Clarkson 4, Harvard 1

The Golden Knights (12-12-6, 8-5-5) put up three goals in the first period on Friday night and never looked back.

Clarkson freshman winger Mac Faulkner began the scoring just 4:45 into the game, as he beat Harvard freshman goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris after receiving a pass through the slot from forward Jean Desrochers.

The Crimson countered less than five minutes later, as Moore potted a power-play goal to tie the game at one. Nowak and Capouch were credited with assists on the marker, Moore’s ninth of the season.

The Golden Knights responded, though, moving ahead 2-1 at the 13:40 mark. Junior centerman Kevin O’Flaherty pounced on a shot from defenseman Randy Jones that had bounced off the endboards and slipped it by Grumet-Morris for the eventual game-winner.

Clarkson opened up a two-goal lead on a very similar scoring sequence. This time, winger Jay Latulippe sent in a shot that popped out from the boards and onto the waiting stick of wing Chris Blight, who beat Grumet-Morris with just 1:52 to play in the period.

Blight’s goal capped a high-scoring period for the Golden Knights and prompted Mazzoleni to make a switch in goal as the second period opened, lifting Grumet-Morris in favor of Crothers.

It seemed as if Crothers was prepared to enter the game, as he and Clarkson netminder Mike Walsh battled to a stalemate in a scoreless second period.

In fact, neither team scored until well into the third, when Latulippe earned his second point of the evening by beating Crothers on a breakaway with 7:58 to go in the game for the final margin of victory.

Harvard’s goaltending duo stopped six shots in each frame, as Crothers finished with 12 during his 40 minutes of work.

Walsh made 23 saves for the Knights.

This weekend, the Crimson will play host to Rensselaer and Union in its final regular season homestand. After that, Harvard will travel to Yale and Princeton on March 1 and 2, respectively, to close out the schedule.

The Crimson’s four remaining opponents have a combined ECAC record of 27-36-9, which bodes well for Harvard’s ability to jockey for playoff positioning.

“I think right now we have to really focus on second place,” Capouch said. “I think it’s a stretch to say that we could catch Cornell. But if we finish strong we can definitely [end up] in second place.”

The Big Red (18-6-1, 14-3-1 ECAC) needs just one victory over its next four games to secure its first ECAC regular season title since 1973.