It would have helped if the men's hockey team could go into tonight's Beanpot off a winning note, but the University of Maine showed little compassion Saturday night, dumping the Crimson, 5-3, before 4000 at Alfond Arena in Orono, Me.

Harvard goalie Wade Lau, perhaps rusty from a three-week layoff for exams, was beaten by a Rob Zamejc slapshot only 12 seconds into the game, and then watched three more Black Bear shots hit the back of his net before the period ended.

Shock Treatment

Shocked by four quick first period goals and an inability to convert power play opportunities into scores, the icemen never quite bounced back, as their record dropped to 4-10-1.

"We got off to a slow start," Crimson coach Billy Cleary said later. "After the first period, we played well, but we just couldn't put the puck in the net."

After falling behind, 1-0, Crimson defenseman Mitch Olsen tied the game up when he knocked down a pass at center ice, skated two steps inside the blue line and let fly a blistering slapshot that deflected off the right post and into the net at 1:59.

Quick Death

The next ten minutes proved disastrous for the Crimson, as Black Bear skaters put the red light on three straight times.

Riding a 4-1 lead, Maine gave Harvard a chance to get back in the game by putting a man in the penalty box for most of the next five minutes.

But the Crimson power play just couldn't put the puck past Maine goalie Jim Tortorella, however, until Derek Malmquist deflected a Rick Benson shot between the posts with 4:46 left in the opening stanza.

Now starting to control the tempo, the icemen cut Maine's lead to 4-3 when sophomore forward Mike Watson picked up a loose puck in front of Tortorella and flipped a backhander into the goal at 7:38 of period two.

But Black Bear forward Robert Lafleur followed with a key goal off a face-off in the Harvard end, giving Maine a two-goal edge.

Harvard held a territorial edge for the final 20 minutes, but could not find the net.

Harvard's Lau finished with 19 saves for the night, while Tortorella turned away 31 Crimson shots on goal.

Cleary said the team skated well during the last two periods, adding that he didn't think the loss would affect the team's Beanpot chances. Harvard faces Boston College, first-ranked in the East, at the Boston Garden tonight at 9 p.m.

"In the Beanpot, you throw all the records out the window," Cleary said yesterday. "We're going to shake up a few people."