PROVIDENCE, R.I.--Harvard hockey slipped further into mediocrity and deeper into the ECAC dungeon as Providence College dumped the Crimson, 5-3, last night here at Schneider Arena.

Friar captain Tom Bauer broke a 3-3 deadlock at 15:52 of the third period to win the game. Bauer, capitalizing on a three-on-two break, nailed a wristshot into the upper right corner of the goal as Harvard forwards George Hughes, Gene Purdy, and Mike Watson lackadaisically trailed the play.

P.C.'s Randy Wilson scored an insurance goal with 59 seconds remaining, firing the puck into Harvard's empty net.

Seconds before Wilson's tally, George Hughes failed to capitalize on a golden opportunity. After coach Billy Cleary pulled goalie John Hynes with 1:13 left for an extra attacker, Hughes needed merely to flip a backhand over the outstretched arm of Friar goalie Bill Milner. But, he could not lift the puck, and P.C. saved the victory.

With Harvard trailing 2-0 early in the second period, the Crimson's starting goalie, freshman Wade Lau, suffered a knee injury (ligament strain) when Friar Denis Martin barrelled into the Harvard cage. Hynes replaced Lau at 1:21 of the second, and the Crimson suddenly came to life.

Sophomore Rick Benson soon cut the Providence margin in half, converting a pass from captain John Cochrane, but the tally, Benson's fifth of the year, lulled the Crimson back into a state of complacency. Harvard's Jim Trainor refused to knock Friar Steve O'Neill from the slot in front of Hynes, and the forward easily collected a pass from Bauer and beat Hynes from five feet out just 39 seconds after Benson's goal.

For the next 13 minutes, Harvard floated around the ice, generating little pressure and no offense. The Crimson sent stray passes which connected with vacant ice, if not Friar sticks. Providence pounded the lethargic Crimson and totally dominated play.

Two bright spots in the Harvard effort were Murray Dea's penalty-killing, and Hynes' 26-save two period performance. With freshman Scott Powers in the penalty box for tripping midway through the second, Dea frustrated the P.C. powerplay and improved Harvard's goals against average in man-down situations to a measely 18 per cent.

Hynes made three spectacular saves from point-blank range late in the second period, and the Harvard offense finally responded the defense's example.

Playing four men to a side after matching penalties on Purdy and Friar, Jim Korm, freshman Mike Watson slipped a George Hughes rebound over the sprawled Milner. That made it 3-2.

Then, just 39 seconds later, George Hughes connected on a rebound for a power-play goal, tying the game at three with one period to play.

In the last frame, Providence swarmed all over Harvard. Again Dea played with heart, and Hynes made key saves, but to no avail.

Harvard's Division I record fell to 3-9-0, and there is now virtually no chance of post-season play for the third season in a row. SCORING BY PERIODS Harvard (5-11-0)  0  3  0--3 Providence (9-7-1)  2  1  2--5

First Period: PC--Steve Evangelista (Jim Colucci) 6:45; PC--Colucci (Dan Haskins, Bob Bonin) 16:03. Second Period: H--Rick Benson (John Cochrane, David Burke) 5:40; PC--Steve O'Neill (Tom Bauer, Jim Korn) 6:01; H--Mike Watson (George Hughes, Jack Hughes) 19:02; H--G. Hughes (J. Hughes, John Dunderdale) 19:41. Third Period: PC--Bauer (Korn, Evangelista) 15:52; PC--Randy Wilson (Denis Martin) 19:01.