Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 admitted that Friday night’s 5-2 loss to Clarkson in the Bright Hockey Center “wasn’t the ideal situation to throw a freshman goaltender into.”

Rookie Kyle Richter garnered 29 saves, including 11 on the penalty kill, but costly Crimson turnovers often left him a tall order.

“The first three goals [Clarkson] got, we were in complete possession of the puck,” Donato said, adding that it was “very tough to assess how [Richter] played when they had so many grade-A chances.”

The next day against St. Lawrence, Donato continued rotating goaltenders and returned to senior Justin Tobe, who had started Harvard’s season-opening 5-2 loss to Dartmouth the previous weekend. This time, Tobe took the 5-4 loss.

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE

After surrendering four second-period goals to the Big Green last week and another two to Clarkson on Friday, the Crimson once again saw a close game slip away in the middle twenty minutes against the Saints on Saturday.

Harvard rallied to tie the score at two in the first half of the period before committing a series of miscues that turned a 2-2 tie into a 5-2 St. Lawrence lead by the frame’s end.

“About seven minutes into the second period, we fell asleep,” Donato said. “We dug ourselves a hole that we couldn’t get out of.”

The first blow came when captain Dylan Reese surrendered the puck deep in his own zone, resulting in the Saints’ tie-breaking goal. Just two minutes later, a St. Lawrence shot from the top of the zone deflected off freshman defender Chad Morin and past Tobe to expand the Saints’ lead to two.

“You can say what you want,” Reese said. “They got lucky bounces or they didn’t, but it’s part of the game, so you’ve got to learn how to win, you’ve got to learn how to come back from that.”

St. Lawrence added one more tally just before the period ended, when Drew Bagnall scooped up a puck sent precariously into the Crimson zone by a powerful check and beat Tobe for the 5-2 lead.

“In my mind, the fourth and fifth goals were very much avoidable,” Donato said. “Goals are too hard to come by to be able to give them up in bunches in that short a period of time.”

THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM

Harvard regrouped in the final frame, scoring twice to turn a three-goal blowout into a one-goal nail-biter.

“Our best period of the year, hands down,” Reese said.

The Crimson hit hard and forced St. Lawrence into its own zone for minutes on end.

“I think we really established our forecheck, and that’s kind of what we feel is a key component to our success,” Donato said, adding that the pressure “allow[ed] our forwards to get buzzing and use our speed.”

After pulling Tobe for an extra skater in the final minute of the 5-4 affair, Harvard launched a barrage of shots that did not cease until the final horn sounded.

“I do feel that maybe we established or discovered our identity...and what type of intensity we need to play with to be successful,” Donato said. “Unfortunately, we discovered it too late for success tonight, but hopefully it’ll be the key for us going forward.”

FINAL TICKS

The Crimson’s loss to St. Lawrence on Saturday marked the first time that Harvard has opened a season 0-3 since the 1951-52 campaign....Sophomore Bill Keenan’s goal 5:47 into the third period on Saturday was the first of his collegiate career.

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Seesel contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Daniel J. Rubin-Wills can be reached at drubin@fas.harvard.edu.