Before Saturday, it had been almost 20 years since the Crimson and the Black Knights last met on ice. But before tha, Harvard had dominated the series with a 29-5-1 overall advantage.

The Crimson continued its runn in the two teams’ most recent meeting this weekend.

Harvard came out looking strong, controlling the puck and getting shots off early in the opening period. Aggressive play kept the Crimson on the offensive attack, but Army found the back of the net first. The Black Knights scored on their first shot of the game during an Army power play.

The Black Knights kept their momentum, taking a 2-0 lead just four minutes later. As a result, Harvard went into the first intermission facing a two-goal deficit, despite outshooting its opponents 9-5.

But when the Crimson returned for the second period, it took control of the ice and of the scoreboard.

Early in the frame Harvard freshman Danny Fick set up a good look for sophomore Brendan Rempel, who sent a tough shot towards the Army goal. Senior Michael Biega got his stick on the puck just enough to deflect the shot past the Black Knights’ goaltender.

Halfway through the period, sophomore David Valek scored his first goal of the season, with help from junior Rence Coassin and freshman Dan Ford, to tie up the score at 2-2.

It wasn’t long into the third frame when Killorn got Harvard its first lead of the game when he put away a backhand shot off the rebound of a try from Biega.

Sophomore Luke Greiner scored the Crimson’s final goal five minutes later when he deflected another shot by Fick, giving the Harvard freshman two assists on the day.

But with more than half the period left to play, there was still time for Army to attempt a comeback. The Black Knights racked up seven shots in the final period, almost as many as they had all game, but Richter kept the puck out of the net, accumulating 13 saves—even with almost two minutes of 6-on-4 play.

The Crimson defense prevailed and locked up the 4-2 victory for a positive start to 2011 play.