Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

I'm not expecting 2 points tonight, but that said, Harvard has taken points at Quinny and Yale this year so you never know.

And let's not forget what happened up at Ithaca last year (all late in the 3rd period):

1) Ryan Donato hooked on break away with no call
2) Ted Donato gets bench minor for berating officials (should never be called late in the 3rd period of a tie game in a heated rivalry)
3) Harvard gets called for phantom penalty which set up Cornell's game winner in the waning minute or so of regulation

Let's see if karma can work for Harvard this year.

[AlDeFlorio]

I'm not expecting 2 points tonight, but that said, Harvard has taken points at Quinny and Yale this year so you never know.

And let's not forget what happened up at Ithaca last year (all late in the 3rd period):

1) Ryan Donato hooked on break away with no call
2) Ted Donato gets bench minor for berating officials (should never be called late in the 3rd period of a tie game in a heated rivalry)
3) Harvard gets called for phantom penalty which set up Cornell's game winner in the waning minute or so of regulation

Let's see if karma can work for Harvard this year.

All three points false. Kaldis lifted Donato's stick. Like you, Teddy is a whiner. In the Harvard DNA? Your guy stuck a skate between the Cornell player's legs to trip him. Your whines are just that.

Looking forward to reading your whines over last night's game.

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Let's hope Harvard can get back on track tonight against Colgate.

Some thoughts on last night's game:
- The winner of this game usually is who dictates the style of play. And in this area, Cornell completely had its way with Harvard
- I was shocked at how Harvard could not develop any sort of forecheck. Cornell broke the puck out with ease and stress free and the turnovers created were from Cornell carelessness, not Harvard peskyness. There needs to be much more commitment in this area if Harvard is going to have success
- I hate to say it, but at this point in the season, Harvard still does not have much line chemistry. It's a 2 (maybe 1.5) line team right now and that is not going to get it done against better teams where cohesion > individual skill

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Let's hope Harvard can get back on track tonight against Colgate.

Some thoughts on last night's game:
- The winner of this game usually is who dictates the style of play. And in this area, Cornell completely had its way with Harvard
- I was shocked at how Harvard could not develop any sort of forecheck. Cornell broke the puck out with ease and stress free and the turnovers created were from Cornell carelessness, not Harvard peskyness. There needs to be much more commitment in this area if Harvard is going to have success
- I hate to say it, but at this point in the season, Harvard still does not have much line chemistry. It's a 2 (maybe 1.5) line team right now and that is not going to get it done against better teams where cohesion > individual skill

The forecheck has been MIA both last season and this year for chunks of time. Some of it is skill, some of it is coaching and some of it is just plain hard work and competitiveness. There has to be an urgency tied into a systemic forecheck that disrupts the other team's breakouts. That plus winning some board battles would go a long way towards alleviating the problem.

Don't think that Harvard is more than a .500 team this year. Hope I'm wrong. The second half schedule isn't a killer and perhaps we can pick up some ground.

[Hockeykrazee]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

What you see in Harvard's coaching is that Teddy has absolute control of the program. Players can see there is no competition for roster spots when Jack Donato is playing regularly when he is really a walk on at best. He brought Pearl on board and being from Holy Cross where recruiting older players is a reality players have to compete for a roster spot he did well with the hand he was dealt. For one thing there is a very good senior defencemen sitting in the stands right now with no playing time who was recruited by Paul Pearl. I watched the Concordia game which is the only game Viktor Dombrovskiy played and he was a strong physical puck moving defensemen. Right now Harvard's defense is over offensive and at the lower end too big and slow so the top 4 D are being over played. Unfortunately, Teddy has got full backing from the alumni to coach in his old school approach of big D and playing his favorites (and son) ahead of other talented recruits. That is why Harvard has only gotten to the top once during his tenure. Recruiting right now is done with "Harvard's" name only. If they could win more often "winning" and "competing" will also help recruiting.

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Harvard has 5 recruits who are ranked at the midterm:

2nd Round - Henry Thrun - 32 (#1 in 2nd round), John Farinacci - 37
3rd Round - Ryan Siedem - 88
7th Round - Nik Abruzzese - 200
#28 ranked North American goaltender - Derek Mullahy

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

What you see in Harvard's coaching is that Teddy has absolute control of the program. Players can see there is no competition for roster spots when Jack Donato is playing regularly when he is really a walk on at best. He brought Pearl on board and being from Holy Cross where recruiting older players is a reality players have to compete for a roster spot he did well with the hand he was dealt. For one thing there is a very good senior defencemen sitting in the stands right now with no playing time who was recruited by Paul Pearl. I watched the Concordia game which is the only game Viktor Dombrovskiy played and he was a strong physical puck moving defensemen. Right now Harvard's defense is over offensive and at the lower end too big and slow so the top 4 D are being over played. Unfortunately, Teddy has got full backing from the alumni to coach in his old school approach of big D and playing his favorites (and son) ahead of other talented recruits. That is why Harvard has only gotten to the top once during his tenure. Recruiting right now is done with "Harvard's" name only. If they could win more often "winning" and "competing" will also help recruiting.

