1918–19 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season

The 1918–19 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season was the 21st season of play for the program.

1918–19 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season
Record
Overall7–0–0
Home1–0–0
Road1–0–0
Neutral5–0–0
Coaches and Captains
Captain(s)Robert Gross
Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey seasons
« 1916–17 1919–20 »

Season

When World War I ended in November, many American servicemen began to return home. With a transatlantic flight having yet to be completed, the weeks-long sea crossing was the quickest way to return home. It was no mean feat for Harvard to play its first hockey game exactly two months after the ceasefire, but the team was aided by the informal team that had played during the previous winter.

The ice hockey team had to overcome an additional hardship due to their home rink, the Boston Arena, having been seriously damaged by fire shortly after the War ended. On short notice the team was able to secure the Charlesbank Rink for three games, so named due it being located on the banks of the Charles River, near where the Daly Memorial Rink currently sits (as of 2020). The team played the Boston Hockey Club on January 11th and swiftly surrendered two goals to their opponents. Harvard redoubled their efforts to cut the lead in half before the end of the half and then allowed Avery to score twice in the second half to complete his hat-trick earn the win for the Crimson.[1]

It would be almost three weeks before the team would play their next game, but by that time they had settled on a captain. Robert Gross, who had bee on the 1917 squad and led the informal team the year before, was chosen to lead the squad once more. The first match with Gross as captain was against the Camp Devens team and, despite playing on soft ice, Harvard was able to overcome the larger team.[2] The next night the Crimson faced Boston College for the first time in their history. Harvard was dominant in the inaugural game for what would become an enduring cross-town rivalry.[3]

After a second win over the Boston Hockey Club, Harvard headed south to renew its rivalry with Yale at the Brooklyn Ice Palace. Harvard jumped on the Elis early, scoring twice in the first seven minutes of the game and adding a fourth just before the end of the half. The second was a more even period but the Crimson skated away with a 4–1 victory.[4] The following week Harvard headed up to Concord, New Hampshire for a narrow victory over St. Paul's School that was marred by soft, slushy ice,[5] and then returned to Brooklyn for their final game against Princeton. The Tigers blitzed Harvard early, scoring 45 seconds into the match, but Harvard settled the game down afterwards and scored three timed before Princeton could tally again. The Crimson were utterly dominant in the second half, possessing the puck for much of the time and scoring four times to take the match with a convincing win.[6]

Harvard finished the season with a perfect record, including wins over Princeton and Yale, but with so few teams playing and most competing in only a handful of games, Harvard would not lay any claim to a championship. They would, however, use their success in 1919 as a springboard for the following year with a full season expected.

Roster
No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team
Adams C/LW
Thomas M. Avery Sophomore C/LW 5' 10" (1.78 m) 145 lb (66 kg) 1898-08-03 Chicago, Illinois St. Paul's School
Francis M. Bacon III Sophomore C/LW 5' 10" (1.78 m) 142 lb (64 kg) 1899-05-14 Short Hills, New Jersey St. Paul's School
George S. Baldwin Sophomore C/LW 1898-12-03 Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Phillips Academy
Edward L. Bigelow Sophomore C 5' 11" (1.8 m) 159 lb (72 kg) 1899-04-19 Boston, Massachusetts St. Mark's School
Alexander H. Bright Senior C/RW 1897-12-16 Cambridge, Massachusetts Browne & Nichols School
Roger W. Buntin Sophomore C 1898-06-23 Newtonville, Massachusetts Newton High School
Edward Cabot Junior C 1898-05-13 Milton, Massachusetts Milton Academy
Frederic C. Church Junior D 1897-05-22 Lowell, Massachusetts St. Paul's School
Charles A. Clark Jr. Senior D 1898-02-15 Somerville, Massachusetts Milton Academy
Robert E. Gross (C) Senior RW 5' 6" (1.68 m) 135 lb (61 kg) 1897-05-11 West Roxbury, Massachusetts St. George's School
Higgins LW
Jabish Holmes Jr. Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 1899-03-11 Pelham Manor, New York Middlesex School
John A. Sessions Sophomore D 1899-05-21 Brooklyn, New York St. Paul's School
Henry B. W. Snelling Junior C/LW 1899-02-14 Newton Center, Massachusetts St. Mark's School
Norman S. Walker Junior D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 148 lb (67 kg) 1897-12-21 Castleton Corners, New York St. Paul's School
Henry K. White Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 153 lb (69 kg) 1897-02-23 Brookline, Massachusetts St. Paul's School

[7]

Standings
1918–19 Collegiate ice hockey standings
Intercollegiate Overall
GP W L T PCT. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Army1010.00045422077
Assumption–––––––––––––
Boston College2110.500793210109
Hamilton–––––––2101––
Harvard33001.00018577003110
Massachusetts Agricultural College3102.66720310220
Princeton2020.0003132020313
Rensselaer1010.00014001014
Williams1010.00002101002
Yale2110.50075211075
YMCA College–––––––––––––

Schedule and Results
Date Opponent Site Result Record
Regular Season
January 11 vs. Boston Hockey Club* Charlesbank Rink • Brighton, Massachusetts W 3–2  1–0–0
January 30 vs. Fort Devens* Cambridge, Massachusetts W 3–0  2–0–0
January 31 vs. Boston College* Charlesbank Rink • Brighton, Massachusetts W 7–2  3–0–0
February 1 vs. Boston Hockey Club* Charlesbank Rink • Brighton, Massachusetts W 3–0  4–0–0
February 8 vs. Yale* Brooklyn Ice Palace • Brooklyn, New York W 4–1  5–0–0
February 15 at St. Paul's School* Concord, New Hampshire W 4–3  6–0–0
February 22 vs. Princeton* Brooklyn Ice Palace • Brooklyn, New York W 7–2  7–0–0
*Non-conference game.

[8]

References
  1. "UNIVERSITY SEVEN WON FIRST SKIRMISH, 3-2". The Harvard Crimson. January 13, 1919. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  2. "GROSS HOCKEY CAPTAIN". The Harvard Crimson. January 31, 1919. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  3. "CRIMSON SEVEN TOOK 3RD STRAIGHT MATCH". The Harvard Crimson. February 1, 1919. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  4. "SEVEN VICTORIOUS OVER YALE BY 4 TO 1 SCORE ELIS OUTCLASSED IN EVERY BRANCH OF GAME". The Harvard Crimson. February 10, 1919. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  5. "ST. PAUL'S BEATEN BY 4-3 MARGIN SATURDAY". The Harvard Crimson. February 17, 1919. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  6. "UNIVERSITY SEVEN OVERCAME PRINCETON 7-2 CLOSED SEASON OF SEVEN GAMES UNDEFEATED". The Harvard Crimson. February 24, 1919. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  7. "1918-1919 Roster". Elite Prospects. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  8. "Harvard Men's Hockey year-By-year results" (PDF). Harvard Crimson. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
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