Blair was up to the task, notching 29 saves in the final two periods to keep his teammates in the game.

"He threw a no-hitter out there," sophomore Andy Janfaza said.

The Crimson started things off when Ed Krayer picked up the puck in back of the Colgate net and tossed to the left point, where Jerry Pawloski fired it on net. Tim Barakett tipped the shot past Colgate netminder Dan Delianedis and the Crimson had all the goals it would need.

Harvard struck again late in the first period. Lane MacDonald broke down the left wing, deked a defender at the blue line and worked his way in on Delianedis from a tight angle. His shot from 15 feet out somehow found the back of the twine and Harvard was up by two.

Early in the second period, the Crimson enjoyed a 5-on-3 for 1:32 but was unable to put the puck in. The power play was operating without Fusco and while it retained some of its previous movement, its penchant for finding the little red light switch was missing.

Although the Crimson went 0-for-4 on the power play, the extra-man unit was one of the strongest aspects of the team's play.

THE NOTEBOOK: In other ECAC quarterfinal action, Cornell topped Vermont, 8-3, in Ithaca, N.Y., Yale beat St. Lawrence, 6-5, in New Haven, Conn., and Clarkson upset RPI, 3-1 in Troy, N.Y. All series resume tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Crimson, 2-0 at Bright Center Colgate (15-14-2)  0  0  0--0 Harvard (20-6-1)  2  0  0--2

First Period--1, H, Tim Barakett 18 (Jerry Pawloski, Ed Krayer) 2:21; 2, H, Lane MacDonald 15 (Tim Smith, Allen Bourbeau), 16:29. Penalties--MacDonald, H, (tripping) 5:30; Andy Janfaza, H, (tripping), 18:24; Harold Duvall, C, (slashing), 20:00.

Second Period--No scoring. Penalties--Paul Jenkins, C, (high stick), 0:28; Rob Ohno, H, (roughing), 8:29; Mark Benning, H, (holding), 14:43.

Third Period--No scoring. Penalties--Jenkins, C, (tripping), 5:26; Steve Armstrong, H, (high stick), 7:49; Mike Bishop, C, (holding), 9:38.

Saves--C, Dan Delianedis 2-13-7--22; H, Grant Blair 11-17-12--40.

A--2212