Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Harvard Hockey class of 2010 Feature

With Senior Night at the Bright Hockey Center last Saturday, it was a chance to honor seniors Alex Biega, Jack Christian, Chad Morin, John Riley, Doug Rogers, and Ian Tallett in their final regular season game on home ice. To mark the occasion, we aired a special feature on the six seniors with a look back at their careers and what Harvard hockey has meant to them. After the jump, you'll find the feature from the first intermission of Saturday's game against Colgate.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Women's ECAC: Playoff Matchups Set

With the conclusion of the regular season, we now know the full schedule for the ECAC women's hockey playoffs for the first round.

8. Colgate at 1. Cornell
Game 1: Friday, February 26, 3:30 PM
Game 2: Saturday, February 27, 2:00 PM
Game 3: Sunday, February 28, 2:00 PM (if necessary)
Season Series: Cornell won the season series 1-0-1 against their travel partners. On Jan. 22 at Colgate, the teams tied 3-3, but the next night at Cornell, the Big Red won 6-0.
Streaks: Cornell W5, Colgate W3
Cornell Home Record: 9-5-2
Colgate Road Record: 7-12-1

7. St. Lawrence at 2. Clarkson
Game 1: Friday, February 26, 4:00 PM
Game 2: Saturday, February 27, 2:00 PM
Game 3: Sunday, February 28, 2:00 PM (if necessary)
Season Series: The two travel partners split the season series 1-1. On October 27, Clarkson won their home game 4-1, but St. Lawrence picked up the home win 4-2 on February 2.
Streaks: Clarkson T1, St. Lawrence W1
Clarkson Home Record: 13-2-2
St. Lawrence Road Record: 8-7-2

6. Princeton at 3. Harvard
Game 1: Friday, February 26, 7:00 PM
Game 2: Saturday, February 27, 4:00 PM
Game 3: Sunday, February 28, 4:00 PM (if necessary)
Season Series: Princeton took the season series against their Ivy League rivals 1-0-1, winning against Harvard in Cambridge back on November 15, 2-1 in OT, before tying with the Crimson at home 3-3 in Laura Bellamy's first career start for Harvard.
Streaks: Harvard T1, Princeton W1
Harvard Home Record: 12-3-3
Princeton Road Record: 5-8-2

5. Rensselaer at 4. Quinnipiac
Game 1: Friday, February 26, 4:00 PM
Game 2: Saturday, February 27, 2:00 PM
Game 3: Sunday, February 28, 2:00 pm (if necessary)
Season Series: Quinnipiac and RPI split the season series 1-1, with each team winning their home game. Quinnipiac beat RPI in Hamden 6-1 on October 31, but RPI grabbed a 1-0 home win on January 29.
Streaks: Quinnipiac W2, RPI L2
Quinnipiac Home Record: 10-2-4
RPI Road Record: 7-7-2

ECAC: Who Should You Root For Next Weekend?

I recently found the ECAC Standings "What If" Calculator on the Internet, and armed with that, Brian Sullivan's list of head to head tiebreakers (going into this weekend) and the ECAC website, I made this column.

Here's the idea: I looked at the best possible result a team can achieve and what dominoes need to fall for that to happen. Hence the name of the post- it lets you know what other teams in the ECAC you should be cheering for so that your team gets the best possible playoff position. So, to use Harvard as an example, a Harvard fan should be cheering for not only the road sweep by the Crimson next weekend, but also for a Dartmouth win on Friday night and that either Brown or Yale beat Quinnipiac. If these three conditions are met, Harvard will receive its best possible playoff position.

Of course, ECAC mathematics are always complicated (especially late at night, and for a humanities guy) so please place any missed scenarios or corrections into the comments and I'll take a look. Other than that, I think everything is explained so we'll go right to it after the jump:

Friday, February 19, 2010

Hockey coach Ted Donato previews Harvard-Cornell

We had a chance to talk with Harvard men's hockey coach Ted Donato in advance of this weekend, and Harvard Athletics Communications taped the interview and posted the highlights on YouTube. After the jump, you'll find video of our conversation with coach Donato along with some roster notes. Tune in tonight at 6:45 p.m. on 95.3 FM and www.whrb.org for more of coach Donato previewing the storied rivalry between the Big Red and the Crimson during our live pregame show.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Women's ECAC: If the Playoffs Started Today 4

This will be our last column for the women's playoff race, because after this weekend, it will no longer be fitting for an "if they started" since this is everyone's last weekend.

