Quinnipiac senior forward Eric Lampe headlined the offensive effort, finishing the evening with a hat trick plus an assist for four points. Linemate Brandon Wong also finished with a goal and an assist. Although the Bobcats went just 2-for-8 on the power play, it didn't matter because the offense was there, and so was goaltender Dan Clarke.
The Crimson fell behind late in the first period and briefly tied the game less than a minute into the second, but then it all went wrong. Harvard goaltender Kyle Richter let up two goals in three minutes, then let up another one halfway through the third. The game was pretty much already sealed for the Bobcats, but they put an exclamation point on it with an empty-net goal with less than three minutes remaining.
The good news? Harvard's penalty kill is fierce. The bad news? The Crimson are still struggling to put together a 60-minute effort — and until they can, this losing streak will keep on streaking.
Thanks for reading the live blog.
Third period, 2:36, Quinnipiac 5-1: And it backfires when Quinnipiac's Jeremy Langlois gets his first career goal on an empty net to make it 5-1 and seal this thing.
The crowd is starting the "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye" chant.
Third period, 3:03, Quinnipiac 4-1: Down by three goals, Harvard brings on the extra skater. It's go time.
Third period, 6:42, Quinnipiac 4-1: Clarke is there once again to make the stop on a wrap-around by Louis Leblanc.
There's a post-shot scrum, and Harvard will take a penalty shot. It's Alex Killorn against Clarke, who stays with it till the end to save it off his leg.
Third period, 7:40, Quinnipiac 4-1: Bobcats goaltender Dan Clarke makes a great save on a wrist shot, deflecting it off his pad. The puck hasn't been in his zone much, but when it has, he's been solid.
Third period, 9:07, Quinnipiac 4-1: Eric Lampe earns the hat trick, taking a pass from Jean-Marc Beaudoin and facing a whole lot of open net. That's three goals and an assist for him this game.
Harvard got lucky until now because of the Bobcats' inefficiency on the PP. Now, the Crimson are paying.
Third period, 9:43, Quinnipiac 3-1: And Harvard awards the Bobcats their eighth power-play opportunity as Daniel Moriarty gets whistled for high-sticking.
Third period, 10:05, Quinnipiac 3-1: Score update: No. 3 Cornell goes down against No. 12 Yale. Could another Ivy League upset be brewing here?
Hmm. Unlikely.
Third period, 13:17, Quinnipiac 3-1: And Quinnipiac improves to 4-for-4 on the PK.
Third period, 15:23, Quinnipiac 3-1: Yuri Bouharevich lays a shot on Richter from the far side, but Richter makes the save. Bobcats goaltender Dan Clarke hasn't had a lot of work since the first period, but he doesn't look rusty — he makes a big save on Alex Killorn's shot on the ensuing possession.
They're now playing "Party in the USA" in the rink which is bound to invoke some ire on the ice.
Harvard finally gets a power-play opportunity.
Third period, 17:00, Quinnipiac 3-1: Another successful penalty kill for the Crimson, and Kyle Richter punctuates it with a terrific save on Jean-Marc Beaudoin's shot from close range.
Third period, 19;18, Quinnipiac 3-1: In six power plays, the Bobcats have managed just seven shots. Credit that to Harvard's heralded penalty-kill unit.
As soon as this power play ends, Harvard's Alex Fallstrom heads into the box. That's seven power-play opportunities for Quinnipiac. Good thing the Bobcats aren't capitalizing or else this game could look a lot messier.
Second intermission, Quinnipiac 3-1: The way this period began and the way it ended is the tale of two different games. The Crimson came out of the gate hungry and scored less than a minute in, but Quinnipiac struck back with two quick goals — and completely shut down Harvard's transition game — to assert its dominance in this one. Talk about taking the wind out of Harvard's sails early.
The Bobcats went on the power play to close out the second period and have about 10 seconds remaining when the third begins. They are 1-for-5 on the power play — which speaks to the skill of the Harvard penalty kill.
We already know the Crimson have a tough time sustaining a 60-minute effort, and if the third period is where they struggle the most, this could get messy in the final 20 minutes.
Second period, 1:52, Quinnipiac 3-1: Hooking against Harvard's Ryan Grimshaw. The Bobcats are outshooting the Crimson 23-16 now as they head on the power play once again.
Richter dives on a loose puck after a shot by Scott Zurevinski, and time expires in the period. The Bobcats have about 10 seconds left on the PP when the third period begins.
Second period, 3:37, Quinnipiac 3-1: Quinnipiac is on the power play for 29 more seconds, and Brandon Wong gets a couple of chances, but Kyle Richter makes a nice save, deflecting the puck back out into the scrum. Congestion in front of the net helps Harvard keep things under control.
The power play has hereby ended.
Second period, 6:22, Quinnipiac 3-1: And the Crimson go on the power play. Harvard's Chris Huxley sends a shot wide.
Just for the record, the Bobcats are outshooting Harvard 11-6.
Interference on Marshall Everson evens things up here. It's 4-on-4.
Second period, 6:56, Quinnipiac 3-1: The Crimson averaged 4.00 goals per game entering the evening (and granted, they've only played three games), but obviously they're falling well below that average now that they've run into Quinnipiac. It'll take quite a rejuvenated effort for them to work their way back into this one — but as we saw in last week's Hockey East action, it can happen.
Second period, 10:00, Quinnipiac 3-1: Jeremy Langlois gets the best opportunity of the PP but sends the puck off Richter's pads. No dice and another successful PK for the Crimson.
