“After the second period, a lot of guys were pretty frustrated about the game,” Pettit said. “But the leaders of the team stepped up, said what needed to be said, and we got things done.”

During the second, Yale made the game much more interesting after scores from Jeff Hristovski and Chris Higgins, who scored with one second remaining on the power play.

Despite the efforts of the two Eli forwards, it was Harvard who put on the superior offensive show, as five players lit up the scoreboard.

“This was huge tonight, because we had all the big players, the big scorers, step up and put the puck in the net,” Pettit said. “It was especially big in a win we must have.”

Friday’s victory was crucial because the Crimson has struggled in its nonconference schedule. If it does not win the ECAC tournament, it will need to continue to dominate its conference schedule if it hopes to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

—Staff writer Evan R. Johnson can be reached at erjohns@fas.harvard.edu