Coaches who have sons give them ice time even if they are not high caliber players. To wit: Joe Gaudet, Bob Gaudet's son at Dartmouth. Happens everywhere. And Jack plays fourth line so it's not like there's a ton of competition to play there.

If Teddy didn't have control of the program, then anarchy would reign. You don't want the players running the asylum. While I agree that I'd like to see Ben Solin, Mitch Perrault and others get more ice time, it's possible that they haven't done anything super special in practice to warrant the chance.

Dombrovsky is a very good puck moving D but has some shortcomings in the D zone. I'm not saying he wouldn't be better than Jake Olsen or Adam Baughman; it's just a logjam and he's caught in that jam. Same thing happened to Vic Newell.

Neither Adam Fox or Reilly Walsh are considered 'big' in today's game.

Coaches have their own style of running a program and don't like to be challenged; some work, some don't. Take a look at SLU if you don't believe me. Or Brown. The Ivies generally don't place a huge emphasis on winning. Different from BU, BC and other big school programs that are in it for the $$$ and as a pipeline to the pros. The pressure to win is intense and the alums generally vote with their wallets or voice their displeasure to the AD. Or both.

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

The Crimson continue to confound me. We play a great game for the better part of two periods, give it back to Clarkson in the third and then win it with a great OT draw by Badini to Walsh. Second win against a Top Ten team and fourth overall against teams in the Top 20. And yet we manage to play down to the likes of Princeton and RPI. I just don't get it.

Oh well, on to SLU. Will it be more of the same tonight?

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Not much of a game tonight. Harvard came out flying with three goals on four shots in the first five minutes. Brey, the SLU goalie, looked a bit shellshocked and his teammates gave him zero help. The Saints are god awful. They can't skate, have minimal offensive threats and basically run around trying to hit people. Legally or illegally. Mark Morris has no system so all his players do is dump and chase or try and flip the puck from their end to center ice. Harvard's speed had a lot to do with it but SLU just doesn't have the skill to compete.

About the only downside to the game was a five minute boarding major to Wyllum Deveaux in the first minute of the third. SLU scored twice on the major and Harvard eventually got its act together the rest of the game. Deveaux made up for it with a PP goal later in the game but Teddy needs to remind him to play smart.

There were some strange D pairings. Marino paired with Reilly Walsh (two right hand shots) while Jake Olson and Vic Dombrovskiy, both lefties, were paired up. Olson had some trouble playing on his off side. I really wonder why coaches feel the need to tinker with their lineups in this way. Just doesn't make sense.

Henry Bowlby wasn't dressed so I'm assuming injury as he played against Clarkson. Hope he isn't out for long.

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

Not much of a game tonight. Harvard came out flying with three goals on four shots in the first five minutes. Brey, the SLU goalie, looked a bit shellshocked and his teammates gave him zero help. The Saints are god awful. They can't skate, have minimal offensive threats and basically run around trying to hit people. Legally or illegally. Mark Morris has no system so all his players do is dump and chase or try and flip the puck from their end to center ice. Harvard's speed had a lot to do with it but SLU just doesn't have the skill to compete.

About the only downside to the game was a five minute boarding major to Wyllum Deveaux in the first minute of the third. SLU scored twice on the major and Harvard eventually got its act together the rest of the game. Deveaux made up for it with a PP goal later in the game but Teddy needs to remind him to play smart.

There were some strange D pairings. Marino paired with Reilly Walsh (two right hand shots) while Jake Olson and Vic Dombrovskiy, both lefties, were paired up. Olson had some trouble playing on his off side. I really wonder why coaches feel the need to tinker with their lineups in this way. Just doesn't make sense.

Henry Bowlby wasn't dressed so I'm assuming injury as he played against Clarkson. Hope he isn't out for long.

They definitely need Bowlby out there so hopefully something minor and wasn't worth risking a bigger injury against a depleted SLU squad. I believe that this past weekend marked Harvard's first 4 point weekend all season and Harvard is now on a 3 game win streak.

Next 3 games:
- Dartmouth @Bright
- BC @ Beanpot
- Union @Bright

Harvard is likely favored in all of 3 of these, so not inconceivable for Harvard to be 13-6-2 and headed into the Beanpot final looking for 7 straight before making the dreaded North Country trek. Harvard's margin for error this year is razor thin, so it is not inconceivable to lose all 3 of those games as well.

By the way, I love Deveaux on that first line. He is learning to play within himself, but he brings much needed energy and physical play to that 1st line.