Second period, 12:02, Quinnipiac 3-1: Interference against Harvard's Ian Tallett, and another golden opportunity for the Bobcats once again.
Second period, 13:50, Quinnipiac 3-1: And Harvard kills it off, but Eric Lampe gets an assist, and Brandon Wong gets the goal — it deflects in off his skate and this one is turning fast for Harvard after the Crimson started strong.
Second period, 16:10, Quinnipiac 2-1: And Quinnipiac strikes back just as quickly. The speedy Eric Lampe brings the puck up the ice and behind the net and sends it to Mathieu Cadieux, who gets an easy goal on an open net.
Almost immediately after, the Bobcats go on the power play.
Second period, 18:19, 1-1: We're under way in the second here, and Harvard strikes early when Mike Biega gets one past Dan Clarke as the puck sneaks into the net off his skate. It's a cheap goal, but it's a goal.
The Bobcats crowd isn't happy about this one, and they're letting the officiating crew hear it.
First intermission, Quinnipiac 1-0: The Bobcats have to be thrilled to be heading into the dressing room with an advantage. Not only did they kill off a 5-3 penalty early on, but with all of the pressure they laid on Harvard goaltender Kyle Richter as time wound down in this period, ending the frame in a scoreless tie would've been a huge disappointment for Quinnipiac and a huge momentum builder for Harvard.
Brandon Wong and Eric Lampe made the most of the power-play opportunity, burying a shot past Richter with less than a minute remaining in the period.
Harvard is used to gaining an early advantage and then struggling to hold it through a full 60 minutes. Now, we'll have to see how they fare as they try to fight from behind with 40 minutes to go.
First period, 0:30, Quinnipiac 1-0: Captain Jean-Marc Beaudoin sends a rocket wide — that probably would've been a goal. But Eric Lampe makes up for it by digging in front of the net until he finally pounds the puck past Kyle Richter, right before the net gets pushed away. Brandon Wong gets the assist. The power-play goal puts Quinnipiac up 1-0 with time winding down in this first period.
It is Lampe's seventh lamp-lighter of the season.
First period, 1:25, 0-0: Dan Clarke makes a great save on Michael Del Mauro's shot from the circle, sticking his leg out to deflect it.
Amidst congestion in front of the Harvard net, we get a holding call on Crimson freshman Danny Biega.
First period, 3:58, 0-0: The pace is really picking up now that the whistles have ceased. The Bobcats' offense is laying it on right now, but Kyle Richter stands strong in net until Harvard's offense gets its first shot in a while from Michael Viega, one of the three Viega brothers on this Crimson squad.
First period, 5:20, 0-0: Bouharevich fires two hard shots wide to waste two good scoring chances for the Bobcats. Quinnipiac is dominating the action in the offensive zone right now, but the Crimson blue line is holding very strong to withstand the pressure.
First period, 8:35, 0-0: Clarke makes the initial stop on a shot, but the puck stays loose. The Bobcats' defense comes up big in front of the net. Doug Rogers sends a one-timer in, but Clarke makes another save, and with 38 seconds left, the Crimson send a man to the box to narrow it to a 4-3 advantage.
With 10 seconds left, Clarke denies another one-timer, and the Bobcats clear the puck to successfully kill off the power play.
First period, 10:14, 0-0: And Harvard gets the 5-3 advantage on an interference call against Brett Dickinson. There's 1:17 left in this power play.
First period, 11:37, 0-0: The Crimson kill this one off successfully, and now Harvard will get a chance.
Harvard's power play ranked first in the nation last year, but the Bobcats are no slouches on the PK, so this bounds to be a good battle.
First period, 13:38, 0-0: Yuri Bouharevich gives the Bobcats their first good scoring chance, but Richter makes his first big stop.
And he better have more good stops ahead of him: The Bobcats get their first power-play chance on an interference call. Brandon Wong fires one in early but nothing going so far.
First period, 15:22, 0-0: Home-ice advantage should really serve the Bobcats well in this game. The sellout crowd is asserting its presence, loud and clear.
Harvard fires two quick shots on Dan Clarke, and he gets a piece of the first one and deflects it before covering the second with the glove.
First period, 16:10, 0-0: Quinnipiac is starting to assert its presence in the offensive zone but still only boasts one shot on goal.
A couple of early stoppages, too — whistles for icing and offsides have hindered the pace of this one early.
First period, 19:15, 0-0: We're under way, and Harvard puts the first shot on goal, but Clarke starts things out right with a save.
Harvard has had trouble this season holding third-period leads, so even if the Crimson manage to score first, the defense will have to prove it can hold on.
7:35 p.m.: Getting off to a good start will be key for this Quinnipiac club if it hopes to remain in the national rankings — although Harvard doesn't boast the best record in the league, the Crimson have been known to give Quinnipiac trouble in years past.
Undefeated Bobcats netminder Dan Clarke takes the net, opposing Harvard's Kyle Richter, who is 1-1-0 with a 4.00 goals-against average.
Quinnipiac's 4.14 goals per game average ranks second in the nation.
7:04 p.m.: Thanks for checking in to this week's college hockey action, where Harvard heads to Quinnipiac to take on the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac currently sits in a four-way tie for first place in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) with four points and a 2-0-0 conference mark. Overall, the Bobcats are 6-1-0, the best mark overall, just ahead of Rensselaer (6-3-1). This week, the Bobcats also entered the national polls for the first time all season at No. 20.
The Crimson enter the matchup closer to the bottom of the league with two points and a 1-2-0 overall mark. Can they improve to .500 with a big upset win over the Bobcats? Well, you know where you can find out.
Check back for news and updates.