In the second, Parker sent one across the lip of the goal to set up sophomore forward Hilary Crowe, who was then stoned by an acrobatic right pad save.

The team’s next chance came as the result of a hooking infraction. During the man-advantage, Harvard rattled off five shots including a misdirection behind the net that almost got past Boyles.

“We had some good looks on our power play,” Stone said. “[Boyles] played very well in front of them.”

On the other end, the Crimson denied what would have been a strength-on-strength match-up by not conceding a penalty.

Harvard leads the country on the penalty kill, while the Eagles hold the nation’s second best power play.

Both squads were disciplined in their shooting lanes. The Crimson managed 14 blocked shots to Boston College’s 11, while Harvard had a harder time putting the puck on target, sailing a total of 18 shots wide.

Despite leading all skaters with nine shots, Dempsey finished with no goals or assists. The game was only the third of the season in which Dempsey failed to earn a point.

“I think we’ll think about this until midnight and we’ll take all the good stuff with us,” Dempsey said. “In the end, we’re going to have to get more gritty and grind those games out.”

Looking forward, the team plays Yale and Brown at home this weekend before meeting the loser of Boston University and Northeastern in the consolation game.

“From here on out you’re going to see us tougher in those situations,” Dempsey said. “We’re going to be tough to play against.”

—Staff writer Daniel A. Grafstein can be reached at dgrafstein@college.harvard.edu.