CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Men's Hockey (3-4-1, 2-2-1 ECAC) closes the 2024 calendar year with two games at home this weekend. Hosting No. 20 Clarkson on Friday and St. Lawrence on Saturday, the Crimson will host Team IMPACT night on Friday against the Knights and Youth Day on Saturday against the Saints. 
 
PUCK DROP

• Harvard closes 2024 with two games at home against No. 20 Clarkson and St. Lawrence. 
• Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on both evenings and will stream on ESPN+.
• On Friday, the Crimson will host its first ever Team IMPACT night where it will honor and celebrate the Team IMPACT families throughout the Harvard community. 
• On Saturday, Harvard will have its annual youth game and teddy bear toss on Saturday night with a postgame autograph session to follow the conclusion of the game. 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Crimson split its two games at the Friendship Four in Northern Ireland last weekend. 
• Falling behind 3-0 in the first period to Notre Dame, Harvard came back to make it 3-2 after goals from Joe Miller and Cam Johnson brought the Crimson within one. 
• Despite a strong performance in the second and third periods, Notre Dame picked up a power-play goal and an empty netter to win 5-2. 
•  A back-and-forth game heading into the third period in game two, Casey Severo's third goal of the game helped lead the Crimson to a 4-2 win over Merrimack to secure the split. 

LOOKING BACK 

• Harvard hosts No. 20 Clarkson in game one on Friday. 
• The Crimson went 0-1-1 in two games last season with a 3-2 overtime loss at Bright-Landry last February. 
• Harvard holds an 8-10-1 record over the last ten seasons against the Golden Knights while trailing the all-time series 61-63-12. 
• The Crimson split with St. Lawrence last season as each team won its home game. 
• An Alex Gaffney deflection with 23 seconds in regulation gave the Crimson a 2-1 win on home ice. 
• Harvard owns a 67-45-8 record all time against the Saints while posting a 16-2-1 record over the last ten seasons. 
• Harvard is 4-1 in its last five games against the Skating Saints. 

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. 

CRIMSON MILESTONES

• Seniors Jack Bar and Alex Gaffney skated in their 100^th career games last Saturday against Merrimack. 

AMONG THE NATIONS BEST ROOKIES 

• Mick Thompson has added seven points in his first eight games in a Crimson uniform. 
• Scoring the overtime winner against Princeton and finding the back of the net against UMass, the rookie currently has .87 PPG.
• Prior to the trip to Belfast, Thompson was sixth in the nation among first-years, Thompson is also in the top-25 among all players in college hockey. 
• The Mississauga, Ont. Native has points in four of eight games this season with two-point performances against both Princeton and Quinnipiac. 

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 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 Ian Moore (98) and Zakary Karpa (94) are 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. 
• 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) 

NHL NOTES

LA KING

• 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. 

FOXY AT THE FOUR NATIONS FACE-OFF

• Adam Fox was officially named to Team USA for the upcoming Four Nations Face-Off. 
• The first international tournament with NHL participants since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, Fox is the only Harvard Alum participating in the tournament.