“You have an interesting combination [on the Moore-Turano-Johnson line] of skilled and experienced upperclassmen and an underclassmen who’s a very creative and instinctive goal scorer,” Grumet-Morris said.

Power Surge

Power plays were a key factor in both games this weekend, working to the Crimson’s advantage one night and its detriment the next.

As part of the seven-goal offensive explosion against Colgate, Harvard converted 4-of-9 power-play opportunities.

“When you look at it, [Colgate] is 0-for-7, we’re 4-for-9 on the power play,” Mazzoleni said, “That’s a decisive factor in the game.”

In just the same way, the power play was the key to success in the game on Saturday. Unfortunately it was the key for Cornell, which went 2-for-4 with the man advantage.

Those two scores, coming on its first two power plays, gave the Big Red an early lead and set the tone for the game.

“[Cornell] capitalized on two calls in the first five minutes of the game,” Grumet-Morris said. “You don’t want to take two quick penalties to a team that is very good on the power play.”

The Crimson is very good on the power play as well, as evidenced by the clinic it put on with its only opportunity. In that textbook example, Harvard patiently moved the puck around the Big Red defense, probing for a weakness and charging the net hard whenever a shot was fired.

If the Crimson had as many chances as Cornell with a man up, the score may have been different, but it was Harvard’s early penalties and the Big Red’s execution that were the story.

Another Brick in the Wall

Giving up four goals in one game may not seem like a good weekend, even if the night before was a shutout. But in Grumet-Morris’ case, his performance this weekend can be seen as a modest success.

Against the Red Raiders Friday night, he stopped 37 shots and kept Colgate off the scoreboard entirely. Although he had an easy first period, Grumet-Morris faced some tough shots in the second frame when the Red Raiders actually outshot the Crimson and got a number of quality scoring chances.

But as the game headed into the third, Harvard’s defense tightened up and Grumet-Morris remained a wall in net.

“Obviously whenever you get a shutout going into the third period you want to keep it,” Grumet-Morris said. “It’s a matter of pride for the team. It’s a team shutout.”