Clarkson 5, Harvard 4

The 5-4 loss to Clarkson on Friday night confirmed an unsettling trend for the fledgling Harvard squad--an inability to play confidently with the lead. The glaring weakness was all too clear against the Golden Knights, as the Crimson blew the lead three times over the course of the game.

The loss--resulting from a lethal combination of breakdowns and shaky goaltending--sent Harvard deeper into its funk and extended its losing streak to five games, it's longest drought of the season.

"I thought tonight overall we played well defensively," Mazzoleni said. "I thought we had individual breakdowns. It's almost getting to be a broken record on execution on basic fundamental plays."

For most of the season, one of the Crimson's main hurdles has been finishing strongly in the third period. By far its weakest frame, Harvard has given up 34 goals in the third, almost as many as it has allowed in the first two periods combined.

Clarkson scored two unanswered goals within four minutes of each other in the third period to steal the lead.

At 8:25 Jonas mishandled a routine wrist shot from Golden Knights' defenseman Kerry Ellis-Toddington at the top of the right circle, allowing the puck to dribble across the goal line. The tally knotted the game at four apiece.

Center David Evans netted the game-winner for Clarkson at 12:33 after winding around a Crimson defender and beating Jonas on the backhand.