In Harvard’s last game—Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to Boston College—Johnson scored a goal on the Crimson’s first shot of the game at 1:24 in the first period. It was the fastest Harvard had scored in a game since a Dec. 29, 1999 loss at Minnesota, when Dominic Moore ’03 scored at 0:19.

Mazzoleni was frank about the potential of his sophomore winger after Saturday’s win.

“Charlie Johnson’s got skill,” he said. “I mean, Charlie Johnson can score goals. He showed it.”

But the Harvard coach challenged the winger to keep his hot streak alive for the rest of the year, wondering aloud about the kind of player Johnson could eventually be.

“You know, Charlie Johnson’s got to play with jam,” Mazzoleni said. “When Charlie Johnson plays with jam, [Saturday’s game]’s what happens. When he doesn’t play, you don’t even know he’s on the rink. I’m just telling you how it is. It’s the truth. He can be the difference-maker for us, if he plays with jam.”

Freshman right winger Steve Mandes, whose goal at 12:01 in the third was the eventual game-winner, agreed with Mazzoleni, down to the last part about the jam.

“[Johnson] had a great game,” Mandes said. “He’s really getting in there...He just played with a lot of jam, and that’s what we need out of everyone, especially from a skill guy like Charlie.”

And if Johnson continues to bring both his skills and his jam to the rink on a nightly basis?

“If he can bring both to the table,” Mandes said with wonder, “it’s going to be awesome.”

—Staff writer Alex McPhillips can be reached at rmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.