Dutchmen rally to top Harvard

by Ryan Fay

Union rallied to top Harvard, 4-2, in ECAC action Saturday night at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Union fell behind early as Greg Gozzo put Harvard (1-1-1 ECAC, 2-1-1 overall) on the board at 6:37 of the first period. Ryan McGregor followed with a tally at 18:18 to extend the Crimson lead to 2-0.

But the Dutchmen rallied with three second period goals, capped by senior forward Daniel Carr's eventual game-winner on the power play at 14:23. Carr's goal, the 60th of his Union career, made him the program's Division I era career goals leader.

Junior forward Daniel Ciampini, who started the rally just 23 seconds into the second period, added his second of the game with a shorthanded marker at 4:00. Union dominated the period, outshooting Harvard, 22-to-4.

Senior forward Matt Hatch tacked on an empty-net goal with 25 seconds left in the third period to secure the win. Hatch is tied with Carr, Ciampini, and freshman forward Michael Pontarelli for the team lead in goals with four.

Junior forward Max Novak chipped in a career-high three assists, giving him four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in two games since returning from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for the season's first five games.

Colin Stevens turned aside 20-of-22 shots in the winning effort. The junior from Niskayuna, who missed three games with an upper-body injury, has a 1.90 goals against average and a .900 save percentage this season.

The Dutchmen (2-0-0, 3-2-2) finished the night with a 47-to-22 shots advantage, keeping alive their streak of outshooting their opponent in every game this season.

Union returns to Messa Rink next weekend to host Colgate (Nov. 8) and # 14/15 Cornell (Nov. 9). Both contests are scheduled for 7 p.m.

Ice Chips... freshman defenseman Jeff Taylor missed the game with an upper-body injury; he was shaken up after taking an elbow to the head from Dartmouth's Brandon McNally in Friday's 7-2 win over the Big Green... the program's previous Division I era career goals leader was forward Mario Valery-Trabucco, who scored 59 goals for Union from 2006-2010.

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