CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior captain Baker Shore had a goal and an assist, and John Farinacci added a pair of assists to lead No. 9/10 Harvard men's ice hockey (18-6-2, 15-4-0 ECAC Hockey) to a 5-3 win over Union (13-16-2, 7-11-1 ECAC Hockey) at Bright-Landry Hockey Center.

Senior goaltender Mitchell Gibson made 26 saves to earn the win in net. With the victory, Harvard clinched a top-four seed and a first round bye in the ECAC Hockey playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Harvard struck quickly in the opening minute of the period, as Farinacci redirected a pass from Ian Moore in the high slot off the leg of Alex Gaffney past Connor Murphy at :35.

Union responded on its first power play opportunity of the night as Chaz Smedsrud scored on a redirection at 5:43 to even the game at 1-1.

Gibson was excellent in the period, making several point-blank stops to keep the game tied after 20 minutes.

He made another big stop early in the second period on a partial break for Caden Villegas at 5:04 of the middle frame.

Then Harvard struck for two goals in a span of 27 seconds to take control of the game. The first game on a power play goal, as Farrell jammed in a rebound at 10:17 to make it 2-1.

Then moments later, senior forward Wyllum Deveaux hustled to beat out an icing call and eventually found Philip Tresca alone in front, who hit the top corner at 10:44 to put Harvard up by two.

Shore struck early in the third period to put Harvard up by three, as first-year forward Marek Hejduk slipped a pass into the slot to Shore, who found the net at 2:22 of the period to make it 4-1.

Union cut the lead to 4-2 at 11:06 on a redirection by Owen Farris, but first-year forward Joe Miller's empty net goal at 17:33 helped seal the win.

GAME NOTES

• Sean Farrell (goal) now has 21 points (8-13-21) in his last 11 games, and leads the team with 43 points (15-18-43) in 26 games.
• Senior forward Baker Shore (goal, assist) notched his first multiple-point effort of the season.
• Junior forward Alex Laferriere (two assists) has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his last seven games.
• Harvard finished the night 1-for-3 on the power play, and has scored a power play goal in four straight games (6-for-12, 50%).

UP NEXT

Harvard will take on RPI tomorrow night, honoring its eight-man senior class in a 7 p.m. contest on ESPN+.