In what players and coaches call "the oldest rivalry in college hockey," Brown (0-4-2, 0-2-2 ECAC Hockey) tied the No. 18 Harvard Crimson (4-2-1, 4-2-1 ECAC Hockey) Tuesday night.
Assistant Captain Matt Vokes '09 forced overtime when he redirected a shot from Jeremy Russell '11 to even the score at 3-3 with under six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the final period. The teams were never more than a goal apart, and the lead changed three times.
Coming off of a 3-0 loss to Yale, the Bears faced stiff competition against Harvard, who defeated two ranked opponents last weekend. "We got to the rink Sunday, and (Head Coach Roger Grillo) got in our face and challenged us," said Assistant Captain Jordan Pietrus '10.
The Bears came out with energy, but got off to a rough start on the scoreboard. Bobby Farnham '12 was sent to the penalty box 1:42 into the game for slashing. As Farnham's penalty call came over the loudspeaker, Harvard's Chad Morin sent a pass across the point to Captain Jimmy Fraser, who put a wrist shot behind goalie Dan Rosen '10.
Although Harvard had a slight edge in the first few minutes, the Bears came out strong for the remainder of the first period. Six minutes into the game, Eric Slais '09 sent a short pass to Sean McMonagle '10 behind the right faceoff circle with just 25 seconds left on the power-play. McMonagle snapped a wrist shot past Harvard goalie Matt Hoyle to tie the game, 1-1.
Brown's defense was tenacious in the first period and throughout the game. With players packed in tighter to Rosen, they were able to block 10 out of 24 first-period shots before they even reached Rosen.
"That's something we've been working on all year - getting our guys to collapse a little more and help our goaltender out," Grillo said.
Under four minutes into the second period, Pietrus flattened a Harvard player in front of the Crimson bench. With Harvard's bench yelling "Two! Two!" to suggest a penalty, Pietrus skated down the left side of the ice. Pietrus spotted Slais charging towards the goal on the opposite side of the ice and set him up for a one-timer. Slais beat Hoyle, giving the Bears their first lead of the season.
But in the final five minutes of the period, the Crimson evened the score at 2-2 when Captain Brian McCafferty received a wrap-around pass from Fraser. McCafferty sent Rosen a shot from the left side of the blue line. Rosen tried to make the glove save, but the puck whizzed by him into the upper-right corner of the goal.
Action got started immediately in the third period, with Harvard controlling the puck. Only 44 seconds after face-off, Harvard's Colin Moore sneaked the puck past Rosen to give Harvard a 3-2 advantage.
The Bears gained a sense of urgency, and proved that this was a rivalry game in the next 14 minutes. With less than seven minutes remaining, Pietrus fired a shot at Hoyle that brought Brown's student section to its feet. Hoyle denied the shot, but Russell's retry off the rebound was deflected by Vokes into the net, tying the game 3-3 and sending the student section into cheers.
Although the score remained even for the rest of regulation, the Bears seemed to lose some of their intensity. "I was somewhat disappointed with how we finished down the stretch," Grillo said.
With 13 seconds left in the period, McCafferty checked Mike Stuart '09 into the glass between the Brown bench and the penalty box. Although Stuart remained on his feet, his skate hit the glass, shattering it over the ice. Play stopped for 12 minutes as Brown facilities cleaned up the shards.
Both teams picked up the intensity again in overtime. Harvard's Alex Killorn deked Brown's defense and fired a shot from the right. The puck slid inches in front of the goal line, behind Rosen, but the Crimson couldn't knock the puck in, and it sailed wide of the goal.
Brown's best opportunity came when Vokes broke loose after a turnover. He snapped a wrist-shot from the right face-off circle, but Hoyle snagged the puck with his glove.
When the final buzzer blew, both teams slowly skated off the ice after the 3-3 tie. Asked if he was satisfied with the Bears' second tie of the season, Pietrus said, "I don't know if I would say satisfied. You know, we tied."
The Bears return to the ice for their second game of a six-game home stretch at 7:07 p.m. next Tuesday. Brown faces Yale (4-1, 2-1 ECAC Hockey), who defeated the Bears 6-3 and 3-0 in their first two match-ups this season.
