Harvard 4, Dartmouth 2

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422

The host Crimson punched their ticket to Lake Placid behind a hat trick from Ryan Donato and 20 saves from Merrick Madsen.

Dartmouth got on the board first at 4:43 of the first period on a goal by Collin Rutherford, but Donato tied it with a power-play strike on a one-timer from the top of the right circle at 11:41.

Donato then gave the Crimson a lead they wouldn’t relinquish with a goal off a rebound from the slot at 8:03 of the second.

His hat trick goal in the third period was a thing of beauty, as he got the puck in the Crimson zone and went up the ice one-on-three. He lifted the puck in the air at the blue line, split the Dartmouth defense, got the puck behind them after it landed, then deked and beat the Dartmouth goalie with a backhand at 13:16.

Adam Fox’s goal at 9:31 of the third, a sharp-angled blast from the bottom of the right circle, proved to be the game-winner after Dartmouth scored at 16:17, a goal by Kevan Kilistoff.