PROVIDENCE, R.I., December 15--Brown's Bruce Darling scored with two minutes to go in the third period, then again with 51 seconds to go in sudden death overtime to give the Bruin hockey team a 4-3 win over Harvard tonight.

Third-period goals by Ben Smith and Jack Garrity had propelled the game but out skated Crimson into a 3-2 lead. But Harvard's crippled defense couldn't preserve what would have been a stunning upset.

The 2400 Brown fans had barely settled into their seats when the defending Ivy champs scored their first goal two minutes after the opening face-off. Defense-men Ben Smith and Gordie Price seemed as unprepared as the crowd. They stood motionless and watched Brown's Bob Bruce take a pass from his wing and flip in a 15-footer from straight on.

Harvard evened it up seven minutes later as Eric Rosenberger executed a two-on-one break to perfection. Picking up the puck on the left, he skated down the ice, drew the defense-men off to the right, and passed back to the left where Pete Miller beat goalie Dave Ferguson from eight feet.

Harvard kept the puck in Brown ice almost all the first period and got off 36 shots. But the Bruins took a 2-1 lead off the ice after sophomore star Wayne Small cleanly beat both Smith and goalie Bill Fitzsimmons on a breakaway. Brown was blocking the center fee and giving Harvard as many bad shots as they wanted, while relying on fast breaking to score themselves. The strategy worked to perfection.

The much bigger Brown team, led by All-American. Bob Gaudreau, clearly dominated the second and third periods. But two Harvard goals 90 seconds apart put the home team in the hole. Ben Smith scored the first one on a breakaway, whipping a hard forehand into the upper right corner after a perfect feed from Kent Parrot. Lightning struck again at 7:51 in the form of Garrity's poke from the edge of the crease following a rebound off Bob Fredo's low drive.

Clark Hurt

But the defense, minus captain Bobby Clark, who was hurt early in the second period, was caught out of position twice. With two minutes to play, Darling tied the game on a two-on-one break that left Fitzsimmons without a prayer.

Harvard fought back dramatically in the overtime, but Ferguson, who covered the angles and moved like a pro, stopped the Crimson cold.

And when both overanxious Crimson defense-men bunched around the puck at the point. Brown pulled a two-on-none break. Fitzsimmons stopped the first shot but, as happened all night, completely lost his balance in doing so. Darling rolled the loose puck into the net and the game was over.