"I think their power play worked well against ours. They kept us running around a little bit, kept us scrambling," Storey said. "You have to give credit to their power play. It was good, but I think we made some mistakes that they just capitalized on."

Less than one minute after the Red Raiders went on the board they netted another goal at 7:28. The Red Raiders' Dan Wildfong took a pass from Mike Marostega, the game's MVP, and backhanded the puck past Prestifilippo, widening Colgate's lead to two.

Just after scoring Colgate's second goal, Wildfong took a penalty for slashing, giving Harvard the opportunity to capitalize on the power play. Unfortunately, Colgate's penalty killing was on target, and few chances emerged for Harvard to close the gap.

The Red Raiders dominated the puck in the offensive zone, taking advantage of Harvard's characteristically slow start. Another power play chance was handed to the Crimson as a result of a hooking penalty on Colgate's Darryl Campbell at 18:54. But Harvard's inability to clear the puck out of the corners and win face-offs allowed another penalty kill.

The second period seemed to be a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Harvard started stronger, giving Colgate fewer opportunities to score. Then Chodorow was called for holding at 1:20 in to the second, giving the Red Raiders a one-an advantage. But Harvard's penalty killing (83 percent effective) was in control, keeping Colgate at bay.

A defensive lapse allowed Colgate's Kevin Johns to break in on a two-on-one, but Prestifilippo stopped Johns' shot from the slot. Despite picking up the pace somewhat, the Crimson still had difficulty, especially clearing the puck out of the crease and getting rebounds.

"Plain and simple, we just didn't play well, and they outworked us on our defense all night," Storey said. "We were a different team tonight than we were last weekend and we just weren't playing hard."

The physical game grew more intense as the period wore on, with Schwefel taking a minor for holding at 5:02. Colgate was unable to score, and was called with a penalty of its own. The Red Raiders' Bob Vandersluis was called for holding at 7:02, giving Harvard another golden opportunity.

With only one second left on the power play, Bala netted the Crimson's first goal of the night. Scrambling in front of the crease, Bala poked home a rebound at 9:51, giving him his first goal since the Omaha trip, breaking a dry spell of over two months.

"Their line definitely could have played better," said Tomassoni. "But I think Bala's goal will hopefully give him a little boost."

The end of the second period showed much more offensive play by the Crimson. Moore had a handful of key attempts, including a shot from the crease at almost point blank range, saved by Colgate goaltender Jason Lefevre.

Unfortunately, offensive strength can be taken only so far. The major problem plaguing the Crimson has been an inability to clear the rebounds. Campbell grabbed a rebound at 14:47 and flipped the puck over Prestifilippo's right shoulder, bringing the tally to 3-1, Colgate.

The second period ended on a somber note for the Crimson, as Moore was called at 19:09 for roughing, leaving over a minute of penalty time to be made up at the top of the third period.

Beginning the third period shorthanded was the back-breaker for the Crimson. Barely 30 seconds in to the third period, Colgate's Mike Marostega one-timed a pass from Campbell sending the puck right by Prestifilippo's left side, giving the Red Raiders a 4-1 advantage.

"They came out early and scored about 30 seconds in to the third. You could really feel it on the bench, and that hurt us," Bala said. "A couple of heads went down, but we need to learn to come back from that. We've got to be stronger if we're going to make a playoff run."

The third period goal deflated the Crimson, allowing their guard to drop even further in both the offensive and defensive zones. Colgate scored a fifth goal at 7:33 on a power play. The Red Raiders' Etienne Morin notched his second of the night, sending a wrist shot over Presto's shoulder.

Less than a minute later, Colgate's Kevin Johns put the Red Raiders up by five, snaking around the net, and launching a shot from the crease past Prestifilippo. Tomassoni pulled the junior goaltender, and sent backup Oliver Jonas into the net for the remainder of the third.

"I don't blame J.R. one bit, but I felt that the score was getting out of control," Tomassoni said. "I gave Ollie some time tonight, and told J.R. to get ready for Cornell tomorrow night."

A twist of irony finished off the third period, as Colgate pulled its goaltender with only 3:10 remaining in the third. Chris Murray replaced Lefevre for his first appearance between the pipes as a senior.

Coincidentally, in last year's home-ice blowout of Colgate by the Crimson, Mike Ginal played the first game of his career with only 3:10 remaining in the third.