CANTON, N.Y. — A four-goal second period and three points from captain Gunnar Hughes powered No. 20 St. Lawrence to a 5-1 win over 14th-ranked Harvard.
The win completed the season sweep of Harvard for the Saints, as SLU won the fist matchup by the same 5-1 score in Brighton.
Despite excellent scoring chances early on for St. Lawrence, it took until the 9:06 mark for the Saints to get a puck past Steve Michalek. After a clear from the defensive zone, Tommy Thompson carried the puck down the right wall into Harvard’s zone and centered a pass to Hughes. Hughes got a stick on the puck and directed it past Michalek’s blocker for the 1-0 lead.
Michalek made more saves through the first and eventually, a late power-play opportunity gave Harvard the chance it needed to tie. Tyler Moy’s slap shot beat Kyle Hayton glove side with 14 seconds left in the first to even the score.
SLU coach Greg Carvel said the 1-1 score at the first intermission was key in his teams ability to keep focus, unlike the 3-0 lead it had after one period at Harvard.
That focus resulted in three goals in a 4:30 stretch in the middle stages of the second period. Firstly, Hughes tallied his second of the night with a slap shot from the middle of the slot, pulling the puck off the half wall and cutting to the middle before firing his shot.
“It deflected off a defenders knee and skipped up high, where I had wanted the original shot to go,” said Hughes. “Yeah, the two goals are nice, but I’m much more concerned with the two points.”
After Hughes’ goal, which stood as the game winner, Thompson got a goal of his own, after assisting on the first two. He fired a shot from the slot and picked up his rebound, outlasting Michalek and putting the puck over his outstretched arm at 13:32 of the second.
Just 1:02 later, Joe Sullivan finished off a cross-ice pass with a one-timer that put SLU up 4-1.
Mike Marnell iced the game for SLU at 6:59 of the third with a wrist shot that beat Michalek over the glove from the slot.
Peter Traber replaced Michalek after the fifth goal, but Harvard coach Ted Donato emphasized that this was not because of poor play on the part of Michalek.
“It was just a chance to give Steve a rest and get Peter some reps,” said Donato. “I thought Steve competed real hard and made some great saves.”
Donato credited St. Lawrence with the energy and passion that was required to win the game.
“They had the first five or six hits and we had the fist six or seven turnovers,” said Donato. “That’s not a recipe to win games.”
Carvel was all smiles after the contest, a game he described as his team’s “best 60-minute effort all year.”
After consistency all year, Carvel says his team has raised their game to “the next level recently” and have an opportunity to all but ensure a first-round bye in the ECAC tournament with a win over Dartmouth on Saturday.
