“So far, I think our two freshman defensemen have played well,” Donato said. “[But] we’re in a position where not only our freshmen but our entire team needs to continue to improve.”

Richter commented that playing behind such a young defense has allowed him to take on more of a leadership role.

“It definitely comes with the territory, being a senior,” he said. “We all try to help each other out as much as we can, especially with a couple new guys in the lineup...they did a great job in September and October preparing themselves, so if they have questions, I’m happy to answer them and help them along, but I think they’ve done very well in the preseason and did a good job tonight.”

AN OFFENSIVE DEFENSE

It was Biega, a defenseman, who had the team’s only goal Friday. The sophomore took a pass from junior forward Daniel Moriarty in the top of the right circle, and after initially being denied, grabbed his own rebound and pushed the puck past Union goalie Keith Kinkaid for the tying score.

It was the second consecutive game in which a defenseman had Harvard’s lone goal after Grimshaw scored in an exhibition last week against Sweden. After the game, Biega said creating more chances for defensemen to score was something the team had worked on coming into the contest.

“Whenever we get chances, it’s definitely encouraged,” he said. “It’s just picking the right spots to hit...that’s something we’re going to look forward to and do more this year.”

—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.