“At the end of the year, there’s always players you don’t know how in the world you’ll ever replace,” Harvard men’s hockey head coach Ted Donato said after a season-ending overtime loss in the ECAC semifinals Friday. “But that’s the nature of the beast.”
Nothing was official at the time, but you have to think his mind was on his leading scorer. Center Ryan Donato had 43 points (26 goals, 17 assists) in 29 games for the Crimson this season, including two helpers in the semifinal defeat — and just so happens to be Ted’s son.
The younger Donato took another play out of his former Black and Gold father’s book on Sunday night when he signed a two-year entry-level contract with Boston.