Junior forward Alex Killorn, shown here in previous action, has registered points in the Crimson’s last four games. In last night’s contest against Merrimack, Killorn scored Harvard’s lone goal; he is the lineup’s leading scorer with four goals on the season. Despite his contributions, the rest of the Crimson offense has struggled against recent opponents.

In last night’s fast-skating and hard-hitting battle between two offensively minded teams, No. 18 Merrimack (6-3-4, 4-3-3 Hockey East) came out on top over Harvard (2-7-0, 2-6-0 ECAC) by a final score of 3-1 at Bright Hockey Center.

In its second-ever game against the Warriors, the Crimson was outshot, 39-15, and was forced to defend its net for most of the night.

“They played well and moved the puck out of their zone and were able to keep us in our zone,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91. “Our guys battled, but there’s certainly a lot of room for improvement.”

The Crimson opened the match in lackluster fashion. Harvard was outshot by a margin of 14-6 in the period, and assistant captain Kyle Richter was forced to stop a flurry of attempts in the final two minutes of the first period, including a thumper on his left pad.

“We need to start games earlier, score earlier, to put teams behind and get on the power play and be more effective on our special teams,” Donato said.

But to be fair, the Crimson did have its chances.

Following Merrimack’s first goal, coming late in the second frame, two Warriors forwards were whistled for hooking in quick succession. With a five-on-three situation, Harvard had a golden opportunity to even the scoreline but ultimately failed to generate any threatening shots at goal during the power play.

“We were a little stagnant,” Donato said. “We actually talked about [a five-on-three], this morning and we weren’t able to execute the type of puck movement that would allow us to be successful.”

Merrimack built on its lead when sophomore Stephane Da Costa scored on a breakaway rush at 8:34 in the third. The second-year forward received the puck from senior Chris Barton at mid-rink before skating in and deflecting a shot into the net.

A greater sense of urgency set in for the Crimson, now down 2-0. On a changeover, junior forward Alex Killorn took control of the puck at the blue line before moving in and scoring on a shot between the legs of Warriors goaltender Joe Cannata.

“I was kind of surprised that I had a lot of room between me and the defense,” Killorn said. “Conor Morrison drove the net and gave me some room, so it was just me and the goalie. I got lucky with the shot, and it worked out well.”

Harvard had another opportunity to even the score following Killorn’s goal—his fourth of the season—when Merrimack captain Adam Ross received a penalty for interference.

Though Cannata was forced to make a big save on a slapshot from sophomore defenseman Danny Biega, the Crimson couldn’t generate any further shots on goal, as the Warriors’ penalty kill team continued to break up its power play formations.

“I think we had some chances,” Donato said. “Although [Cannata] didn’t have to make a lot of saves, I did think he made some good saves, especially on the power play, so it’s one of those things where we have to be able to get that desperation right from the start.”

That desperation was certainly there at the end of the game.

With just over a minute left to play, Harvard pulled Richter. But even with the man advantage, the Crimson couldn’t find the back of the net. The Warriors clinched their victory with 27.3 seconds left, when junior Kyle Stollery’s lob from mid-rink sailed into the empty goal.

The loss is the latest in Harvard’s six-game losing streak and comes after a pair of pummelings by Dartmouth over the weekend.

“We need to get the ball going in the other direction and get some positive momentum,” Donato said. “It’s certainly frustrating, but we have faith we can be a good hockey team.”

“We can talk all we want…but it’s really about doing it on the ice and going through with your actions,” Killorn added. “[Last night] was a stepping stone. We played a lot better than we did against Dartmouth, but there’s still a lot of improvement to be made.”

—Staff writer Lucy D. Chen can be reached at lucychen@fas.harvard.edu.