First Round Matchups:
(Clarkson and Cornell have clinched home ice in the first round)
8. Dartmouth (17 Points) @ 1. Clarkson (30 Points)
Clarkson leads season series 1-0 (@ Dartmouth 3-1 W)
7. St. Lawrence (23 Points) @ 2. Cornell (30 Points)
St. Lawrence wins season series 1-0-1 (@ Cornell 3-2 W, vs. Cornell 2-2 T)
6. Princeton (24 Points) @ 3. Rensselaer (26 Points)
Princeton and RPI tie the season series 0-0-2 (@ Princeton 2-2 T, @ RPI 1-1 T)
5. Quinnipiac (25 Points) @ 4. Harvard (26 Points)
Harvard splits the season series with Quinnipiac 1-1 (vs. Quinnipiac 7-2 W, @ Quinnipiac 1-0 L)

Every team has clinched a playoff bid except for Dartmouth. Here are the teams that can catch the Big Green this weekend.

9. Yale (17 Points)
10. Colgate (16 Points)

The following teams are eliminated from the playoff race.

11. Union (3 Points)
12. Brown (3 Points)

ECAC: If the Playoffs Started Today 4

First, a great source for some of the mathematics of the ECAC playoff race can be found here. It does not, however, take Tuesday's Cornell-Colgate game into account, so it means I actually have something worth posting about. With that in mind, here are the playoff scenarios.

Byes:
Yale, 26 Points
Cornell, 26 Points
Union, 24 Points,
St. Lawrence, 20 Points

First Round Matchups:
12. Clarkson (8 Points) at 5. Rensselaer (20 Points)
RPI wins season series 2-0 (@ Clarkson 5-2 W, vs. Clarkson 2-1 W)
11. Dartmouth (11 Points) at 6. Colgate (19 Points)
Colgate leads the season series 1-0 (vs. Dartmouth 3-2 W)
10. Brown (13 Points) at 7. Quinnipiac (18 Points)
Brown leads the season series 1-0 (vs. Quinnipiac 2-1 W)
9. Princeton (14 Points) at. 8. Harvard (17 Points)
Princeton wins season series 1-0-1 (vs. Harvard 3-3 T, @ Harvard 2-1 W)

EDIT: And here's a source where you can put in your predicted results and see what the final standings would be if they came true.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Men's Hockey: Postgame audio with Ted Donato, Kyle Richter, and Alex Killorn

Harvard earned a home split this past weekend, falling to RPI 5-4 on Friday night then bouncing back with a 4-3 win over 16th-ranked Union on Saturday night. The weekend's results around the ECAC left the Crimson in eighth place, holding on to home ice in the first round of the playoffs. Below, hear the thoughts of head coach Ted Donato, junior goaltender Kyle Richter, and sophomore forward Alex Killorn after the conclusion of Saturday's win over Union.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Harvard and the Winter Olympics

Last night was the Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. We here at WHRB Sports had the chance to talk with all 5 Harvard Graduates competing in this year's Olympics. The five, Angela Ruggiero (USA), Jennifer Botterill (CAN), Julie Chu (USA), Caitlin Cahow (USA), and Sarah Vaillancourt (CAN), will all be competing in women's ice hockey. After the jump, we have the segments of the interviews we conducted with them two weeks ago, prior to the Opening Round of the Women's Beanpot. Parts of the following interview feature aired during our broadcast of the Harvard-Boston College game during the Beanpot.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Postgame Reactions from the 32nd Annual Women's Beanpot


This past Tuesday, the #5 Harvard Crimson and #8 Northeastern Huskies squared off at the Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge for the 32nd Annual Women's Beanpot. It was a closely contested game between the two programs with the most Beanpot wins in women's hockey, but ultimately, the Harvard Crimson prevailed to take their second Beanpot in three years and 13th overall title. Below, we have some views from the booth, along with highlights from the postgame press conference.

