The one bit of good news from the trainer’s room: standout freshman Steve Mandes, who missed the Cornell game after taking a hit from behind at Colgate, was back in the lineup. The right wing skated alongside Kolarik and freshman Kevin Du on the second line.

“I thought he was outstanding,” Mazzoleni said of Mandes, who attempted two shots and saw time on the penalty kill. “The kid didn’t do anything since Friday, and he went out there and played today.

Meanwhile, none of the team’s forward lines had the same personnel that they did over the weekend. Notable changes included senior Tim Pettit returning to the top line, Du centering the second line, and Barlow moving into the fourth-line pivot.

Junior Andrew Lederman was the odd man out, and played sparingly at forward.

Power Problems Solved?

After going 2-for-19 on the power play in its last three games—7-for-41 for the season—the Crimson switched its power play in practice this week, from an umbrella with junior Tom Cavanagh, Welch, and Pettit across the top, to a set with Welch and Pettit on either end of the blue line and three men across the bottom.

The result was a 1-for-3 performance against the Eagles, including a first period one-timer by junior Brendan Bernakevitch—a new addition to the unit—on a pristine cross-ice feed from Pettit. The goal gave Harvard a 2-1 lead, which it held until a BC power-play marker of its own tied the game nine minutes later.

“We had the puck moving around a lot more in the zone, and we were hitting seam passes,” said Bernakevitch, who had a goal and an assist last night. “We had good shots in front of the net.

“It was tough to get used to a change in systems like that. But once we get used to it, it’s definitely going to work out for us.”

Harvard began the season with the same power play formation it used last season, when it converted 37 of 156 chances (23.7 percent). But without key cogs Dominic Moore ’03 and Brett Nowak ’03, Pettit and Welch—zero power-play goals between them—struggled to generate shots on net from the points.

But Mazzoleni liked the puck movement he saw during the Crimson’s power play chances against the Eagles, even though they only added up to three shots on goal.

“It’s very much a step in the right direction for us, because we haven’t been [putting the puck on net],” he said. “Again, though, you look at the outcome, and they were 2-for-6 and we were 1-for-3.”

Harvard is 1-4-1 when scoring fewer power-play goals than its opponents, compared to a 3-1-0 mark when it has scores more on the man advantage.

—Staff writer Timothy M. McDonald can be reached at tmcdonal@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Jon Paul Morosi can be reached at morosi@fas.harvard.edu.