SCHENECTADY, N.Y.—Harvard captain Dominic Moore is beginning to wonder if anyone will want to play with him.

Moore lost his two wingers, junior Dennis Packard and sophomore Brendan Bernakevitch, to injuries just two games apart from one another.

“Brendan was pointing out to me the other day that it must be bad luck to play on my line,” Moore said. “It’s tough to lose both your wingers.”

But its not just Bernakevitch and Packard who have missed time for the Crimson. In a three-game stretch against No. 6 Boston College, No. 1 Maine and No. 15 Northern Michigan, the Crimson lost five players to injury and illness.

“It is unfortunate because we were starting to develop some chemistry, especially after the Yale game,” Moore said. “But this is really the best time of the year to get injured with breaks for Christmas and exams. We have the fewest number of games over the most amount of weeks right now, so these guys won’t miss a lot of action recovering.”

The injuries reached a peak at the Bank One Badger Showdown. Facing Colgate on Dec. 30 in Wisconsin, Harvard was without five regulars and could only dress 10 forwards.

In addition to Packard and Bernakevitch, junior winger Kenny Turano and freshmen defensemen Peter Hafner were injured, while junior winger Rob Fried was out with the flu.

If the injuries and unfamiliar line combinations hurt the Crimson, the team did not let it show. Harvard rebounded from its longest winless streak of the year (three games) to down Colgate 8-1.

“The great thing this year is our depth,” Bernakevitch said. “Even with guys like Packard and Turano out, there are people who can step up, contribute and play active positive roles. It is one of our biggest strengths.”

Among the pile of injured Crimson players, Packard was the first to go down on Dec. 11. Late in the third period of a 2-2 tie with BC, Packard was slashed and injured his right hand.

It turned out that he had broken his fifth metacarpal bone, which runs along the outside of the hand between the wrist and the bones of the finger.

Packard underwent surgery the following Tuesday, when doctors inserted a metal plate and six screws in his hand.

The bone must be immobilized for four weeks after surgery, and so far, Packard has been wearing a splint for three weeks so he can continue to move his fingers and retain as much strength as possible in his hand.

“Most likely I won’t play this weekend,” Packard said. “Actually, there’s no chance that I’ll play this weekend, but it was still an opportunistic time to break your hand.”

Packard will miss just three conference games and six games in total. The Crimson’s next game after the weekend is not until Jan. 31 against Brown. By that time, Packard expects to be back in the lineup.