"They got a couple of chances in the beginning, but the defense didn't let any rebounds get in," Prestifilippo said. "They made my job a lot easier."
All of this was made more impressive by the fact that two Harvard players did not make the trip to Union.
Captain Ashlin Halfnight was still feeling the effects of a inury sustained during the win over Clarkson on Sunday (senior Joe Craigen was named interim captain), while backup goaltender Peter Zakowich didn't make the trip for unknown reasons.
Late in the second period, the final nail in the coffin was driven deep by Higdon, collecting his third point of the day (he captured the assist on the first Harvard goal, winning the face-off).
Skating in from the right side of the goalface, he drove home a pass from sophomore Criag MacDonald only 53 seconds before the second intermission.
The goal and two assists made yesterday a breakout day for Higdon, who missed the first three games of the season due to injury and had not scored all year. Four times last season he had three-point games.
Prestifilippo also had his best game of the year, earning his first career shutout. The 3-0 win was also Harvard's largest victory margin of the season.
Harvard gets a week off before its next games, which are December 20 and 21 at Minnesota-Duluth. First Period Har--Scorsune 2 (Rodgers, Higdon) 1:28. (PPG) Second Period Har--Rodgers 1 (Higdon, Hyland) 3:19. Har--Higdon 1 (MacDonald, Millar) 19:07. (PPG) Third Period No Goals Scored. Saves: Har--Prestifilippo 5-11-5 21; Uni--Koenig 5-11-8 24. Power Play: Har--2/4; Uni--0/7. Attendance: 1302