The Crimson would take the game 1-0, and the centerman’s excitement as he screamed, pumped his fist along the boards and was enveloped by his teammates—well, it was as priceless as the victory itself.

“It was a huge goal for us,” Donato said, “so I’m happy for him. Kevin’s a big part of this team, and we need him to be successful, so I’m happy to see him play so well.”

Du remained modest, giving much of the credit to Mandes and Maki, whose initial persistence spawned the flurry of chances.

“It was basically just great work by Ryan Maki and Steve Mandes in the corner,” he explained, describing his own play as “in the right place at the right time, I guess.”

The three have skated together since last year, and with Mandes’ blistering speed, Maki’s physical presence and Du’s doggedness in the center, the trio has come up with the game-winning play more than once.

“We live together off the ice, we’re great friends, we take the same classes, so I think we’ve just developed that bond,” Du explained, “and when we get on the ice, we kind of click out there.”

For Du, though, that 1-0 margin over Cornell was particularly sweet.

“We have a ton of guys who deserve to be out there,” he said candidly, explaining his benching as “me just not playing well.”

“I basically deserved it,” he said. “It was a good wakeup call for me.”

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