{shortcode-6bfbf6b7a73f8e7b863f03a7aea65787ca96165e}

UPDATED: March 12, 2016, at 11:32 a.m.

Just shy of a month ago, the now-No. 12/12 Harvard men’s hockey team was unable to solve Rensselaer goaltender Jason Kasdorf. The Crimson launched 50 shots on goal against the Engineers at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center but only managed to sneak one past the senior netminder, falling 2-1 despite outshooting its opponent by 28.

This time around, Harvard once again found a way to get shots to the net. But beating Kasdorf proved less daunting of a challenge.

Generating numerous chances all night and spending the majority of the contest in the offensive zone, the Crimson rode the game's first four goals to a 5-2 win over RPI in the first game of the ECAC quarterfinals.

“I thought our energy and effort was there right from the start,” Harvard coach Ted Donato ‘91 said. “We made some plays and were able to use our speed to finish off a few opportunities.”

BACK WITH A BANG

Two weeks after suffering an injury in the Crimson’s contest against No. 15/- Cornell, junior forward Sean Malone opened the scoring for Harvard on the night. The Buffalo Sabres prospect took the puck in from just above the blue line to the high slot, using a screen to fire a wrister that beat Kasdorf above the left pad. The junior added some insurance in the third period, racing down the right boards and cutting left, dragging Kasdorf out just enough to wrap it around his right pad for his second goal of the night.

After a slow start in the goal department to begin the year, Malone has provided a scoring threat for the team in the second half of the season. The junior’s first 10 games—which, for him, included all of 2015—came and went without him finding twine. But after breaking his goalless streak in the team’s 4-3 win over Minnesota in the Mariucci Classic, the West Seneca, N.Y., native has averaged more than half a goal per game.

Friday’s contest marked the second time Malone has come back this year after having missed a multi-game stretch due to injury. In all, the junior has missed 22 games over the last two seasons.

“With some of the injuries we’ve had, we’ve had to juggle some people around,” Donato said. “But we have good depth.”

HIGH TENSIONS

Chippiness was exhibited from the very early stages of the contest, with multiple whistles leading to pushing and shoving across the ice.

“I think it’s just playoff hockey,” sophomore Seb Lloyd said. “After every whistle, you kind of want to get the other team off of their game.”

The tension came to a climax at the 13:27 mark in the second period when RPI winger Jake Wood kneed co-captain Kyle Criscuolo in the neutral zone, sending Criscuolo crashing to the ice and resulting in a five-minute major and a game misconduct for Wood.

The Crimson was able to extend its lead to four on the extended man-advantage with Lloyd’s fifth goal of the season, but only temporarily. An offensive zone turnover led to a Milos Bubela breakaway, where the senior was able to open sophomore goaltender Merrick Madsen’s five-hole and sneak it through to put the Engineers on the board with less than two minutes remaining in the second period.

Scuffles continued into the final minutes of the game, with Jesper Ohrvall ripping off sophomore Jake Horton’s helmet after Madsen froze a puck with 1:18 left in the contest.

(NOT A) PLAYOFF ATMOSPHERE

Despite Friday night marking the beginning of the playoffs for the Crimson, the crowd at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center resembled that of an early-season contest rather than one that could help determine whether Harvard advances to the next round of its conference tournament.

With the final day of classes before Spring Recess having concluded and most students having departed from campus, the Harvard student section was sparsely populated. Most of the stands were a sea of Crimson—not because of the Harvard faithful donning its colors, but because the Crimson-colored seats were largely empty.

The underwhelming crowd did not quell any chippiness, however.

“It’s playoff hockey,” RPI coach Seth Appert said. “[Tomorrow] should be [as chippy as tonight]. Maybe more.”

—Staff writer Kurt T. Bullard can be reached at kurt.bullard@thecrimson.com.