The Cantabs made it 2-1 at 17:11 of the second period, when sophomore Rob Ohno teamed with Busconi for a two-on-one breakaway. Busconi drew the defender, made the feed and watched as Ohno's shot entered the far side of the Golden Knight net.
Early in the final period, Blair's grab of a Bob Armstrong slapshot drew sighs from the 2200 in attendance. Less than a minute later, Harvard nearly got its much-needed insurance goal. Crimson Captain Ken Code's slapper deflected off the stick of netminder Jamie Falle, broke through his legs and slid just wide of the open net.
But just as Blair began to look unbeatable, Clarkson's junior Gord Sharpe knotted the score on a freak goal at 8:37.
"He had the whole side of the net," Blair recalled. "I dove over, It hit the tip of my stick and bounced off my chest."
Half a minute later, Harvard nearly struck back, when Falcone found senior Rob Wheeler at the right post. "I thought, Jeez, if I can get my stick on this it's a goal," Wheeler said. "I got pretty good wood on it. He somehow made the save."
If Falle's skates were a size smaller, Harvard would have regained the lead. The 5-ft., 11-in., 18-lb, goalie swung his foot towards the puck just in time to kick it clear.
"That was it right there," Cleary said.
After Clarkson scored the tying goal, it played strictly defensive hockey. Aware that the Crimson was tiring, the Golden Knights stacked everybody at the blue line, forcing Harvard to dump the puck into the zone.
Harvard got only four shots on goal in the period. The weary Crimson never succeeded in pulling Blair, as the Golden Knights won faceoff after faceoff and kept the puck out of their zone. It was a frustrating end to a thoroughly frustrating game.
"When you work that hard and play that well." Blair said, "it's a tough way to end a year."
THE NOTEBOOK: Blair saved 37 of 39 Clarkson shots on goal. The sophomore ended the year with a 91.0 percent save rate and a 3.09 goals-against average. "I thought he played a hell of a hockey game." Cleary said....Harvard opens its 1984-85 season November 17, the night of The Game. The opponent is--who else?--Yale.... Harvard fans will see Clarkson more often starting next year. The Golden Knights are not joining the new Hockey East league, so the Crimson will now play them twice a year during the regular season.