colgate. 
• Severo and Laferriere are the only Crimson skaters to record hat-tricks in the last five years. 
• 1 of only 17 players in the nation with a hat-trick, Severo never had scored more than one in a game leading up to his first career hat-trick. 
• His first three or more point game since he added one goal and three assists against Northeastern in his rookie year. 

DEBUT BETWEEN THE PIPES

• Ben Charette made his debut last weekend at the Friendship Four after coming in for relief on Friday and getting his first career start on Saturday against Merrimack.
• Picking up his first career win over Merrimack on Saturday, Charette made 31 stops including 18 in the third period. 
• Charette becomes the first Crimson netminder to record 30+ saves and the win in his rookie debut since Mitchell Gibson made 31 stops in a 3-0 win over Princeton on Nov. 8, 2019. 
• Charette made 46 stops on 49 shots in five periods of play so far this season.  

THE  MILLER AND SEVERO CONNECTION 

• Joe Miller recorded three primary assists against Merrimack as Severo picked up his first career hat-trick. 
• Miller becomes the most recent Crimson to record three primary assists in a game, joining Sean Farrell who had three against Cornell on Jan. 28, 2023. 
• The duo also is the first pair of Crimson forwards to record three points each joining teammates Michael Callow and Cam Johnson who picked up three points each last season against RPI. 
• Miller becomes the first skater to assist on all three goals in a hat-trick effort since Marshall Rifai picked up three assists on Alex Laferriere's hat-trick on Nov. 6, 2021. 
• Miller also became the first Crimson skater to record three primary assists in a hat-trick effort in more than a decade.  

ECAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 

• Casey Severo became the third Crimson skater this season to earn ECAC weekly honors after his hat-trick on Nov. 30 against Merrimack. Picking up four points in two games, Severo was the first Crimson forward to be recognized with ECAC weekly honors. 
• 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 been 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 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

• Zakary Karpa (96) is on pace to play over 100 career games this season.
• Alex Gaffney and Jack Bar both hit the 100 game mark against Merrimack on Nov. 30, 2024. 
• Ian Moore hit the same milestone one week later against St. Lawrence. 
• 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)