“We haven’t been doing too well in the power play lately, so [the goal] gave our power play a lot of energy,” Huxley said. “And I think that correlated to us being much better on the power play over the weekend.”
But Biega wasn’t finished just yet. At the end of the third period, while in traffic at the Crimson’s defensive zone, Biega fired a shot on an empty Raiders net. The puck trickled past the line with only four seconds left to play.
“[All] of the goals were equally impressive,” Huxley said. “[But] the third one might have been the hardest one.”
The sophomore continued his high level the following night against Cornell. Harvard fell to the Big Red, 2-1, but Biega nearly gave Harvard a 2-1 advantage in the third period.
With just about six minutes to go, Biega flew down the left side of the ice. Killorn weaved the puck through a defender to find Biega’s backhand. Biega managed to get off a shot, but Cornell goaltender Andy Iles made a critical save to foil the attempt.
“[I] was just amazed at the save Andy Isle made,” Biega said. “He stuck his right leg out and lifted it up so [the puck] ended up hitting his right skate and then...the post.”
“[He was] within inches [of scoring],” Huxley added. “It wasn’t the only chance he had all game either.”
Biega was unable to lift his team to victory against Cornell Saturday night, but he still played a critical role in what could be the beginning of the Crimson’s turnaround.
“He’s a fast skater, [and] you have to honor him when he has the puck,” Huxley said. “He also has a really good shot too, and I think that showed this weekend.”
—Staff writer Robert S. Samuels can be reached at robertsamuels@college.harvard.edu.