Moriarty struck again less than a minute later to give Harvard the lead for good.
“They really were huge,” said co-captain and forward Michael Del Mauro of Moriarty’s goals. “His ability to get out there and really bear down and score two goals at that point in the game was huge.”
The Crimson tacked on two more goals in the period while Clarkson found the back of the net once, giving the visitors the 6-4 victory and the series sweep.
Overall, the Harvard captains were pleased with the team’s play on Saturday night.
“I couldn’t even go through the number of guys who backchecked to change odd-man rushes in [Clarkson’s] favor to actually outnumbering them and catching them before the blue line,” Del Mauro said. “Everybody really stepped up.”
“I’ll give [Clarkson] credit. They came out and played hard, but we just stuck with the game plan and kept going,” Huxley added. “And it worked for us.”
HARVARD 2, CLARKSON 1
While five different Crimson players scored on Saturday, it was the Biega brothers who put the team on their back on Friday.
The game began auspiciously for Harvard. Just 3:32 into the contest, Fallstrom made a key pass to sophomore defenseman Danny Biega at the blue line. Biega managed to thread the puck through the legs of the Clarkson goaltender to give Harvard the early lead.
“It was a good goal,” Huxley said. “To get the first goal is important to get a little momentum going…We wanted to get people and pucks to the net, and that’s what we did.”
Neither team scored for the next 40 minutes, thanks in large part to strong defensive play. Carroll keyed the Crimson back line’s strong play, stopping 32 of the 33 shots that came his way.
“Ryan played great,” Del Mauro said. “He saw a lot of shots, and he really didn’t give up much, obviously on goals but also for rebounds.”
But Harvard’s back line couldn’t keep the home team off the board entirely. Just over four minutes into the final period, the Golden Knights evened the game at one apiece.
The tie proved to be short-lived, after the elder brother, senior forward Michael Biega, snuck a shot by the Clarkson netminder. The goal proved to be game-winning, as the Crimson held on for a narrow 2-1 victory.
“It was a crucial goal,” Del Mauro said. “[He] really just beat the goalie with a great shot.”
The victory in the first game of the series gave the visitors the momentum, which spilled over into the second game.
“I’m not saying we still didn’t have urgency, but it takes a little pressure off knowing you have a win under your belt, and you just need to stay the course,” Huxley said.
—Staff writer Robert S. Samuels can be reached at robertsamuels@college.harvard.edu.