LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Harvard forward Matthew Coronato is only a freshman, but he’s already a part of a recent ECAC Hockey championship tradition.
Coronato scored 9:18 into overtime to give the Crimson a 3-2 win over Quinnipiac before a crowd of 4,478 at Herb Brooks Arena. It was the fourth consecutive ECAC Hockey championship that has ended in overtime.
The Crimson, who also won the Whitelaw Cup in 2015 and 2017, entered the weekend needing to win out in order to make the NCAA tournament.
Coronato’s goal concluded an impressive weekend for third-seeded Harvard. The Crimson scored three third-period goals to beat No. 2 Clarkson on Friday before knocking off the top-seeded Bobcats on Saturday. Harvard won the league tournament after the school didn’t play hockey last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Not being the top seed didn’t really put too much pressure on us,” Crimson goalie Mitchell Gibson said. “No one really expected us to really even get to this point. We’re just happy to be here. We knew what it was like when it got taken away from us. I didn’t see [captain] Nick [Abruzzese] for I don’t know how many months there. It’s just an unbelievable feeling.”
Harvard led 2-1 entering the third period, but Jayden Lee’s power-play goal pulled Quinnipiac even 13:44 into the period. The Bobcats outshot Harvard 18-1 in the third and 49-16 in the game. Gibson (47 saves) was up to the task, making several big saves in the third period and overtime. That help set up Coronato’s game winner, a quick shot from near the left circle that came off the rush.
“Ian Moore made a great little drop pass and I just tried to get it off my stick as quick as I could,’ Coronato said. “The puck kind of had eyes and found the back of the net.”
Coronato, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after scoring three goals on the weekend, was one of 15 Harvard players who entered this season having never played a college hockey game.
“I think more so, then anything, our guys would have been most disappointed not to not be able to play with each other and not have the same group,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “I think that’s really what the motivating factor was. Certainly there’s a lot of pressure knowing that if you don’t win your season’s over. This is a group that has stuck together. There is some really talented guys that have grown up and developed right in front of our eyes. It’s been really fun to watch the chemistry of the group.”
With Harvard up 2-1 midway through the third period, Gibson came up with a couple big glove saves to keep the Crimson ahead. The Harvard junior reached to his left to snag Lee’s shot through traffic at 9:26, and then denied Griffin Mendel at 10:14.
But the Bobcats tied it later in the period. Harvard’s Alex Gaffney was called for high sticking at 13:40. Quinnipiac pulled goalie Yaniv Perets (14 saves) in favor of the extra skater on the ensuing power play and it paid off when Wyatt Bongiovanni won the faceoff and Lee ripped a shot past Gibson.
“We generated offense and forechecked and had a lot of zone time,” Bobcats coach Rand Pecknold said of the third period. “We’ve got to find a way to score more goals. Gibson was excellent; he made some big saves.”
It was the second straight year that Quinnipiac lost in overtime in the league championship game and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Bobcats played without sophomore forward Ty Smilanic, who is tied for second on the team with 13 goals.
“We don’t discuss injuries,” Pecknold said. “Obviously, he’s a goal scorer; it would have been nice to have him out there tonight.”
The teams traded goals early in the first period. Ryan Siedam beat Perets from the right circle to put Harvard up 1-0 at 1:07. But the Bobcats responded when TJ Friedmann got a pass from Joey Cipollone near center ice and skated past three Harvard players before snapping a shot into the back of the net at 5:24.
Harvard had a chance to go ahead in the opening minute of the second period. A Quinnipiac turnover in the neutral zone set up a scoring opportunity for the Crimson, but Perets slid to his right to rob Abruzzese.
The Crimson took the lead later in the period on Moore’s power-play one-timer at 9:11.
Both teams will learn their respective NCAA opponents Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on the tournament selection show, which will air live on ESPNU.
