NEW HAVEN, Conn.--Invincibility skated onto thin ice with 18 minutes left in last night's Harvard-Yale hockey game.

Fifteen minutes later, it fell through.

Entering the final period at Ingalls rink, Harvard--the nation's number-one ranked team and the owner of a 15-0 record entering the contest--clung to a 2-1 lead over the Bulldogs.

But Yale Captain Adam Snow's goal at 3:28 of the third period tied the game. And Dave Tanner's goal with two minutes left all but ended it.

Bob Kudelski flung a shot into a barren Harvard net with 25 seconds remaining to give Yale a 4-2 victory.

Suddenly, the Crimson wasn't invincible.

A 15-game winning streak had ended. The best Harvard start of all time was over.

The crowd knew it.

After Snow's goal, the 3200 spectators leapt to their feet and cheered madly. Shouts of "Sieve, sieve" fell upon Crimson goalie Dickie McEvoy.

After Tanner's goal, the cheers grew louder. So did the taunts.

In the end, after the final Yale goal, flags were waved, feet were stomped and Yale players were mauling each other near mid-ice. Fans reached over the boards to grab a piece of Kudelski or any Bulldog they could get their hands on.

Invincibility was dead. For Yale, all was joyous.

Because of the loss, Harvard fell a notch in the ECAC standings. The Crimson is now 13-1 in the league and remains in first place. Yale, in second place, is 7-2. Some other teams have six wins. A few more have five.

Invincibility may be over for Harvard. But not greatness.

Harvard will get a long time to mull over this loss. The team goes into exams now and will not see action until February 2.