With forwards Kenny Turano (broken ankle) and Andrew Lederman (shoulder) and defensemen David McCulloch (high ankle sprain) and Dylan Reese (pinched nerve) already out of the lineup, Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni could ill afford another injury this weekend.

But Friday night, the training room got a little more crowded with 9:13 left in the first period when senior defenseman Blair Barlow was hit hard against the boards by Cornell winger Greg Hornby.

Barlow, whom Mazzoleni said last week has been playing the best defense of his collegiate career, missed Saturday’s game with a possible concussion, leaving Harvard with only 17 healthy skaters with varsity experience, excluding goalies. Sophomore defenseman James Cleary dressed in Barlow’s place as a sixth defenseman but did not receive ice time.

Prior to Barlow’s injury, the Crimson had played the identical lineup—including the goaltender—for five straight games.

“I can’t sit kids and put other kids in the lineup,” Mazzoleni said flatly. “I made one change [Saturday] with the goaltending and that seemed to work, but we don’t have many trump cards.

“You have to have kids who are very self-motivated and disciplined. They know they’re going to have to get it done. If they’re not ready to play, we have no one else to play.”

Harvard’s third and fourth lines took on a new look this weekend and met with success. Freshman Kevin Du now centers junior Rob Flynn and freshman Ryan Maki on a line that features Du’s deft puck skills and the brawn of Flynn (6’2, 220 pounds) and Maki (6’2, 195).

“I think it went pretty well for us, just getting together this weekend,” said Flynn, who scored his second goal of the year Saturday. “Du and Maki are both hard-workers, Du with his skill and Maki with the size he has to create space. They keep things moving.”

Sophomore Dan Murphy, who has improved considerably over the last month, joins sophomore center Charlie Johnson and freshman right wing Steve Mandes on a speedy fourth line.

“If you’re going to have any chance to win in college hockey, you’d better have three lines, or four lines,” Mazzoleni said. “The fatigue factor sets in tremendously on back-to-back nights and you’ve got to have gas in your tank.”

Penalty Killed

The Crimson continued to struggle down a man on Friday night against Cornell, surrendering two goals despite drawing just three penalties.

Harvard’s first shorthanded situation went promisingly, as the two minutes ticked off the clock without incident. But Shane Hynes got the best of the Crimson on each of the next two, opening up a three-goal lead for the Big Red from which Harvard would never be able to recover.

Hynes capitalized on the Crimson’s inability to clear the front of the net for his first tally, tipping home a Matt Moulson shot from just outside the goal mouth.

Harvard maintained solid possessions on its own two power-play opportunities, but was unable to punch the puck home.