Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey


The Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents Harvard University. The Crimson are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the Bright Hockey Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The Crimson hockey team is one of the oldest college ice hockey teams in the United States, having played their first game on January 19, 1898, in a 0–6 loss to Brown.
The Crimson's archrival is the Cornell Big Red. The teams meet at least twice each season for installments of the historic Cornell-Harvard hockey rivalry.

History

Early history

The Crimson hockey team was founded in 1898 making the team one of the oldest college ice hockey teams in the United States. The team played on a local pond and played their first recorded intercollegiate game against Brown on January 19, 1898, at Franklin Field in Boston. The rivalry is the oldest continuing college hockey series in the country. The Crimson lost that game 0–6 but the Brown-Harvard rivalry continued and later become US college hockey's oldest rivalry.
The two teams played again the following winter; Brown won that game by a score of 2–1. The Crimson would get their first recorded win in program history in 1900 with a 10–1 win over MIT. That same season Harvard beat Brown in back to back games. On February 26, 1900, Harvard played Yale for the first time. The game was held at the St. Nicholas Rink in New York and the 4–5 loss was the Crimson's only loss of the 1899–1900 season.
In 1903 Alfred Winsor became the team's first official head coach. The team previously used captains in a player-coach role, including Winsor who served as the Crimson's captain from 1901–1902. Under Winsor the team recorded a 22-game winning streak that spanned five and a half seasons and lasted from January 10, 1903, to Jan 19, 1907.
After beginning the program on a pond and playing on various outdoor rinks constructed on campus over the seasons, the university constructed two ice rinks inside Harvard Stadium for the 1904 season and move some old bleachers to the side of the rink. The university also began charging admission for select important games for the first time. The Crimson later moved home games to the Boston Arena, the first indoor ice rink in Boston and one of the oldest in the United States. A few years after moving into the Boston Arena, on March 14, 1913, the Harvard University Athletic Committee voted to make ice hockey a major sport in the university's athletic department. Following the 1917 season Alfred Winsor stepped down as the head coach after compiling a 124–29 record in 15 seasons as Crimson head coach. The following season was suspended because of World War I with the team resuming play in 1919.

1919–1944

From 1919–1921 the team went back to playing at outdoor rinks after the Boston Arena caught fire in the fall of 1918. The Crimson returned to the arena after it was rebuilt in the fall of 1921. Following three seasons again with no official coach, William H. Claflin became the second coach in program history in 1921 On March 7, 1923, William H. Claflin and captain George Owen '23 substituted entire forward lines instead of individuals, in the first recorded use of a line change. The idea proved successful as Harvard defeated Yale 2–1 in overtime.
On March 12, 1930, Harvard and Yale played the final game of a three-game series to end the 1930 season. The two teams split the first two games of the series. The game was called off at midnight due to blue laws despite the teams being tied in the third overtime and a record crowd in excess of 14,000. The resulting tie caused the two rivals to share the 1929–30 intercollegiate title.
Joseph Stubbs became the fourth head coach in program history starting with the 1927–28 season. He stepped down after the 1937–38 season with a record of 95–43–6 record in 11 seasons. Stubbs led the team to four seasons of double-digit wins, including two back-to-back 11-win seasons in 1930–31 and 1931–32, as well as a 12-win season in 1935–36, and leading the Crimson to a 15–1 record in 1936–37.
The Quadrangular League was created for the 1933–34 with Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth, the league is considered the predecessor to the Ivy League. In 1936, the Council of Ivy Group Presidents agreed on the formal formation of the League, however the agreement did not go into effect until the 1955–56 season.

1945–1960

The program was suspended for two years during World War II but then returned to the ice for an abbreviated 1945–46 season. In 1950 Ralph "Cooney" Weiland became head coach, Weiland was a former NHL scoring champion who won Stanley Cups as both a player and a coach with the Boston Bruins. With the hire, Weiland became the first non-alumnus to become head coach of the program.
Weiland guided Harvard to win the inaugural Beanpot hockey tournament on December 27, 1952, when the team defeated Boston University 7–4. A few seasons later Weiland's Crimson team competed in the 1955 NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament. It was the first Frozen Four appearance by the university. The 1954–55 season was highlighted by William J. "Billy" Cleary leading the nation in scoring with 89 points in 21 games, his point total still stands as the Harvard single-season record. Cleary and classmate Chuck Flynn become Harvard's first All-Americans. The team returned to the tournament in 1957 and 1958. All three tournament appearances under Weiland saw the Crimson exit in the semi-final round.
In 1956 Harvard moved into the 2,000-seat Donald C. Watson Rink bringing hockey back on campus from the Boston Arena. The rink was located north of Harvard Stadium.
Harvard became a founding member of the ECAC Hockey League in 1961. That same season, on January 4, 1962, Harvard defeated Northeastern 6–1 for the program's 500th win. In its second season in the ECAC, Harvard won both the league regular season championship and, with a 4–3 overtime win over Boston University, won the league championship.
At the conclusion of the 1970–71 season Weiland left the program after 21 years. He compiled a record of 316–172–17, six Ivy League championships, two ECAC championships, and five NCAA appearances. Weiland was named coach of the year by the American Hockey Coaches Association in 1955 and 1971. In 1971 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and received the Lester Patrick Award for contribution to hockey in the United States in 1972.

