“Everyone’s trying to make a big play, and we made a lot of turnovers,” Pettit said. “They probably ended up with more chances than we did.”

Friday night against Colgate, Harvard had the edge in special teams, with two power-play goals to the Raiders’ one. The first came from Cavanagh on a deflection by Colgate’s Joey Mormina. The second was scored by sophomore Dan Murphy on what Mazzoleni called a “phantom power-play goal” because it came with only three seconds left in Mormina’s charging minor and neither power-play unit on the ice.

So, when Mazzoleni was asked after Friday’s game if he thought the power play had improved, his response was a simple “No.”

Saturday certainly didn’t do much to change his mind.

Another Man-des Down

Already hampered by injuries to senior winger Kenny Turano (ankle), senior defenseman David McCulloch (ankle) and freshman defenseman Dylan Reese (back), Harvard was dealt another blow Friday night when freshman standout Steve Mandes took a hit from behind that kept him out of Saturday’s game.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time—for Mandes or his team. After a notable first month that included four assists and Kolarik-like tenacity on the forecheck and penalty kill, Mandes earned a promotion to the top line.

He looked comfortable as the team’s first-line right wing, but the injury kept him from having the experience of playing at Cornell’s raucous Lynah Rink.

“It was tough to see Stevie not playing tonight,” Packard said. “He’s been doing great for us.”

Junior Rob Flynn took his place alongside Cavanagh and Packard.

If Mandes and Reese are not able to return in time for Wednesday’s game at Boston College, Mazzoleni will have only 18 skaters with varsity experience to choose from (for 18 spots in the lineup).

His next options, freshman forward Brendan Byrne and sophomore defenseman James Cleary, have never dressed for a varsity game.

Cuddly Fish?

The ritual fish toss as Harvard skated out for warm-ups was tamer—and cuddlier—than it had been in years past. Upon the request of Schafer and athletic department officials, many fans instead threw stuffed animals as part of a holiday toy drive for underprivileged children.

By rough count, there were about 100 stuffed cats and dogs, and maybe two dozen fish—not counting the several packages worth of Swedish fish that also made their way over the boards.

It took Lynah workers about four minutes to clean it all up.

A curious addition to the toy frenzy was a foot-long massager. The male worker who picked it up looked a bit uneasy.

Lookin’ Sharp, Coach

Harvard is now 1-1-0 this season when Mazzoleni wears a sweater vest, as he did for this weekend’s games.

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