Following a third goal for the Bulldogs courtesy of senior forward Matt Killian, Harvard got its only goal of the night 4:42 into the second period, after junior co-captain Kyle Criscuolo delivered a pass to junior forward Jimmy Vesey in stride.

Catching the puck just outside the crease, the junior deked his way past Yale goaltender Alex Lyon, moving his way from left to right to tap in his 11th goal of the season. Vesey has now recorded at least a point in all 14 of Harvard’s games.

“After the first period, I knew we had to have some sort of response,” Vesey said. “Unfortunately they scored at the start of the second to make it 3-0. But I thought that goal to put it back to a two-goal margin was big.”

Having cut its deficit to 3-1, the Crimson had a chance to gain some momentum minutes later after a hooking penalty left Yale shorthanded. But on a night when Harvard came up empty on three power play opportunities, the Crimson failed to register a shot.

The Bulldogs put a cap on the night three minutes into the final frame, as defenseman Mitch Witek took advantage of a screen in front of the net to score his first goal of the season from the point. Yale finished the game with 42 shots, doubling Harvard's total of 21.

Although the game does not count towards the conference standings, Yale improves to 8-0-1 in its last nine matchups against the Crimson with the win. The last victory for Harvard against its Ivy League rival came back in March of 2012.

“If we want to be successful come March [and] April in the tournament, we’re going to have to play on big stages,” Vesey said. “This was a good learning curve for us.”

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jmeagher@college.harvard.edu.