1971–1990

, former Crimson All-American, took over coaching duties for the 1971–72 season after serving as an assistant coach under Weiland. On March 7, 1975 – Harvard defeated Cornell 6–4 to win the 23rd game of the season, the first 20-win season in program history. Unfortunately, the Crimson would lose in the finals the next day to Boston University and finish fourth in the NCAA Tournament with defeats to Minnesota and the same BU squad. The team was captained by All-American Randy Roth '75, who the previous year was named the Crimson's first ever ECAC Player of the Year.
By the mid-1970s the Donald C. Watson Rink was becoming outdated and the university made plans to construct a new hockey facility. A decision was eventually made to extensively upgrade the facility and in 1978 the walls were removed and the roof was extended before the new arena was installed at a cost exceeding $5-million. During the renovation the Harvard's men's and new women's teams played out of various local rinks in 1978–79. Following the renovation the facility was named after former Harvard hockey player Alec Bright '19. The Bright Hockey Center increased seating by more than 800 people The ice surface was extended by five feet to 204 feet by 87 feet under the direction of coach Cleary.
Cleary lead the Crimson to their third conference tournament championship by beating Providence 4–1 in the ECAC Championship, sending the Crimson to the 1983 NCAA Tournament. Harvard first defeated Michigan State in the two-game quarter-final series by a combined score 9–8.
The Crimson advanced to the Frozen Four in Grand Forks, North Dakota and defeated Minnesota 5–3 to send Harvard to the program's first NCAA Championship appearance. The Crimson was defeated in the NCAA final 2–6 by Wisconsin. Despite the loss in the final, Mark Fusco became the school's first Hobey Baker Award winner. Three seasons later, his brother, Scott Fusco became the second player and first ever pair of brothers to win the Award.
Despite a 2–3 overtime loss to Vermont in the ECAC semifinals, the 1988–89 team received an at-large bid to the 1989 NCAA Tournament, the team's fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Harvard swept Lake Superior State in the two game quarter-final round by a combined score of 9–4. The team advanced to the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota and defeated Michigan State 6–3 before facing the hometown Minnesota Golden Gophers in the championship. Harvard won their first NCAA Championship on April 1, 1989 when senior forward Ed Krayer score in overtime to give the Crimson a 4–3 overtime victory. Following the game, Lane MacDonald became the third player in program history to earn the Hobey Baker Award.

Recent history

Bill Cleary ended his tenure as head coach at the conclusion of the 1989–90 season to become the director of athletics. In his 19 seasons as head coach for the program he won 324 games and took the Crimson to the NCAA Tournament nine times, the Frozen Four on seven occasions, and the first National Championship for Harvard. The ECAC regular season championship, the Cleary Cup, is named in honor of the former Harvard player, coach, and Olympian for his efforts to form the conference. Longtime assistant Ronn Tomassoni was named head coach for the following season. In his first season as head coach on February 1, 1992, Tomassoni guided Harvard to the program's 1,000 win when it defeats Union, 7–3.
In 1993 the team returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their championship in 1989. The Crimson lost in double overtime to Northern Michigan 2–3. Harvard returned to the NCAA the following season in 1994 and advanced to the Frozen Four with a 7–1 win over New Hampshire. In the NCAA semifinal the Crimson fell to Lake Superior State 3–2 in overtime. finishing the year a record of 24–5–4. The appearance in the 1994 Frozen Four was the last of the program to date.
Mark Mazzoleni became the tenth coach in program history on July 16, 1999. Under Mazzoleni the Crimson reached the NCAA Tournament three straight seasons in 2001–02, 2002–03, and 2003–04. The streak was extended to five straight seasons, tying a program high, by Ted Donato in 2004–05 and 2005–06.

