"I guess you can say it was just like last year," Bala said.

Harvard stormed out of the gates and sent 15 shots on Laing in an action-packed first period, but neither team could break the ice until Engineer winger Andrew McPherson struck at 8:41 of the second.

McPherson took a pass from Brian Pothier at the center of the Crimson blueline, surprising the two Harvard defenders napping at the ends of the line. He quickly turned and broke in on senior goaltender J.R. Prestifilippo, who stopped the initial shot, but couldn't stop McPherson from banging in the rebound.

RPI expanded its lead on a pretty goal five minutes into the third. Pothier took the puck in the slot and waited for a diving Capouch to slide by him. He cut across to his left and buried the shot five-hole.

"We played a good offensive team," Mazzoleni said. "We gave them very few scoring opportunities, took away their chances...but that's the way hockey goes sometimes."

Harvard captain Trevor Allman sliced the RPI lead in half at 7:36, catching Laing napping on a simple shovel shot from the left boards.

Fourteen seconds later, Harvard had an opportunity to seize the momentum and tie the score with the man advantage. But a struggling Crimson power play could not generate a quality scoring chance.