St. Lawrence opened the game with 14 shots on goal in the first frame, doubling Harvard’s total. The Crimson had a slow second period as well, managing only seven shots to the Saints’ 13.

After opening the first period with a quick shot by senior forward Marshall Everson, Harvard struggled to sustain offensive pressure for most of the frame. The team didn’t manage another shot until after the 13-minute mark.

“[Coach Donato told us to] stick to our forecheck, which we weren’t doing up until that point,” Vesey said. “We only had one shot up to that point, so we were trying to get traffic in front of the net and get some shots, and we took it from there.

After struggling in the first two frames, the Crimson stepped up in the third and matched St. Lawrence offensively, getting several good looks at the Saints’ goal before ultimately falling in overtime. A shot from junior defender Dan Ford bounced around between the posts and was ultimately ruled not to be a goal.

Harvard continued to pound the offensive zone, taking advantage of a two-man advantage to put in seven shots, including three on goal. The team credited the crowd with giving it the extra push to step up the level of play in the third after being outshot significantly in the first and second.

“I think it gives us a little bit of an advantage,” Vesey said. “The crowd was there the whole time, and any time the crowd’s behind you, it’s kind of like having a sixth man on the ice. We could use some momentum when things are going right.”

—Staff writer Hope Schwartz can be reached at hschwartz@college.harvard.edu.