The Harvard women's ice hockey team was trying to send a message to Dartmouth last night at Bright Center.

The message would be well-timed: the two teams meet Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Ivy League semifinals. The winner of the Ivy League playoffs earns a bid in the ECAC tournament.

But it was the Big Green who came out loud and clear as they stunned the Crimson, 3-2, in overtime.

The first period was unevenly played and rough around the edges. And rough on the ice as well. Eight minor penalties were called in the first stanza, evenly divided.

Harvard (12-7-1 overall, 7-2-1 Ivy), however, was brought out of its rut when Crimson Co-Captain Julie Sasner canned a 45-ft slapshot that completely fooled Dartmouth net-minder Kelley Coyne.

The Green (15-7-3 overall, 5-4-1 Ivy), however, managed to tie the score just five seconds before the second intermission. Junior Gina Gualtieri dipsy-doodled at the side of the Harvard net and got a lucky bounce high off Harvard goaltender Jennifer White's outstretched stick into the goal.

The Crimson had numerous chances to put the game away in the third period, including a Char Joslin blast that clanged off the crossbar in the dying seconds of a Harvard power play. The squad, however, managed to break through when junior Julia Trotman snagged a rebound and directed it past Coyne with only 3:29 left in the period.

But Harvard couldn't hold the late lead as it had done against Princeton five days earlier. Instead, Dartmouth freshman Judy Parish skated around several Crimson players and got the puck just over White's glove hand to tie the score with less than two minutes left in regulation.

"We just allowed [Parish] to skate in our zone," said Trotman.

While Parish became a hero in regulation, she nearly became the goat in overtime. Her holding penalty in the extra period allowed the Harvard power-play unit to swarm like bees around the Big Green net.

Coyne and the Green defense survived, and after the penalty expired, it was Dartmouth's turn to attack.

And when Gualtieri scored from a pileup resembling a rugby scrum in front of White, the Crimson had dropped its first Ivy League home game in more than two years.

"We made mistakes in our own end that let them back in the game," said Harvard Coach John Dooley, "We had them on the ropes."

And on Saturday, look for the Crimson to try for a knockout. "I'm sure that we'll be motivated Saturday," said junior Brita Lind. "We have a certain debt to pay."

THE NOTEBOOK: Harvard had been undefeated in its last four meetings with the Green coming in to last night's contest...The teams skated to a 1-1 tie in early January, with Crimson sophomore Martina Albright knocking in the tying goal with barely three minutes left in regulation...The winner of the Harvard Dartmouth semifinal will play the winner of the Princeton-Cornell semifinal, which will be played at 5 p.m. Saturday. The championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday...Char Joslin is the Crimson's regular-season scoring champion with 19 goals and nine assists for 28 points. Brita Lind and Julie Sasner are close behind...Harvard has a 4-1-1 record against the other three teams in the Ivy tournament and has outscored them, 21-13. Harvard  0  1  1  0  -  2 Dartmouth  0  1  1  1  -  3