If I was doing the forward lines right now, they would be:
Deveaux - Drury - Dornbach
Bowlby - Badini - Gossage
Kerfoot - Shore - Floodstrand
Solin - Gregoire - Krusko

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

They definitely need Bowlby out there so hopefully something minor and wasn't worth risking a bigger injury against a depleted SLU squad. I believe that this past weekend marked Harvard's first 4 point weekend all season and Harvard is now on a 3 game win streak.

Next 3 games:
- Dartmouth @Bright
- BC @ Beanpot
- Union @Bright

Harvard is likely favored in all of 3 of these, so not inconceivable for Harvard to be 13-6-2 and headed into the Beanpot final looking for 7 straight before making the dreaded North Country trek. Harvard's margin for error this year is razor thin, so it is not inconceivable to lose all 3 of those games as well.

By the way, I love Deveaux on that first line. He is learning to play within himself, but he brings much needed energy and physical play to that 1st line.

If I was doing the forward lines right now, they would be:
Deveaux - Drury - Dornbach
Bowlby - Badini - Gossage
Kerfoot - Shore - Floodstrand
Solin - Gregoire - Krusko

I like your line combos. Makes a lot of sense.

Our February schedule is generally favorable and should yield some points that either will get us the #4 seed or at worst the #6. Beanpot is Northeastern's to lose this year.

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

I thought the Green outplayed us last night. They are better defensively (I think they lead the nation in fewest shots allowed per game. Or close to it). They have more speed. Strangely, when they outshoot the opposition, they lose more than they win.

What's up with the boarding penalties? First Deveaux last week against SLU, then last night Bowlby takes a foolish major and a game misconduct where he'll have to miss the next game (not sure if it's an ECAC game or the Beanpot opener). Teddy needs to get some discipline and structure because Harvard is playing too loose and casual and taking these costly penalties. Fortunately they killed it off last night but they are courting disaster if they do this against a really good team.

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

I thought the Green outplayed us last night. They are better defensively (I think they lead the nation in fewest shots allowed per game. Or close to it). They have more speed. Strangely, when they outshoot the opposition, they lose more than they win.

What's up with the boarding penalties? First Deveaux last week against SLU, then last night Bowlby takes a foolish major and a game misconduct where he'll have to miss the next game (not sure if it's an ECAC game or the Beanpot opener). Teddy needs to get some discipline and structure because Harvard is playing too loose and casual and taking these costly penalties. Fortunately they killed it off last night but they are courting disaster if they do this against a really good team.

A couple of thoughts:
- I thought the Bowlby major was a joke. Should have been 2 minutes. Got him with a forearm going about 2mph. Probably not even a penalty at the next level
- Another poor pass in the defensive zone by Walsh and the puck ends up in the Harvard net (Dartmouth's only goal). His shot is great, but I still think Donato should sit him a game (SLU would have been perfect) to send a message that he needs to clean it up in his own end
- The 1st period was the worst Harvard has played all season. No jump, all 1:1 play, zero cohesion. Maybe looking ahead to Monday night? Team is not good enough to play a period of indifferent hockey and persevere against upper echelon teams
- Harvard's PP was atrocious last night. Even during the 2 minute 5v3, I thought the puck movement was slow and lacked purpose/intention.

Are you sure Bowlby has to sit? I thought he got a game misconduct (kicked out of game, but does not have to sit a game) vs a disqualification (sit at least one additional game depending on the severity).
http://njcaa.org/eligibility/release...cation-penalty


The Beanpot is always a crapshoot. Would be great to play in the late game on the 11th.

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2018-2019 All Things Bright and Beautiful

#11 in the PWR? Who would have thunk that a few weeks back.

[Veritas]

A couple of thoughts:
- I thought the Bowlby major was a joke. Should have been 2 minutes. Got him with a forearm going about 2mph. Probably not even a penalty at the next level
- Another poor pass in the defensive zone by Walsh and the puck ends up in the Harvard net (Dartmouth's only goal). His shot is great, but I still think Donato should sit him a game (SLU would have been perfect) to send a message that he needs to clean it up in his own end
- The 1st period was the worst Harvard has played all season. No jump, all 1:1 play, zero cohesion. Maybe looking ahead to Monday night? Team is not good enough to play a period of indifferent hockey and persevere against upper echelon teams
- Harvard's PP was atrocious last night. Even during the 2 minute 5v3, I thought the puck movement was slow and lacked purpose/intention.

Are you sure Bowlby has to sit? I thought he got a game misconduct (kicked out of game, but does not have to sit a game) vs a disqualification (sit at least one additional game depending on the severity).
[url]http://njcaa.org/eligibility/releases/ice-hockey-misconduct-penalty-

The Beanpot is always a crapshoot. Would be great to play in the late game on the 11th.

Bothman. You are correct. I was sitting next to Paul Stewart of the ECAC and asked him. Only disqualifacation carries an automatic suspension.