The team compensated with important contributions from unlikely sources.

Ellis has seen ice time in all 15 games this season but had yet to score his first intercollegiate point until Friday. Donato praised the performance of sophomore defensemen Brayden Jaw and Victor Newell, who have been scratches at various points in the season.

“As much as we have some players that we count on to be productive offensively, I thought that we needed a good, solid team effort,” Donato said. “I thought that’s what we had tonight. I thought we had everybody going.”  

Clarkson jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first period.

Freshman winger Nic Pierog found the back of the net on the Golden Knight’s first shot on goal of the game, converting on a 3-on-2 power play rush at 7:27.

After Vesey redirected an outside shot from sophomore defenseman Clay Anderson to tie things up at 9:58, rookie center Sam Vigneault jammed home a rebound at the crease to give the visitors their second and final lead of the game at 18:05. 

Criscuolo opened Harvard’s three-goal surge in the second period at 3:44, stickhandling around Runola after a thread-the-needle centering feed from sophomore line mate Tyler Moy.

“I thought we played well in the beginning of the game even though we came out of the first down one,” Criscuolo said. “We came into the locker room and basically said, ‘Keep doing what we’re doing.’”

—Crimson staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at michael.ledecky@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @mdledecky.