After four months of random-walk hockey, Harvard’s icemen have found their way.

For a moment, let’s forget about Friday’s 6-4 loss to Vermont, a nightmare of special teams shortcomings and bonehead penalties. Saturday night is worth savoring. The Crimson played aggressive, mistake-free hockey, from start to finish, against a quality opponent for the first time all year, ending Dartmouth’s six-game unbeaten streak with a 4-0 shutout.

Before a Senior Night crowd at Bright Hockey Center, Harvard displayed a suffocating, opportunistic forecheck, lock-tight defense and dazzling goaltending. In contrast to Friday, captain Kenny Smith didn’t see his mates taking “dumb penalties.” The chemistry among the forward lines was unmistakable, the penalty kill relentlessly efficient.

“That,” Smith declared, “is the type of stuff that wins championships.”

Of course, it did take them a full regular season—29 games, 13 of them losses—to figure it out, but let’s not be nitpicky. This is like writing a couple awful thesis drafts before finally saying what you want to say, precisely how you want to say it. The Crimson Cadillac may have been grimed up for four months, but after Saturday, it’s looking shiny and spit-polished.

The win was a collaborative effort of the highest degree. Just look at the goal-scorers: Charlie Johnson (two goals), Kevin Du and Ryan Maki. That’s a sophomore and two freshmen. Three guys you might call role players, and they’re scoring against one of the league’s best teams. We’ll call that a good omen.

Of course, they didn’t do it by themselves. Tom Cavanagh had a nice backhand feed to set up Johnson’s first goal. The other three directly resulted from point shots by defensemen Dylan Reese, Tom Walsh and Ryan Lannon.

Everyone got in on the act. There was Dennis Packard, blocking a slapshot with his hand. There was five-foot-nuthin Steve Mandes, mixing it up with 6’5 Hugh Jessiman. There was the fourth line of seniors Rob Fried, Blair Barlow and Kenny Turano, skating, agitating and defending superbly.

And then there was goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris. Friday, he was shaky. Saturday, he was scintillating. Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni called him “the difference in the game.”

By the time every deserving player had been patted on his rear, the list of contributors was longer than your friends list on thefacebook.com.

And, unlike third-period comebacks at Union and Yale, they didn’t just turn it on for the last 20 minutes. This was Harvard hockey, the way we all knew it could be played, from end-to-end, buzzer-to-buzzer. “The elusive 60-minute game we’ve been talking about for so long,” said the relieved captain Smith. “The guys were willing to do anything to win.”

‘A LACK OF DISCLIPLINE’

After a season of frustration, underperformance and question marks, this team gave us a glimpse into its awe-inspiring potential Saturday night—which, of course, makes games like Friday night’s that much more frustrating.

Harvard took a slew of ill-advised penalties against the Catamounts—22 minutes in all—and surrendered three power play goals, as well as the first shorthanded goal against the Crimson in over two years.

Three penalties were for hits after the whistle. Two were for unsportsmanlike conduct. Junior Noah Welch, an all-American defenseman last season, was hit with a roughing double-minor after landing a right hook or two in a scuffle with Jaime Sifers.