Season-by-season results

Championships

NCAA

Championships: 1953, 1955, 1960, 1962, 1969, 1974, 1977, 1981, 1989, 1993, 2017

Coaches

Harvard's men's team has been in continual operation since 1897 with two notable exceptions. The university did not field a team for the 1917–18 season nor was there a team from 1943 through the spring of 1945. These three seasons were lost as a result of the two world wars that occurred during the first half of the 20th century. For two periods early in the team's history the team was coached by their captains; those years have been included here for continuity.
As of completion of 2019–20 season

Awards and honors

[Hockey Hall of Fame]

Individual Awards

Hobey Baker Award
Spencer Penrose Award
NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Scoring Champion
Tournament Most Outstanding Player
AHCA First Team All-Americans
AHCA Second Team All-Americans

Individual Awards

ECAC Hockey Player of the Year
ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year
ECAC Hockey Outstanding Defenseman/
Best Defensive Defenseman
Ken Dryden Award
ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward
ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year
Tim Taylor Award
ECAC Hockey Most Outstanding Player in Tournament
First Team All-ECAC Hockey
Second Team All-ECAC Hockey
Third Team All-ECAC Hockey
ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team
This is a list of Harvard alumni were a part of an Olympic team.
† Were members of the AHA team that was allowed to play in the Olympics but disqualified from medal contention.

Statistical Leaders

Career points leaders

PlayerYearsGPGAPtsPIM
1981–1986123107133240
1984–1989128111114225
1955–19588192107199
1987–199112066128194
1968–19717960127187
1986–19901248478162
1975–1979986695161
1985–1989925896155
1970–1973756487151
1987–19911147474148

Career Goaltending Leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Minimum 40 games
PlayerYearsGPMinWLTGASOSV%GAA
1960–196350.9181.93
2014–20189052895623818710.9242.12
2001–200511468116340925511.9242.25
2002–200643234925122943.9142.40
1959–1962512.54

Statistics current through the start of the 2018–19 season.

Harvard Athletic Hall of Fame

The following is a list of people associated with the Harvard men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Harvard Athletic Hall of Fame.
As of June 28, 2019.

Crimson in the NHL

PlayerPositionTeamYearsStanley Cup|
Craig AdamsRight Wing', CHI, '2000–20152
Jack BadiniCenterANA2020–present0
Chris BalaLeft WingOTT2001–20020
Alex BiegaDefensemanVAN2014–Present0
Dan BolducLeft WingDET, CGY1978–19840
Greg BritzRight WingTOR, HFD1983–19870
Peter CiavagliaCenterBUF1991–19930
Tom CavanaghCenterSJS2007–20090
Kyle CriscuoloCenterBUF2017–Present0
Ryan DonatoCenterBOS, MIN2017–Present0
Ted DonatoLeft WingBOS, NYI, OTT, ANA, DAL, STL, NYR1991–20040
Ted DruryCenterCGY, HFD, OTT, ANA, NYI, CBJ1993–20010
Adam FoxDefensemanNYR2019–present0
Mark FuscoDefensemanHFD1983–19850
Jack HughesDefensemanCOR1980–19820
Dave HynesLeft WingBOS1973–19750
Alexander KerfootCenterCOL2017–Present0

PlayerPositionTeamYearsStanley Cup|
Alexander KillornLeft WingTBL2012–Present0
Louis LeblancCenterMTL2011–20140
Craig MacDonaldCenterCAR, FLA, BOS, CGY, CHI, TBL, CBJ1998–20090
Sean MaloneCenterBUF2016–Present0
John MarinoDefensemanPIT2019–present0
Steve MartinsCenterHFD, CAR, OTT, TBL, NYI, STL1995–20060
Bob McManamaCenterPIT1973–19760
Dominic MooreCenterNYR, PIT, MIN, TOR, BUF, FLA, MTL, TBL, SJS, BOS2003–20180
Steve MooreCenterCOL2001–20040
Kirk NielsenRich WingBOS1997–19980
George OwenDefenseman1928–19331
Dylan ReeseDefensemanNYI, PIT, ARI2009–20150
Neil SheehyDefensemanCGY, HFD, WAS1983–19920
Don SweeneyDefensemanBOS, DAL1988–20040
Jimmy VeseyLeft WingNYR2016–Present0
Noah WelchDefensemanPIT, FLA, TBL, ATL2005–20110
C. J. YoungRight WingCGY, BOS1992–19930