Weekend Preview: Harvard vs. RPI and Union

This weekend, Harvard men's hockey welcomes RPI and Union to the Bright Hockey Center. WHRB Sports will have complete coverage both Friday and Saturday on 95.3 FM and whrb.org, and both broadcasts will begin with our live pregame show at 6:45 p.m. Click below to find some thoughts from head coach Ted Donato on the weekend ahead and the Crimson's recent penalty woes, and tune in tonight hear the rest of the interview during our coverage.

Harvard men's hockey: Five thoughts on a rough stretch

The busiest stretch of the season is now over for the Crimson with the conclusion of the Beanpot, and with a strong post-exam run of play fading over the last week, after the we'll look back at the four games since the beginning of February - a disappointing 1-3 stretch for the Crimson.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Women's ECAC: If the Playoffs Started Today 3

Now we'll take a look at how the women's hockey playoffs would look if they started today.

First Round Matchups:
8. Dartmouth (15 points, 18 games) at 1. Clarkson (29 points, 18 games)
Season Series: Clarkson leads series 1-0 (@ Dartmouth 3-1 W)
7. Princeton (20 points, 18 games) at 2. Cornell (26 points, 18 games)
Season Series: Cornell wins series 2-0 (@ Princeton 1-0 W, @ Cornell 6-0 W)
6. RPI (22 points, 18 games) at 3. Harvard (24 points, 18 games)
Season Series: RPI leads series 1-0 (@ Harvard 4-2 W)
5. Quinnipiac (22 points, 18 games) at 4. St. Lawrence (23 points, 18 games)
Season Series: Series is tied at 0-0-1. (@ St. Lawrence 2-2 T)

In the Playoff Hunt:
9. Yale (15 points, 18 games)
10. Colgate (14 points, 18 games)

Missing the Playoffs:
11. Union (3 points, 18 games)
12. Brown (3 points, 18 games)

ECAC: If the Playoffs Started Today 3

Another weekend has passed, so let's take a quick look at what the playoffs would be in the ECAC if they started today.

Byes:
1. Cornell (22 points, 15 games)
2. Yale (22 points, 16 games)
3. Union (22 points, 16 games)
4. St. Lawrence (19 points, 16 games)

First Round Matchups:
12. Clarkson (4 points, 16 games) at 5. RPI (18 points, 16 games)
Season Series: RPI wins series 2-0 (@ Clarkson 5-2 W, @ RPI 2-1 W)
11. Dartmouth (9 points, 16 games) at 6. Colgate (17 points, 15 games)
Season Series: Colgate leads series 1-0 (@ Colgate 3-2 W)
10. Brown (13 points, 16 games) at 7. Quinnipiac (16 points, 16 games)
Season Series: Brown leads series 1-0 (@ Brown 2-1 W)
9. Princeton (13 points, 16 games) at 8. Harvard (15 points, 16 games)
Season Series: Princeton wins season series 1-0-1. (@ Princeton 3-3 T, @ Harvard 2-1 W)

Monday, February 1, 2010

Beanpot Preview

The puck drops on the 58th annual Beanpot this evening, and earlier this week we caught up with the seniors on the Crimson squad to get their thoughts on this year's tourney. After the jump, you'll hear from goaltender John Riley, defenseman Ian Tallett, and center Doug Rogers.

Harvard men's hockey: Three stars and roster updates

Since we last took a look at the Crimson, they've played three games and posted a 1-1-1 mark. An undefeated road weekend was highlighted by a 4-1 win at nationally-ranked Union, before a last-second goal from Louis Leblanc gave the Crimson a tie at RPI. Friday night Harvard hosted Princeton but couldn't keep their four-game unbeaten streak alive in a difficult 2-1 loss. After the jump, we've got your three stars of the last three games, along with several roster and injury notes from the last week.