The Harvard men's ice hockey team in 1901, its fourth year of play
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.[4] The rivalry is the oldest continuing college hockey series in the country.[5] The Crimson lost that game 0–6 but the Brown-Harvard rivalry continued and later become US college hockey's oldest rivalry.[5]
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.[6] That same season Harvard beat Brown in back to back games. On February 26, 1900, Harvard played Yale for the first time.[4] 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.[4][6]
In 1903, Alfred Winsor became the team's first official head coach.[4] The team previously used captains in a player-coach role, including Winsor who served as the Crimson's captain from 1901 to 1902.[4] Under Winsor the team recorded a 22-game winning streak that spanned five and a half seasons and lasted from January 10, 1903, to January 19, 1907.[4][7]
Harvard hockey game at Harvard Stadium in 1910.
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.[4] 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.[8] 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.[4] 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.[4]
1919–1944
From 1919 to 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.[4] Following three seasons again with no official coach, William H. Claflin became the second coach in program history in 1921[9] 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.[4][10]
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.[4] 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.[11] The resulting tie caused the two rivals to share the 1929–30 intercollegiate title.[4]
Joseph Stubbs became the fourth head coach in program history starting with the 1927–28 season.[9] 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,[9] and leading the Crimson to a 15–1 record in 1936–37.[4]
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.[4] 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.[4]
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.[9] 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.[4]
Weiland guided Harvard to win the inaugural Beanpot hockey tournament on December 27, 1952, when the team defeated Boston University 7–4.[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.[9] 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.[4] Cleary and classmate Chuck Flynn become Harvard's first All-Americans.[4] 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.[9]
Harvard became a founding member of the ECAC Hockey League in 1961.[13] 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.[14]
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.[4] 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.[15]
1971–1990
Bill Cleary, former Crimson All-American, took over coaching duties for the 1971–72 season after serving as an assistant coach under Weiland.[4] On March 7, 1975 – Harvard defeated Cornell 6–4 to win the 23rd game of the season,[4] the first 20-win season in program history.[9] 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.[12] During the renovation, Harvard played at B.U.'s Walter Brown Arena.[16] Following the renovation the facility was named after former Harvard hockey player Alec Bright '19.[12] 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.[12]
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.[17] 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.[17] The Crimson was defeated in the NCAA final 2–6 by Wisconsin.[17] Despite the loss in the final, Mark Fusco became the school's first Hobey Baker Award winner.[4] Three seasons later, his brother, Scott Fusco became the second player and first ever pair of brothers to win the Award.[4]
Despite a 2–3 overtime loss to Vermont in the ECAC semifinals,[18] the 1988–89 team received an at-large bid to the 1989 NCAA Tournament, the team's fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.[9] Harvard swept Lake Superior State in the two game quarter-final round by a combined score of 9–4.[18] 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.[19] 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.[4][18] Following the game, Lane MacDonald became the third player in program history to earn the Hobey Baker Award.[4]
Recent history
Cornell at Harvard, 2005
Harvard players in 2023
Bill Cleary ended his tenure as head coach at the conclusion of the 1989–90 season to become the director of athletics.[4] 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.[9] 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.[20] 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.[4]
In 1993 the team returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their championship in 1989.[9] The Crimson lost in double overtime to Northern Michigan 2–3.[21] 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.[22] finishing the year a record of 24–5–4.[4] The appearance in the 1994 Frozen Four was the last of the program to date.[9]
Mark Mazzoleni became the tenth coach in program history on July 16, 1999.[4][9] Under Mazzoleni the Crimson reached the NCAA Tournament three straight seasons in 2001–02, 2002–03, and 2003–04.[9] The streak was extended to five straight seasons, tying a program high, by Ted Donato in 2004–05 and 2005–06.[23]
Adam Fox played for the team as a freshman for the 2016–17 season, led all NCAA defensemen with 40 points, and led all NCAA defensemen and all NCAA freshmen skaters in assists with 34, as he played 35 games.[24][25] He was named 2017 ECAC Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Rookie of the Year.[24] In his junior 2018–19 season, he was the top scoring player and defenseman in the country with 1.45 points per game.[26][25] He led the NCAA in assists, while also setting school single-season records for assists by a defenseman.[26] Fox also broke the school record for points by a Harvard defenseman in one season, set by Mark Fusco in 1983.[25]
Before the NCAA began holding a national tournament in 1948, Harvard won 17 intercollegiate titles: 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1909, 1913, 1916, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937
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.
