The 2024–25 Harvard Crimson Men's ice hockey season was the 124th season of play for the program and 63rd in ECAC Hockey. The Crimson represented Harvard University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Bright-Landry Hockey Center and were coached by Ted Donato in his 20th season.
Season For virtually the entire season, Harvard was plagued by its lack of scoring. Injuries played a role in this, with Alex Gaffney missing all but 4 games, but that did not prevent the remainder of the team from being able to contribute. Though the Crimson's output increased from the previous season, it was far too inconsistent for the team to have any sustained success. The defense, too was not quite as good as expected; Harvard allowed nearly 3 goals per game for the year and, though the numbers were also improved from a year ago, the team wasn't getting the results from a squad that had seven defensemen selected in the NHL draft. One of the few positive notes during the season was the performance of the team's freshmen. Mick Thompson led the club in scoring, averaging just less than a point per game, while Ben Charette did not look out of place as a potential starting goaltender in future.
Harvard finished the regular season leading the pack of also-rans in ECAC Hockey. They had won just enough games to earn themselves a home game to start the postseason and got an advantageous match when they were pitted against one of the worst defensive teams in the nation, Rensselaer. A 5-goal output from the Crimson sent them to the quarterfinals against Clarkson, where the team finally showed a consistent winning effort. Twice in the first game, Harvard got into the lead but they were unable to hold either. The two teams looked to be heading into overtime before the Knights scored the winning tally with just 25 seconds to play. The Crimson could have crumbled in the rematch, particularly after Clarkson built a 2-goal lead early in the second. Instead, The defense held the Golden Knights off the board for the final 45 minutes and allowed the forwards to net three straight, the final in overtime, and even the series.
The deciding game saw Clarkson throw the puck on goal every chance they got and Aku Koskenvuo turned in one of his best performances all season. The junior netminder stopped 35 shots in regulation, allowing only one power play marker in 60 minutes. Harvard's offense wasn't any worse than they had been in the previous two games but they could only match the Knights' single tally and the two needed extra time once more. The teams seemed evenly matched and were testing both netminders with a bevy of shots. About 7 minutes in, Ryan Fine blocked a point shot but it took an unlucky bounce right to another Clarkson player. Koskenvuo slid out of position to prevent a shot from in tight but, after a quick pass, the Knights didn't miss their shot at an open net and won the game, ending Harvard's season.
Departures Ryan Drkulec Forward Graduation (retired) Peter Frates Forward Left program (retired) Max Miller Goaltender Graduation (retired) Derek Mullahy Goaltender Graduate transfer to Michigan Tech
Recruiting Ben Charette Goaltender 21 Aurora, ON William Hughes Forward 20 Andover, MA Sean Keohane Defenseman 19 Boston, MA; selected 173rd overall in 2023 Will McDonough Forward 19 Duxbury, MA Justin Solovey Forward 19 Holmdel, NJ Lucas St. Louis Defenseman 19 Burlington, VT Mick Thompson Forward 20 Toronto, ON Evan Zhang Goaltender 18 Sherborn, MA
Roster As of August 12, 2024.
Standings
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=";" | Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season
!colspan=12 style=";" |
!colspan=12 style=";" |
!colspan=12 style=";" |
Scoring statistics LW 33 14 18 32 2 C 33 16 12 28 4 C 28 5 18 23 8 C 27 5 11 16 18 D 32 3 11 14 14 D 33 4 9 13 12 F 33 5 7 12 16 C 31 4 8 12 6 D 33 2 9 11 12 D 33 6 4 10 24 C 31 5 4 9 2 RW 30 3 5 8 14 C 31 1 6 7 8 D 31 1 5 6 6 D 26 4 1 5 8 F 24 1 4 5 2 D 28 2 2 4 8 F 21 3 0 3 8 D 25 0 3 3 25 C 31 1 1 2 6 D 11 0 2 2 12 F 13 0 2 2 0 F 1 0 0 0 0 G 1 0 0 0 0 C 4 0 0 0 0 D 4 0 0 0 0 G 17 0 0 0 0 G 21 0 0 0 0 Bench – – – – – 4 Total 85 142 227 219
Goaltending statistics 1 0:13 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0.00 17 910:57 5 8 2 42 422 1 .909 2.77 21 1089:14 8 9 1 51 469 1 .902 2.81 Empty Net - 19:40 - - - 4 - - - - Total 33 2020:04 13 17 3 97 891 2 .902 2.88
Rankings
PollWeekPre 1 23456789101112131415161718192021222324252627 (Final) USCHO.comRVRVRVRVRVRV20RVRVRVRVNR–NRRVNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR–NR USA HockeyRVRVRVRVRVRV19RVRVRVRVNR–NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12 or 26.Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.
Awards and honors Ben CharetteECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team Mick Thompson
2025 NHL entry draft
4 122 † Nashville Predators 6 176 † Calgary Flames 7 210 † San Jose Sharks † incoming freshman
References