But with just 80 seconds to play, the Catamounts appeared to have slipped that coverage for one last-chance effort. Mike Arcieri wound up for a slapshot from between the circles, but the puck kicked off a Crimson defender and skidded safely past the net.

“With their six NHL players on the blue line,” Sneddon said, “shots and rebounds are tough to come by.”

But, mirroring Murphy’s efforts—in pursuit of a loose puck midway through the third, the winger collided with Fallon before collapsing on top of him—Harvard saw no shortage of point-blank opportunities.

With 8:30 left to play, Welch slipped past a defender at the right faceoff circle, then whipped a backhanded shot at Fallon. The senior defenseman then pounced on the rebound, beating the netminder, but sending the puck just wide of the post.

Once Fallon—who recorded 27 saves—was lifted, senior Brendan Bernakevitch sealed the victory, putting home his seventh shot of the night with 47 seconds left to give the Crimson its 3-1 win.

“It is a good measuring stick,” said Grumet-Morris, who notched 22 saves. “But also it’s preparation for the second half of the season and the playoffs…If you look at our opponents this year, especially out of conference, it is challenging, and so I think that it’s good preparation.”

NOTES: Last night’s victory was Harvard’s eighth in nine games. The Crimson has now won four straight...Bernakevitch returned to the lineup after missing three games with an inner-thigh contusion sustained on Nov. 26 against St. Lawrence. He skated on the first line with Cavanagh and freshman Mike Taylor...Harvard was 0-for-6 on the power play, dropping its conversion rate to 23.1 percent, fourth-best in the country.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.