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Statistics current through the end of the 2022–23 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 (induction date in parentheses).[36]
The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country. Like the other Ivy League colleges, Harvard does not offer athletic scholarships. Athletics at Harvard began in 1780 when the sophomores challenged the freshmen to a wrestling tournament with the losers buying dinner. Since its historic boat race against archrival Yale in 1852, Harvard has been in the forefront of American intercollegiate sports. Its football team conceived the modern version of the game and devised essentials ranging from the first concrete stadium to a scoreboard to uniform numbers to signals.
ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relationship ended in 2004; however, the ECAC abbreviation was retained in the name of the hockey conference. ECAC Hockey is the only ice hockey conference with identical memberships in both its women's and men's divisions.
Ralph "Cooney" Weiland was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played for the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Weiland was part of the Bruins' 1928 "Dynamite Line" with Dutch Gainor and Dit Clapper, one of the earliest "named" forward lines in NHL history. He was born in Egmondville, Ontario, but grew up in Seaforth, Ontario.
William John Cleary Jr. is an American former ice hockey player, coach, and athletic administrator. He is an alumnus of Belmont Hill School, played on the United States men's national ice hockey team that won the gold medal in ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics, and was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1997.
The St. Lawrence Saints Men's Ice Hockey team, colloquially known as the "Skating Saints", is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents St. Lawrence University. The Saints are a member of the ECAC Hockey. They have played at Appleton Arena in Canton, New York, since 1951. Prior to the arena's construction, the men's team played outdoors at the current location of Whitman Hall.
The Cornell–Harvard hockey rivalry is a men's ice hockey sports rivalry between the Big Red of Cornell University and Crimson of Harvard University dating back to 1910.
Mark Edward Fusco is an American former professional ice hockey player who appeared in 80 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games for the Hartford Whalers in 1984–85. As an amateur, Fusco won the Hobey Baker Award in 1983 while playing for the Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team. That season he set the school record for points by a Harvard defenseman in one season, which stood until it was surpassed by Adam Fox in 2019.
The Boston University Terriers men’s ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents Boston University. They played their first game in 1918 and have won five national championships, while making 24 appearances in the Frozen Four.
The Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey team represents Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and is the oldest collegiate ice hockey team in the United States. The Bulldogs compete in the Ivy League and the ECAC Hockey League (ECACHL) and play their home games at Ingalls Rink, also called the Yale Whale. The current head coach is Keith Allain, who led the Bulldogs to an Ivy League championship in his first year as head coach. Allain is assisted by former QU/UND goaltender, Josh Siembida. On April 13, 2013, the Bulldogs shut out Quinnipiac 4–0 to win their first NCAA Division I Championship.
The Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Cornell University. Cornell competes in the ECAC Hockey conference and plays its home games at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, New York. Six of the eight Ivy League schools sponsor men's hockey and all six teams play in the 12-team ECAC. The Ivy League crowns a champion based on the results of the games played between its members during the ECAC season.
The Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey team represents Harvard University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women's hockey. Harvard competes as a member of the ECAC Conference and plays its home games at the Bright Hockey Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Dartmouth Big Green men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Dartmouth College. The Big Green are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the Thompson Arena in Hanover, New Hampshire.
The Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Quinnipiac University. The Bobcats are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the M&T Bank Arena in Hamden, Connecticut.
The Colgate Raiders men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Colgate University. The Raiders are a member of ECAC Hockey. They used to play at Starr Rink from its inauguration in 1959 until the 2015–16 season. Starting with the 2016–17 NCAA season, the Raiders have started playing their home games in the Class of 1965 Arena. The program is located in Hamilton, New York.
The UConn Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Hockey East conference. The Huskies play in the on-campus Toscano Family Ice Forum, having moved from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut during the 2022–23 season.
Alex Biega is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Biega was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 5th round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and played the majority of his career with the Vancouver Canucks.
The 2012 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 2 and March 17, 2012 at campus locations and at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. The winner of the tournament received ECAC Hockey's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
Danny Biega is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Hurricanes in the third round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. His brother, Alex Biega, has played 250 games in the NHL. He is under contract to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 2014–15 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey team represented Yale University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The team was coached by Keith Allain, '80, his ninth season behind the bench at Yale. His assistant coaches were Dan Muse, Jason Guerriero, Josh Siembida, and Stephen Volek. The Bulldogs played their home games at Ingalls Rink on the campus of Yale University, competing in the ECAC.
The 1988–89 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team represented the Harvard University in college ice hockey. In its 18th year under head coach Bill Cleary the team compiled a 31–3–0 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the fourteenth time. The Crimson defeated Minnesota 4–3 in overtime to win the championship game at the St. Paul Civic Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
References
↑ "Color Scheme"(PDF). Harvard Athletics Brand Identity Guide. July 27, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
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