In addition to taking advantage of the power play, Harvard’s freshmen made a big difference in Saturday night’s game.

Coming off a strong performance against Cornell in which he allowed only one goal in two periods of action, freshman goalie Steve Michalek was given the starting nod and took advantage of the opportunity.

Michalek had 30 saves on the night and made several impressive stops in the third period when Colgate was threatening.

“He made at least three saves that were ESPN-type saves,” Donato said. “I think it gave our bench a big boost.”

Freshman Colin Blackwell took control of the game during the third period. Only 2:43 into the final frame, the freshman skated down the rink and rifled an angled shot that was too much for Colgate goalie Erik Mihalik to stop.

After his goal early in the period, Blackwell had several more scoring opportunities that he was unable to convert, including a break away chance muffed by a misfire.

The Crimson held off some late Colgate comeback attempts to win the game, ending a three-game losing streak to start the year.

“The first three games [of the season], we played pretty well … It was time to bury down and get the W,” Blackwell said. “We felt like we are good, we have confidence in one another. We went out there and had opportunities, and tonight, we buried them.”