A frantic offensive charge featuring an extra attacker from the Crimson yielded nothing, as the Engineers twice cleared the zone to seal the victory.

RPI captured the early lead courtesy of its only shot in the second period, 1:20 into the frame.

With freshman defenseman Dylan Reese in the box for cross-checking, Basiuk blasted a one-timer from the blue line through a crowd in front and off Grumet-Morris’ padding into the net for the Engineers’ only goal on three power plays.

With the momentum, though not the lead, Harvard quickly equalized on a flawless one-two combination from Bernakevitch and senior Rob Fried as they broke in on the goal in a two-on-one. As both skated towards net, Bernakevitch received the pass from Fried and carried the puck in towards the left post, feigning a pass back to Fried before wristing a shot over Marsters’ shoulder for the goal at 11:29.

The Crimson continued to hold the edge as the third period passed the midway point, peppering Marsters with shots from all angles, stretching his defense thin. A penalty on Tommy Green for slashing at 7:51 sent RPI past the breaking point.

Harvard dominated the man-advantage, keeping the puck in the Engineers’ zone for the full duration of the penalty, bolstered by solid play at the blue line and aggressive play just outside the goal mouth, which forced three faceoffs during the stretch. The Crimson won each, and made sure shortly after the third that the next one would be at center ice.

Harvard moved the puck solidly outside the RPI defense, and pounced when one of the forwards lost his stick. Senior forward Tim Pettit fired the puck in on Marsters, and with only three Engineers to challenge, junior center Tom Cavanagh easily collected the puck and swung behind the goal. Kolarik crashed on net from Marsters’ left, and Cavanagh hit him in stride to set up the tally, as Kolarik dumped the puck into the right side of the net.

But that would be the last time Harvard held the momentum. RPI’s charge began shortly, with another disappointing Crimson collapse to follow shortly thereafter.

“We really didn’t get rattled when they went up 2-1 on that power play goal,” Engineers coach Dan Fridgen said. “There was 10 minutes left in the game and we turned the tempo up a little bit. That was great to see from a character perspective.”

Harvard next travels to Northern Country, taking on St. Lawrence and Clarkson in another high-stakes ECAC weekend.

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