After the Harvard women's ice hockey team captured the Ivy League title in storybook fashion last Saturday, its last game of the regular season proved to be a disappointing ending.

"It's so anticlimactic," junior Martina Albright said. "There's no way after you skate the [Ivy] trophy around the ice that you can get up for a game."

The Crimson, which defeated Princeton to clinch the Ivy title for the third straight year, faltered in its attempt to finish out the season undefeated in league play, falling to Dartmouth, 5-1, last night at Bright Center in front of 150 spectators.

"Dartmouth is a fine team," Harvard Coach John Dooley said. "They have a super goaltender."

Big Green goalie Kelley Coyne recorded 34 saves in the game and virtually shut down the Crimson offense.

Dartmouth (15-8-2 overall, 5-4-1 Ivy) could not have requested a better ending to its season, extending its winning streak to five games by beating Harvard (15-7-1, 8-1-1) at home.

"We've been playing pretty well, but, of course, this is exciting because it is a big rivalry," Dartmouth Coach George Crowe said.

It was apparent form the outset that Dartmouth had come to play, and play it did. The Big Green took a 2-0 lead into the first break behind goals by sophomore Robin Chandler and freshman Lori Jacobs.

"[The outcome of a game] depends a lot on who has the momentum," Crowe said. "I thought we had the momentum after we scored a couple of goals early."

The Big Green upped its lead to 3-0 less than a minute into the second period when senior Betsy Aldrich took advantage of a tactical error by Harvard Tri-Captain and goalie Jen White. Instead of falling on the puck after a shot attempt, White quickly flicked it out to the side without seeing Aldrich, who proceeded to knock it back in the net.

Junior defender Char Joslin provided the only bright moment for Harvard when she took a pass from freshman Ceci Clark and, weaving past several Dartmouth defenders, slipped the puck past Coyne at the 4:22 mark of the second period.

The Crimson's hopes were dashed seconds later when sophomore Judy Parish notched a goal to put Dartmouth up, 4-1. Jacobs scored her second goal of the game at the 7:03 mark in the third period to wrap up the Dartmouth scoring.

"Our scoring immediately after the Harvard goal was key," Crowe said. "If they had scored the next goal, they would have gained the momentum, but that goal prevented them from getting back into the game."

Harvard was not without its opportunities during the contest. They had two power plays, but Coyne was the difference, collecting 18 saves in the final period. White stopped 14 shots in the game.

"[Coyne] was hot," Tri-Captain Brita Lind said. "She was where she wasn't supposed to be all night. She just made some amazing saves."

In their game earlier this season, Harvard outshot the Big Green, 51-14, but could manage only a 1-0 shutout victory.

The Crimson will have an opportunity to avenge last night's loss Saturday when it meets Dartmouth in the semifinals of the 1989 Ivy League tournament at 2 p.m. in Bright.