Senior Blair Barlow, a converted defenseman, centered the fourth line during a 2-1 win at Clarkson on Friday. The simple act of playing forward would’ve been impressive enough for most blueliners—but then Barlow went out and had the best faceoff performance on the team (7-2).

“All my life I’ve played D, so I’ve never taken many draws,” Barlow said. “[Junior center Brendan] Bernakevitch taught me a couple tricks in practice last week so I decided to go out and use them.”

Barlow was expected to play strictly forward this season, but when injuries thinned the defensive corps in December and January, he shifted to the back line. With defensemen David McCulloch and Dylan Reese healthy again, Barlow has returned to forward.

All told, he’s split 19 games between defense, wing, and center. You don’t often see utility men in hockey, but Barlow is unquestionably one of them.

“It’s a challenge,” he said. “There’s a different mindset at each position, but if we’re down a couple players, I have no problem hopping back on D, and likewise with the forwards.”

BRIEFLY

Mazzoleni has yet to determine which of his seven defensemen will sit Friday. Sophomore Tom Walsh was the odd man out for the first game last weekend, and senior McCulloch was a healthy scratch the next night …Saturday’s game against Dartmouth has added significance for Reese. His family and several family friends are coming in from Pittsburgh to watch him play against Big Green defender Grant Lewis—his best friend since they were five years old.

They still talk two or three times per week, but Reese said there’s been “less smack talk” back and forth this week than others. “We’re used to doing it when we’re not playing each other,” Reese said.

Lewis was recently named ECAC Rookie of the Week and is a strong candidate to be named ECAC Rookie of the Year. “He’s having an unbelievable year,” Reese said. “I’m so happy for him.”

—Staff writer Jon Paul Morosi can be reached at morosi@fas.harvard.edu.