Junior Michael Biega crossed the puck to Grimshaw, who put a long shot on Malcolm. Though the Yale goalie stopped the first shot, Leblanc was there to put the rebound away for the 3-1 lead.

The recently-reunited top forward line of Michael Biega, Leblanc and Killorn accounted for nine of the Crimson’s 22 shots and four of its points on the night. Killorn nearly added a goal of his own in the third period, but his shot rang off the left pipe.

“We struggled looking for each other in [Saturday’s loss at Minnesota], but I know for sure tonight we clicked,” Leblanc said of his linemates. “We work hard in practice and we seem to click well.”

After the flurry of points, the game took a turn for the more physical. As the Bulldogs grew frustrated with their inability to finish shots, scuffles after the whistle and an onslaught of penalties became commonplace.

“They got away from their own game plan, and if you’re a finesse team, I think you’ve got to stick with what you’re doing,” Leblanc said. “They got bumped off the puck and gave us more opportunities to score.”

It was an interference penalty on Harvard freshman Luke Greiner that gave the Bulldogs their second goal of the night.

Yale came on strong at the end of the power play, pulling Malcolm from the net to gain a 6-on-4 advantage on a delayed penalty. And just a second after Greiner came out of the box, Little poked the puck past Carroll to bring the Bulldogs within one.

But though Yale would dominate the rest of the third period—including a shot off the stick of Denny Kearney that hit the crossbar in the game’s waning minutes—Carroll held strong in net.

The junior made 35 saves against the prolific Bulldog offense, which came into the game leading the nation with 4.27 goals per game.

“[Carroll] looked comfortable,” Donato said. “I thought he made some good saves, I thought he did a good job controlling the rebounds, and I think the whole game he looked comfortable.”

And Yale doomed itself with a late-game penalty that put it on the kill for the last minute of play. For a Harvard team that has often forfeited late-game leads, holding on for the win represents a step in the right direction.

“Third period, we’d like to continue to improve and be able to stay aggressive—that’s a little bit of work in progress,” Donato said. “[It was] probably one of our most complete games…our guys have battled and I think they got rewarded tonight.”