1922–23 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season

The 1922–23 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season was the 25th season of play for the program.

1922–23 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season
Triangular Hockey League, Champion
Conference	1st Triangular League
Home ice	Boston Arena
Record
Overall	8–4–0
Conference	4–2–0
Home	3–4–0
Road	3–0–0
Neutral	2–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	William Claflin
Captain(s)	George Owen
Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey seasons « 1921–22 1923–24 »

Season

At the start of their season, the Harvard Crimson did not demonstrate a strong offensive game. They were only able to defeat a weak BU squad 2–0 (albeit with a large number of alternates) and then managed just three goals in regulation against Toronto. When they began their conference schedule in mid-January the Crimson fell to Princeton for the first time since 1917 after only being able to muster a single goal.^[1] Harvard escaped with a win in the following game against Yale after another regulation with just a single goal scored.^[2]

While it may have appeared that Harvard was back to it dominating self after trouncing MIT 10–0, they were back to close games after a 19-day layoff. The Crimson defense remained stout through the remainder of the season, allowing just 6 goals in it final six games, but the offense was shut out twice and it was the meeting with Dartmouth on 21 February that cost Harvard dearly. The Dartmouth squad was one of the strongest in the nation and entered the contest with a record of 12–1. Harvard could ill afford a loss if they wanted to capture the intercollegiate title, but the offense was silenced by the Indians and the Crimson would be unable to claim another ice hockey championship.

Despite the offensive struggles, Harvard won three of their final four games, including the rubber matches against both Princeton and Yale to earn the Triangular League title. They also receive a bit of help from the Tigers, who downed Dartmouth in the final game for the Indians. The loss meant that Harvard, Dartmouth and Princeton were in a three-way tie with one another and a claim by any for the intercollegiate championship would be dubious at best.^[3]

In the team's final game of the season coach Clafin, in concert with captain Owen, invented a new strategy by changing all three forwards at the same time. This method would come to be called a 'line change' and is still used in modern hockey. While it is unknown whether or not the scheme had been used before, it was certainly the first time it had been employed in college hockey.^[4]

Roster

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team
		William M. Austin	Sophomore	C/LW
		Edward M. Beals Jr.	Sophomore	C/LW/RW
		Chandler Bigelow	Junior	G				Boston, Massachusetts
		Henry M. Bohlen	Sophomore	D			1902-12-13
		Nelson Cabot	Junior	LW/RW
		Philip W. Chase	Sophomore	D
		William E. Crosby Jr.	Junior	C/D				West Newton, Massachusetts
		J. H. Dempsey	Senior	RW
		John G. Flint	Senior	G				Boston, Massachusetts
		Harrison Gardner	Junior	C				Boston, Massachusetts
		Sidney C. Graves	Junior	LW/D			1901-07-21
		George C. Guild	Senior	C/RW
		John W. Hammond	Sophomore	RW/D
		Francis S. Hill	Junior	C/LW/RW			1900-12-14	Boston, Massachusetts
		Joseph Larocque Jr.	Senior	C/RW				Bernardsville, New Jersey
		J. J. Lee	Junior	LW/RW
		George Owen Jr. (C)	Junior	C/LW/D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1901-12-02	Hamilton, Ontario
		Palmer		RW
		C. L. Pierson	Sophomore	LW/RW
		Laurence O. Pratt	Freshman	D			1904-05-07
		George G. Walker	Junior	LW			1900-12-14	Richmond, New York	St. Paul's School

^[5]

Standings

1922–23 Eastern Collegiate ice hockey standings v t e
	Intercollegiate								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Amherst	9	5	3	1	.611	17	29		9	5	3	1	17	29
Army	11	5	6	0	.455	26	35		14	7	7	0	36	39
Bates	9	6	3	0	.667	34	25		12	8	4	0	56	32
Boston College	5	5	0	0	1.000	30	6		14	12	1	1	53	18
Boston University	7	2	5	0	.286	21	22		8	2	6	0	22	26
Bowdoin	6	3	3	0	.500	18	28		9	5	4	0	37	33
Clarkson	3	2	0	1	.833	15	3		6	3	2	1	30	17
Colby	6	2	4	0	.333	15	21		6	2	4	0	15	21
Columbia	9	0	9	0	.000	14	35		9	0	9	0	14	35
Cornell	6	0	4	2	.167	6	16		6	0	4	2	6	16
Dartmouth	12	10	2	0	.833	49	20		15	13	2	0	67	26
Hamilton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		10	4	6	0	–	–
Harvard	10	7	3	0	.700	27	11		12	8	4	0	34	19
Maine	6	2	4	0	.333	16	23		6	2	4	0	16	23
Massachusetts Agricultural	9	3	4	2	.444	13	24		9	3	4	2	13	24
Middlebury	3	0	3	0	.000	1	6		3	0	3	0	1	6
MIT	8	3	5	0	.375	16	52		8	3	5	0	16	52
Pennsylvania	6	0	5	1	.083	8	36		7	1	5	1	11	38
Princeton	15	11	4	0	.733	84	21		19	13	5	1	97	32
Rensselaer	5	1	4	0	.200	6	23		5	1	4	0	6	23
Saint Michael's	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–
Union	0	0	0	0	–	0	0		3	2	1	0	–	–
Williams	9	5	3	1	.611	33	17		10	6	3	1	40	17
Yale	13	9	4	0	.692	70	16		15	9	6	0	75	26

1922–23 Triangular Hockey League standings v t e
	Conference									Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	SW	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Harvard *	6	4	2	0	.667	2	9	10		12	8	4	0	34	19
Yale	6	3	3	0	.500	1	13	10		15	9	6	0	75	26
Princeton	6	2	4	0	.333	0	9	11		19	13	5	1	97	32
* indicates conference champion

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Record
Regular Season
December 13	vs. Boston University*	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	W 2–0	1–0–0
January 3	vs. Toronto*	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	L 5–7 2OT	1–1–0
January 13	vs. Princeton	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	L 1–3	1–2–0 (0–1–0)
January 20	at Yale	New Haven Arena • New Haven, Connecticut	W 3–2 3OT	2–2–0 (1–1–0)
January 26	vs. MIT*	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	W 10–0	3–2–0
February 14	vs. Queen's*	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	W 2–1	4–2–0
February 17	vs. Cornell*	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	W 6–0	5–2–0
February 21	vs. Dartmouth*	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	L 0–1	5–3–0
February 24	at Princeton	Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey	W 2–1	6–3–0 (2–1–0)
February 28	vs. Princeton	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	W 1–0	7–3–0 (3–1–0)
March 3	vs. Yale	Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts	L 0–3	7–4–0 (3–2–0)
March 7	at Yale	New Haven Arena • New Haven, Connecticut	W 2–1 3OT	8–4–0 (4–2–0)
*Non-conference game.

^[6]

References

1. "BRILLIANT ATTACK OF TIGER SEXTET DOWNS CRIMSON 3-1". The Harvard Crimson. January 15, 1923. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
2. "SCORE BY HILL IN OVERTIME PERIOD UPSETS ELIS 3-2". The Harvard Crimson. January 22, 1923. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
3. "Dartmouth 2009-10 Men's Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). Dartmouth Big Green. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
4. "Harvard Sextet Clinches Big Three Championship". Yale Daily News. March 8, 1923. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
5. "1922-1923 Roster". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
6. "Harvard Men's Hockey year-By-year results" (PDF). Harvard Crimson. Retrieved December 30, 2019.