“He’s going to get special attention,” Donato said. “Especially with a lot of the other guys out of the lineup, even more so.”

But the freshman found a way to use heavy coverage to his advantage in the second period, when he moved the puck through swarming Tigers onto the stick of a wide-open Morrison, who put the puck past Kalemba.

“[Leblanc] made a beautiful play on the first goal, and he had a bunch of chances in and around the net,” Donato said.

In the third period, Leblanc seemed determined to shoulder the Crimson’s load as much as possible, battling in the corners for loose pucks and looking to roll the crease.

But Princeton was always there.

“I thought he was all over the place in a good way,” Donato said. “He does not get turned away easily, he just keeps coming.”

The scoring phenom has distinguished himself over the course of his career with his willingness to engage in physical play.

Perhaps it was fitting, then, that the game closed out with a penalty on Leblanc for roughing. It was the freshman’s 12th penalty of the season.

“He just never gives up,” Donato said. “I thought it was another very strong game by him.”

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.