They've doing it again.

The Harvard hockey team is teasing us, baiting us, coaxing us into playoff race again, just as it did last year and in so many years before.

Last night, before a packed, house of 4100 chicken-head-biting, chicken-claw-scratching Cornell fans at the hockey dungeon called Lynah Rink, the Crimson iceman, 5-4 in overtime, to even their ECAC record at 7-3-2 and keep their playoff chances alive. The win is Harvard's first in Ithaca since 1975.

The game-winning goal came at 3:32 of the extra stanza, after Harvard had hunkered back from a 4-2 first period deficit to tie the game up early in period three.

Freshman flash Scott Fusco, who had been unable to find his scoring touch in recent weeks, took a pass from Greg Olson (one goal, two assists) his second goal of the night past Big Red netminder Brian Hayward. The shot was first Hayward faced in the overtime, while Big Red forwards had kept Wade Lau (fours saves in OT) hopping and flopping for the first three minutes of the extra period.

Lau on the night turned aside 30 Cornell shots and shut the Big Red out over the game's last 46:47 to spark the Harvard come back.

After the first period, the furthest thing from the minds of any Lynah Rink Rat was a Harvard comeback possibility Cornell's Roy Kerling, Mark Henderson and Dan Duffy scored three straight Big Red Goals following Crimson center Phil Falcone's first goal just 3:20 into the game, and it looked like the Lynah Rink jinx was kicking up its heels again.

But Scott Fusco picked up a shorthanded goal at 16:22, just 19 seconds after Tony Visone went off for hitting from behind to cut the Big Red lead to 3-2.

The shorthanded situation cost as well as payed, however, as Kerling scored his second goal of the game only 23 seconds after the Fusco tally, to give Cornell a 4-2 lead at the end of the period.

For the rest of regulation, the only goal fights were Crimson.

Cornell's Henderson took a two-minute vacation for crosschecking at 16:13 of the second years, and Greg Olsen responded with a power-play goal at 17:03. And co-captain Mike Watson came though, with the equalizer shortly after the third started, at 2:09, to send the game into overtime.

The win moved the Crimson into a virtual the with Cornell (7-7-1) for second place in the Ivy Division of the ECAC, a game behind pace-setting Yale (8-6-1), which didn't play last night. The Ivy Division winner is guaranteed a playoff spot and home ice in the first round of the ECAC tourney. Harvard travels to New Haven in play the Elis the next Saturday, and hosts Cornell at Bright Center on February 27.

The Harvard hockey team--as you just knew they would--is doing it again.

THE NOTEBOOK: The stars of the game, as selected by Harvard assistant manager Mike Monroe: Lau, Kerling and Scott Fusco... Between the second and third periods, as they always do, the loathesome of Lynah tied a live chicken to the Harvard goal posts. As usual, it was not funny... Early in the third period, the Big Red's Len Jankowski hit the post behind Lau, and only a few minutes later the Crimson netminder deflected a point-blank bid by Kerling...Scott Fusco now has ten goals on the year, to lead the team... Harvard S. Cornell 4 (OT) at Ithaca, N.Y. Harvard  2  1  1  1-5 Cornell  4  0  0  0-4

Scoring M. Phil Falcone (Greg Chalmers, Mark Fusco 3-20, C. Roy Kerling {Joe Gallant, Randy MacFarlane} 9:33:C, mark Henderson {Len Jankowski, Mike Coppolino} 14:36;C, Dan Duffy {Geoff Dervin, Terry Gage} 15:23; H, Scott Fusco (Greg Olson} 16:22; C, Kerling {Gallant, John Olds} 16:45; H, G. Olson {M. Fusco, Jim Turner} 17:13;H, Mike Watson {Greg Britz, Tony Visone} 2:09;Scott Fusco {Neil Sheeby, G. Olson} 3:32.

Saves H. Wade Lau 30, C. Brian Hayward 30.

Atterndance 4,150