PROVIDENCE, R.I.--The Harvard women's hockey team went into the first round of the Ivy League Tournamount at Providence Saturday with the sense of confidence that belongs to an up-and-coming underdog.

Harvard had qualified for the tourney with a strong finish to the season, winning five of its last six contests, including crucial decisions over Ivy rivals Cornell and--in a do-or-die confrontation last Wednesday--Dartmouth. The Crimson was the last seed in the four team draw, with nowhere to go but up, and it was on a roll.

But unfortunately for the icewomen, the Pandas of Brown came into the game with the sense of confidence that belongs to a team that has just won its second consecutive regular-season Ivy title while posting an 8-0-2 conference record.

And midway through the first period, after the Pandas' fearsome first line had tallied its third unanswered goal, it became clear that a fired-up Brown squad would entertain no possibility of a Harvard Cinderella story.

The final score was a decisive 8-2, and the loss ended a Harvard season that had seemed so promising just a few days ago in the wake of the Dartmouth victory.

"We came accross a red-hot team," said Crimson Coach John Dooley, who guided his squad to a 12-10-1 record on the year.

"I kept thinking, 'What happened to the one and two-goal games?'," Harvard Co-Captain Genie Simmons said, referring to earlier 3-2 and 3-1 losses to the Pandas.

But a tight contest wasn't in the cards this time. Less than two minutes into the game, Brown Captain Mardie Corcoran walked in alone on Harvard goalie Jennifer White and tallied from in close. Seven minutes later she scored again from almost the exact same spot.

And, as if the fates were torturing Harvard, just two minutes after her second score, Corcoran again had the puck right in front of the Crimson cage. But this time she passed to linemate Kim Les, whose tally put Brown up, 3-0.

Harvard got on the board before the end of the first period with Co-Captain Julie Sasner's long slapshot, but it was already too late to stem the Brown tide.

"Momentum is a big part of the game," Dooley said, "and when you score early it starts going your way. We missed a few opportunities that would have made it a different kind of game."

But nothing could stop the Panda first line of Corcoran, Les, and Lisa Bishop. On the afternoon, the senior trio chalked up six goals and five assists on breakaways, precision passes, and various other displays of offensive skill.

"Their first line is a powerhouse," White said. The freshman netminder stopped 42 shots of the Brown on-slaught, many in spectacular fashion.

"Jen White had a great game," Dooley said, "even if they did get eight in on her."

Indeed, Harvard as a team had nothing to be ashamed of in its performance. The icewomen dug in the corners, attempted to make plays happen in the offensive end, and played aggressive defense.

But as a team with just three upperclassmen, the Crimson couldn't stay with a Brown squad that boasted seven seniors and that much more hockey experience.

"They're a senior team," Dooley said. "Hopefully that will be us next year."

The disappointment of the loss couldn't keep the Crimson from reflecting on the season as a positive one.

"It was a great season," Sasner said. "The way we were so inconsistent early, then coming on in the end. When it counted, we played well."

"We finished the season strongly, which is a good indication of what is to come," Harvard Assistant Coach Bill MacDonald said. "It shows maturity and character, and bodes well for next year."

While it may be common when one season ends in disappointment to look forward to brighter prospects in the next, the Harvard women's hockey team has especially good reasons to do so.

Its two leading scorers, Johanna Neilson (14 goals, 20 assists, 34 points) and Karen Carney (13-16--29), as well as Sasner, the anchor of the defense, are just sophomores.

And both White, who boasted an outstanding 2.36 goals-against average coming into the Brown contest, and Saskatchewan native Brita Lind (14-15--29)--who had played only a version of hockey called "ringette," involving sticks without blades used to push a ring around the ice--before coming to Harvard, are freshmen. Both are legitimate contenders for Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

"I can't wait until next year," White said. "That's what we're waiting for. Our time is soon."

Dooley agreed, saying, "We have everything to look forward to next year."

Backing up such Crimson contentions up was the increasing quality and consistency of the icewomen's play as the year wore on. Despite a late-season relapse against a weaker UConn team, the young team improved with the experience of every showing.

"The future is bright," Sasner said, "though it's tough to think about that now."

Two of the icewomen won't be a part of that future, however. Senior line-mates Christine Dooley and Simmons finished their Harvard careers Saturday.

Each concluded her most productive season with the squad, Simmons contributing 13 goals and 11 assists, and Dooley chipping in six goals and 13 assists. It was the emergence of their second line as a scoring force later in the season which signaled the emergence of a more diverse and effective Crimson offense.

Simmons, a four-year team member, "hadn't heard of girls playing ice hockey until sophomore year in high school." But she began playing at Nobles and Greenough, and has been honing her skills since.

Although she plays defense in lacrosse, Simmons says she was made a center in hockey because "I can't skate backwards."

Improvement

Over the course of a career, "my game has definitely improved, and there was a lot of room for improvement when I came freshman year," she says. "My skating, my game sense have both improved."

She also predicts future success for the team: "They're going to have a great year [next year], but with so many sophomores on the team, their senior year will be the best."

Dooley came to Harvard with even less hockey experience than Simmons--none--and pointed to the changes she's seen in women's hockey over her career. "The level of the women's game has gone up so much. We're better, the competition is better, the individual skill level is better.

"I came in [to Harvard] without having played before, and you can't do that anymore," she adds. "There are so many girls playing the game."

In addition to four years of hockey, Dooley played two years each of field hockey and lacrosse. She called her final season on the ice satisfying, "especially because of the Dartmouth game. That's what I'll remember, our comeback."

And as for the future of the team she's leaving? "They're going to be great. I wish I could stick around and see."

Bruins, 8-2 at Meehan Auditorium Harvard  1-0-1--2 Brown  3-2-3--8

First Period--1, B, Mardie Corcoran (Kim Les) 1:41; 2, B, Corcoran (Leslie Holcombe, Les) 9:24; 3, B, Les (Corcoran) 11:54; 1, H, Julie Sasner (Johanna Neilson, Lisi Bailliere) 14:11. Penalties--Georgie Stanley, B (interference).

Second Period--4, B, Lisa Bishop (Sarah Burrow) 4:25; 5, B, Phoebe Williamson (Bonnie Welch). Penalties--Burrow, B (slashing) 1:44; Brita Lind, H (hooking) 7:21; Christine Burns, H, (cross checking) 14:37.

Third Period--6, B, Bishop (Corcoran, Burrow) 1:44; 2, H, Sasner (Neilson, Genie Simmons) 4:20; 7, B, Margaret Faule (Les, Holcombe) 12:17; 8, B, Bishop (Liz McLarney) 15:15. Penalties--Debbie Allen, B (cross checking) 3:31; Burrow, B, (holding) 7:02.

Saves--H, Jennifer White 15-17-10--42; B, Mara Spaulder 7-7-7--21.