In ECAC play, the Crimson compensated partly for its struggles on offense with a highly efficient penalty killing unit and strong goaltending from senior Raphael Girard and sophomore Steve Michalek.

Harvard’s lack of experience, however, proved costly in tight matchups. All eight of the Crimson’s one-goal losses this season came against conference opponents.

“We started out pretty well, and then we were kind of inconsistent,” Criscuolo said. “We didn’t play a full 60 minutes for a lot of the games, I think.”

Harvard and Yale added important chapters to their rivalry this year. On Jan. 11, the Bulldogs cruised to a 5-1 win over Harvard in the first Rivalry On Ice game at Madison Square Garden.

In the first round of the postseason, Yale shut out the Crimson, 4-0, in game one and took game two, 2-1, in a comeback win with two goals 38 seconds apart.

“I think [our games against Yale] will certainly be a point of emphasis next year,” Donato said. “We’d love to return the favor to Yale.”

By game two, Harvard was broken down. Injuries to Esposito, Kerfoot, and other forwards forced the Crimson to fill its fourth line with defensemen. All told, 10 players who were listed on the Crimson’s roster at the beginning of the season were inactive by the closing contest.

In the final weeks of the regular season, however, the team showed signs of progress. In February, the Crimson put together its only winning streak of the season.

During the stretch, the team’s young stars led the way. Vesey scored his league-leading fifth game-winning goal with an overtime clincher at Clarkson on Feb. 14. Meanwhile, Malone, who led the team with 14 assists, registered a five-game point streak.

The coming months will test the 2013-2014 campaign’s legacy as a rebuilding year. Only then will Crimson fans know if the foundation has been set.

“Overall, I think the season had its ups and downs, and it was a frustrating finish,” Donato said. “But I thought that our younger players really had a substantial learning experience and played a lot of important minutes for us, so I think that bodes well for us in the future.”

—Staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at mdledecky@gmail.com.