PROVIDENCE--Last night, Michael rowed the boat onto victorious shores. And the Harvard men's hockey team--beginning its defense of the ECAC championship with a raw corps of five freshmen and six sophomores--breathed a sigh of "Hallelujah."

Back-up goalie Michael Francis, filling in for injured regular John Devin, recorded 24 saves en route to lifting the Crimson to a 5-0 victory over Brown before 1800 fans at the Slumber Dome, also know as Meehan Auditorium. Over the last half-decade, Harvard has had fits in the Bruins' home rink, frequently falling into a trance before snaping awake in the midst of a close game.

But last night, Harvard did not play the somnabulist, scoring three goals in the first 11 minutes of action and putting relentless pressure on Bruin goalie Chris Harvey. If the Crimson's offense provided a flying puck fest, the defense added some aggressive zest.

Francis, a freshman who gave up eight goals in the Crimson's exhibition game against the Olympic Team last Sunday, faced a Brown flurry toward game's end, but hung on for the shutout.

"I thought everyone played well," Francis said. "I didn't have to work, really. [The defense] did a great job of playing everybody out. I could see whatever shots came in. It sort of made my job easy."

The Crimson played an uncharacteristically physical game, and Brown paid the price. By the end of the second period, the Brown captain (Greg Murphy) and his two assistants (Kelly Burns and Bruce McColl) were gone, all suffering from concussions.

After the Meehan mauling, Brown Coach Herb Hammond admitted that losing his senior trio put his team in a tough spot. But the Bruins probably would have been there anyway, struggling against a faster group of skaters.

"You can change the names and numbers [on Harvard's jerseys], but they can all skate," said Hammond, who has never beaten Harvard in 11 attempts.

The Crimson scored seven minutes into the game when Scott Farden ripped a shot from the point that sailed past Harvey and into the net. With the Crimson on a power play just over a minute later, C.J. Young took a loose puck in front of the Bruin net and buried a shot to put Harvard up, 2-0.

Three minutes after Young's goal, John Weisbrod scored the second of the Crimson's three power-play goals. For the Harvard extra-man unit, which was one of the 10 most efficient in the country last year, it was like old times.

"The power play is an area where everyone thought we'd be weak," Harvard Coach Bill Cleary said. "We've been spoiled with the power play we've had. You've got to do well in that area if you want to be successful."

Harvard added a goal in each of the next two periods. With 13 minutes left in the second frame, Ted Donato watched the puck bounce off the boards behind the Brown net and fall onto his stick. He gave a quick flip of his wrist, and zipped a shot past Harvey.

Newcomer Kevan Melrose, a transfer from North Dakota, added the Crimson's final goal, when he followed his own rebound off the Brown post and popped a shot into the net.

The usually taciturn Brown crowd got riled when the three Brown captains limped off the ice, one after the other. Hard-hitting Crimson defensemen Jerry Pawloski and Don Sweeney were particular targets of the fans' abuse.

But even if it came in the form of cat calls, it was noise. Silence, the standard sound at Meehan, is so deafening.