CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard men's ice hockey battled to a 1-0 victory over Princeton University on Friday night at the Bright-Landry Center in the first round of the 2024 ECAC Playoffs. The Crimson (7-17-6) were outshot 38-17 by the Tigers (9-18-3), but Aku Koskenvuo's 38-save shutout stole the contest. Crimson captain Ian Moore scored the game's lone goal in the first period, as Harvard will await its Quarterfinal opponent after Saturday's first-round results.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Crimson faced off against the Tigers in the postseason for the second consecutive year. Harvard ended Princeton's 2022-23 campaign, winning the first two games in the best-of-three ECAC Quarterfinal series last season.
- This marked the third time these two teams have matched up this season, skating to a 4-4 tie on Nov. 3 before the Crimson fell 5-2 on Dec. 30.
- Harvard earned the first power play of the game midway through the first period. Although its man advantage did not convert, the Crimson built momentum to open the scoring shortly after.
- Suiting up for his first game action since Jan. 6, forward Philip Tresca cleanly won the offensive zone draw to start the play. The loose puck found defenseman Jack Bar who slid the puck along the blue line, setting up the one-timer for his defensive partner Ian Moore. The Crimson captain buried the pass for his second goal of the season and fifth of his career — lifting his team to a 1-0 lead at 13:18 of the first.
- Soon after, Harvard came up with a big penalty kill to sustain its lead.
- Aku Koskenvuo remained sharp from puck drop, stopping all 11 shots faced in the opening frame, including a penalty shot attempt at 18:43.
- Koskenvuo continued his hot streak to start the middle frame, turning away the first six-straight shots of the period.
- Harvard's best chance of the second period came at 16:14 after Matthew Morden blocked the puck in his defensive zone and earned a 2-on-1 rush with Alex Gaffney the other way.
- Koskenvuo remained perfect through the first 40 minutes, and the biggest stop of his nine-save second period came at 18:43. With the puck wavering off a blast from the blue line and redirection in front, the sophomore netmindercalmly picked the puck out of the air for a glove save.
- The Crimson shined defensively to open the final period. Taking an early penalty at 2:55 of the third, Harvard relied on strong sticks, goaltending and body positioning to maintain its lead.
- Koskenvuo showed off his agile puck-tracking abilities with a highlight-reel stop at 11:24.
- The away team peppered the Crimson with seven shots in the final two minutes of the match, but the Harvard defense sacrificed every body to hold onto the win.
GAME NOTES
- Aku Koskenvuo finished the night with a perfect 38 saves, his third-highest save total of his career for his second career shutout and first career playoff win.
- Koskenvuo's last shutout came on Jan. 13 with 21 saves over Yale.
- Captain Ian Moore picked up his second career postseason goal and his second goal of his senior-year campaign.
- Nine different Crimson skaters recorded a block in the full-team defensive effort.
- The Crimson have now won a playoff round in every season since 2013-2014. (excluding the COVID season)
NEXT UP
Harvard will move onto the best-of-three ECAC Quarterfinal series on March 15-17 with its opponent TBD.
