Sophomore Dan Moriarity netted a goal against Princeton on Saturday in a 3-0 win, part of a two-goal weekend for the third-year player.

Although the Harvard men’s hockey team has had its fair share of troubles throughout its season, it proved this weekend that it can win when it counts, sweeping Princeton (12-16-3) in the ECAC Hockey first-round playoff series.

After a 4-2 comeback victory on Friday, the Crimson continued its dominant performance on Saturday in a 3-0 shutout win.

Sophomore Daniel Moriarty and freshmen Danny Biega and Luke Greiner each logged a goal for Harvard, while junior goaltender Kyle Richter posted 37 saves to preserve the sweep.

“Obviously, we’ve had a bumpy road in regular season,” captain Alex Biega said, “but we look at playoffs as a brand-new season.”

The Crimson (9-19-3) finished its regular season on a pair of one-goal losses to St. Lawrence and Clarkson on the road.

Fortunately, Harvard was able to find the back of the net in the Princeton series and hold its lead for the entirety of the game.

Before the decisive third period, Princeton had claimed most of the momentum of the early half of the game.

“Princeton kind of took it to us a little bit early in the game and early parts of the second period,” senior Doug Rogers said. “We were confident that no matter how long it took we would score eventually.”

And score they did.

The first goal of the game came from Moriarty off of a Crimson power play after two scoreless periods. The sophomore capitalized off of passes from junior Michael Biega and freshman Louis Leblanc to put the puck behind Tigers’ goaltender Zane Kalemba.

Just over seven minutes later, Danny Biega secured the Harvard lead with another goal. Biega was able to take control of a high pass from Greiner and beat a duo of Princeton defenders to put the puck between the pipes with a backhanded shot.

It was the fourth goal in five games for the rookie, who has eight points on the season.

Biega returned the favor for Greiner with just over a minute remaining in the game, sending a pass to the freshman for an empty-net goal. Kalemba, who recorded 14 saves on the game, had been substituted for an additional offensive player.

The real standout performance of the night came from Richter, whose goalkeeping upheld not only the victory but also the shutout, the fifth of his career. The junior logged 33 saves on Friday night and 37 on Saturday, allowing only two goals on the weekend and none in the final four periods of the series.

Richter earned All-Ivy League honorable mention honors for posting a .924 save percentage in Ancient Eight play, saving 121 of 131 shots. On Saturday, Richter proved his worth with a shutout in the midst of a shot differential skewed to the Tigers’ side. Princeton took 37 shots to the Crimson’s 17, a statistic that exemplifies talented goalkeeping and effective shooting.