FRESH LEGS

Last year, Brendan Bernakevitch centered the most potent line of the season’s second half, skating between sizeable wingers Packard and current sophomore Ryan Maki.

On Saturday, Bernakevitch found himself centering a slightly less balanced line—the 6’1 senior now had 5’8 Pelle on his right and the 6’4 Watters on his left. Their results, though, weren’t any less impressive.

Watters, who according to Donato “gives [the team] a dimension of size and strength that looks good in our lineup,” accumulated a pair of goals and a pair of assists on the night.

Meanwhile, Pelle, whom the coach called “a smart, little guy,” notched a goal and an assist.

“It’s fun to watch him play,” Donato said of the speedy freshman. “He seems to find the right spots and somehow defy the odds...He’s a talented young kid.”

POWER SURGE

After going 0-for-7 and 1-for-7 on power plays against Windsor and Brown, respectively, Harvard finally thrived with the man advantage against the Under-18 team, striking three times in seven chances.

With the slew of penalties springing from the NCAA’s officiating crackdown, this is surely a good sign for the Crimson.

And, said Donato, “the better our special teams become, the more that will open up the ice 5-on-5 for us.”

Harvard’s three power play strikes—one in each period—were team efforts, earning six different skaters a point. None of the three was particularly flashy.

But, said Donato, the less showy strikes are “the type of goals we need to get us going. Hopefully, if we can score some more ugly ones, than the pretty ones will follow.”

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Seesel can be reached at seesel@fas.harvard.edu.