In a tightly contested game between St. Lawrence and Harvard, the Crimson emerged with a victory, thanks in no small part to Jimmy Vesey’s first career hat trick. The performance brought Vesey’s goal total on the year to 13.
“I’ve had a couple two-goal games, I’ve hit the post a few times with two goals,” said Vesey with a smile when asked about how long it took him to reach the milestone. “It couldn’t have come at a better time.
“It’s good to get the hat trick, but that’s definitely second to the team’s win.”
Though Vesey’s three goals were the story of the game, St. Lawrence actually struck first, in the second period. Joe Sullivan skated the puck down the left wing and attempted a centering pass that deflected off Merrick Madsen’s skate and into the net to give SLU the 1-0 lead with 5:36 remaining in the middle frame. They carried the lead into the third period, but were unable to hold back Vesey.
Vesey’s first goal came at the 3:53 mark, as he deked through several SLU defenders in the slot before beating Kyle Hayton with a backhand shot.
“I was coming down on my forehand and my original thought was to shoot, but Kyle Criscuolo got cross checked near me, and I figured that was a good distraction, so I went to my backhand and was able to finish,” said Vesey.
Vesey followed up with his second goal at the 6:15 mark, a quick wrist shot through traffic from the high slot that beat Hayton through the five-hole. He completed his hat trick with a hard snap shot as he skated through the slot from right to left. The hat trick came in a span of 4:55 elapsed time.
St. Lawrence moved to within one goal with a minute and a half to play when Sean McGovern put home a loose puck in the crease, but the Saints could not solve Madsen a third time. Madsen finished with 18 saves, while his counterpart, Hayton, made 28 in the losing effort.
After the contest, despite having dropped their fourth straight game, Saints coach Greg Carvel was not down on his team.
“We’re in a bit of funk, but I really liked the way our team played tonight; I’m not the least bit upset,” said Carvel. “(Vesey) is going to beat you. We played completely different tonight than we did against Clarkson on Tuesday. That game was a dud.”
“It was a pretty competitive hockey game,” said Crimson coach Ted Donato. “It was pretty even, even though we were down one going into the third. I think we did a good job protecting the lead, we only gave up six shots in the third, and I thought Merrick was solid.”
Harvard hosts Clarkson tomorrow night, while St. Lawrence travels to Dartmouth to conclude a stretch of five games in nine days.
