By: JOHN LYONS
A four goal second period and three points from Senior captain Gunnar Hughes powered St. Lawrence to a 5-1 win over the 15th ranked Harvard Crimson. The win completed the season sweep of Harvard for the Saints, as SLU won the first 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 Harvard goaltender Steve Michalek. After a clear from the defensive zone, Tommy Thompson ‘17 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 slapshot beat Kyle Hayton glove side with 14 seconds left in the first to even the score. 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 they had after 1 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. he pulled the puck off the half wall and cut 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, Tommy 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.
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 wristshot that beat Michalek over the glove from the slot.
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. Thats not a recipe to win games.”
Carvel was all smiles after the contest, a game he described as his teams best game yet. “I thought this was our best 60 minute effort all year.”