That success continued a recurring trend for Harvard, which has now denied its opponent on 29 of 31 man-up chances (94 percent), the fourth-best rate in the country.

“The penalty kill was really good,” Ford said. “[It] has been pretty good all year with guys blocking shots and competing really hard and getting clears, and that continued last night and really kept us in the game.”

MISSING IN ACTION

During its 19-day stretch between games, a handful of players were removed from Harvard’s official roster, which was smaller Friday night than it had been at the season’s start.

“Some guys had to take a year absent,” Girard said. “I won’t say any names, but like any other team, we might have some problems with the academic scandal. Some of them just want to take leaves to get more playing time and come back later because they were younger guys. Some other guys were just injured. But overall, they’re going to come back; they’re still part of our family and still part of our team.”

Ford added that the Crimson’s preparation this week did not change despite its lacking certain key contributors.

“We knew going in that other guys were going to have to step up and fill the void,” he said. “I think guys did a good job of that [Friday], and we’re not really changing our team’s mindset at all. We just want to keep going, keep getting better, and keep playing the same way we were playing earlier in the year.”

—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.