The nightmare that Scott Fusco has been living for seven weeks grew darker and more dismal last night.

The 1984-'85 ECAC Player of the Year--despite his 94 career goals--could not put a little puck in a big net.

Scott Fusco was never going to score again.

The senior captain had tallied once in eight games, gone without one in five, and was looking at another blanking.

Worst of all, the highest-scoring player ever to don a Crimson sweater was losing faith in front of the entire local hockey community, in front of his school, in front of his friends, in front of his family and in front of himself.

With just a couple of minutes to go in the second period of the Harvard-Boston College Beanpot game last night at the Garden, Fusco had the puck alone four feet from the net. The Crimson was trailing 4-0, Eagle goalie Scott Gordon was down and it was time this jinx finally ended.

Fusco fired and the puck ended up in the stands.

Scott Fusco was never going to score again.

Thirty seconds later, Fusco tipped the puck past Gordon and over the goal line at the tail end of a goal-mouth scramble.

Finally.

Referee Harry Ammian just stood still, didn't raise his hand and steadfastly ignored the glowing red lamp behind him. He pointed to the face-off circle. No goal; he had whistled the play dead before the puck went in the net.

Now louder. Scott Fusco was never going to score again.

A year ago, Fusco scored a goal with less than a minute left to beat Clarkson, 2-1, in the ECAC semifinals here to give the Crimson a shot at the conference title and a berth in the NCAA quarterfinals. Fusco pushed his team to victory that night despite an almost debilitating back injury that had him swaddled in heating pads before, during and after the game.

That was then. Between the second and third periods last night, no such feats would have seemed possible.

"I thought it was another one of those nights," Fusco said after the game. "The team counts on me. I don't want to let the team see it bothering me."