The Harvard hockey team flew out of Troy, N.Y., last night in search of the comeback trail, but got woefully lost, 7-2 to R.P.I. Harvard eventually wound up outshooting the Engineers, 35-31, but the strong squad of underclass Canadians outskated and outscored the Crimson in each period.

Crimson goalie Bob Higgins stood up well to R.P.I.s heavy first-period barrage, making 13 good saves to only 8 for the Engineers' Tom Nichols. But Nichols was the outstanding player on the ice thereafter, and with his team protecting a 5-1 lead in the third period he stopped 16 shots, to Higgins's 4.

Bobby Bauer, who supplied much of Harvard's weak attack, scored for Harvard in the second period, and Chris Gurry bounced in a shot from the point with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

Chuck Rancourt capped 9:43 of Engineer pressure with a rebound goal, then defenseman Norm Bean made it 2-0 at 19:07 of the first period. Bean's power-play effort came only 13 seconds after Harvard's Ron Mark was sent off the ice for tripping.

Two steals from Harvard defensemen gave R.P.I. breakaways on Higgins early in the second period. Rancourt converted the first at 3:17 and John Renwick hit the second at 6:19, making the score 4-0.

Live Offense

Bauer singlehandedly brought the Crimson offense to life making a good move and rifling a shot past Nichol at 8:37, and a minute-later the junior center almost scored again.

But it was R.P.I. that returned next to the scoreboard. When Higgins accidentally tipped in a centering pass by Rich Scammell.

A Little Fight

The third was a period of fights and Crimson frustration. Gary Mitchell rammed home the sixth Engineer goal off a face-off with Harvard a man down. Then a minute later Ron Moreau stole the puck from Harvard's Terry Flaman and raised the margin to 7-1.

Harvard had a man advantage in the final minutes after a minor altercation, and Gurry took advantage of the situation to score his fourth goal of the year.

Losing badly to R.P.I., a team Harvard beat last year 8-2, is not a complete disgrace. But it means that the Crimson is far from a recovery from its Cornell collapse.

Until they faced the Big Red last December 17, the Crimson skaters looked like a team to contend with for Eastern honors. But Cornell's stunning 9-0 win knocked the confidence out of the Cantabs and they have been trying to regain their feet since then.

Penn Easy

No matter what ails Harvard, it should easily dispose of Penn, which will be playing its first Ivy hockey game in history at Watson Rink Saturday night. (Tickets are available now at 60 Boylston St., and also at Carey Cage before game time, upon presentation of coupon 15.) Penn was R.P.I.'s first victim this year, 18-2, and that was before the Engineers started to jell.

R.P.I.'s lineup last night was composed of seven juniors, six sophomores, and only one senior. After falling early before Cornell and St. Lawrence, they have ripped off six wins in seven outings. A good test of their potential should come Saturday night, when they play Boston University at the Arena.