Michalek and Moy have fonder memories of their last time out against the Golden Knights, who are three points behind the Crimson in the conference standings. On the strength of an offensive outburst from its top line, Harvard beat Clarkson, 6-3, the night before Hayton’s heroics.

Moy remembers something different about his team that night.

“I think we played with a confidence [against Clarkson],” Moy said. “I think when our team is doing best, we kind of have a swagger about ourselves, and I think that’s the way we need to keep going from this point on.”

With injured players and returners, Harvard will finish the regular season looking like a different team than the one that started it. The next nine days will determine whether that difference is a positive one.

"I think we got a little bit of momentum this past weekend,” Michalek said. “We got back on the same page and got back to how we want to play. We’re just trying to build on that.”

—Staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at michael.ledecky@thecrimson.com