1924–25 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season explained

The 1924–25 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season was the 27th season of play for the program.

Season

With new coach Edward Bigelow behind the bench, Harvard received some impactful news in the offseason. Yale's home building, the New Haven Arena, had burned down, leaving the team without a local venue. This would give Harvard an advantage over the Elis as all games between the two teams would be played at the Boston Arena.[1] Additionally, the team lost only five players to graduation and those spots would be filled by men from an undefeated freshman team.[2]

Harvard got a quick start on the season, defeating MIT 8–3 and Boston University 6–1, before taking on the Boston hockey Club. The 1–8 loss demonstrated that the team still had a ways to go, but the return of Hammond, Howard and Chase from their respective absences would help the team's fortunes.[3]

When Harvard returned from their winter break they found Toronto waiting for them for the fourth consecutive year. This time, however, Harvard was able to put together a winning effort for the first time since 1913. After narrowly losing to another amateur club, Harvard got a leg up on Yale with a 3–2 overtime win, then followed that with a defeat of Princeton the following week. After keeping its intercollegiate record unblemished, Harvard had two chances to defeat its conference rivals and would need them when Yale evened the series with their own 3–2 win.

After keeping their intercollegiate championship hopes alive with a close victory over Dartmouth, Harvard faced Yale in a rubber match that was likely to decide the Triangular League and Intercollegiate championships. The two titans fought a defensive battle with Yale utilizing a similar form of line change as the Crimson. The gambit allowed the Bulldogs' top players to keep up with Harvard long into the night and, after regulation ended without a goal, overtime was required. Neither goaltender surrendered a marker in the two extra periods so a third, sudden-death period was needed. It took six minutes for Yale's Harrison Turnbull to score the only goal of the game and end Harvard's pursuit of a championship.[4]

Harvard won their final game of the season, narrowly defeating Princeton, to finish in second place in the Triangular League.

Roster

[5]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: OWEN FINDS HARVARD'S HOCKEY PROSPECTS GOOD . The Harvard Crimson . November 26, 1924 . July 29, 2020.
  2. Web site: HOCKEY SQUAD GOES ON ARENA ICE TODAY . The Harvard Crimson . November 24, 1924 . July 29, 2020.
  3. Web site: CRIMSON SIX MEETS BOSTON HOCKEY CLUB . The Harvard Crimson . December 19, 1924 . July 29, 2020.
  4. Web site: Yale Wins Big Three Championship as Turnbull Scores in Sudden Death . Yale Daily News . February 26, 1925 . July 29, 2020.
  5. Web site: 1924-1925 Roster . Elite Prospects . July 27, 2020.
  6. Web site: Harvard Men’s Hockey year-By-year results . Harvard Crimson . December 30, 2019.