PRINCETON, N.J.--What is life but many learning experiences all piled on top of each other?

The Harvard men's hockey team is beginning to learn that talent and skill don't necessarily yield winning results on the ice.

After dropping its second in as many games Friday night against Yale, the Crimson fought back to gain its first victory of the year over Princeton.

Against the Elis, the Crimson built a 1-0 lead after the first period and a 2-1 lead after the second, looking especially impressive in the process.

In those first two periods, Harvard not only dominated the game on the ice but also effectively took the record-setting crown of 3,486 at Ingalls Rink out of the game.

But, as last weekend's match against Brown proved, taking stupid penalties against substandard teams ultimately comes back to haunt teams, even the Crimson.

Harvard gave Yale seven different power play situations. Although the Elis could not cash in on any of them, the physical strain of killing those penalties showed on the ice in the later stages.

Harvard physically dominated Yale in the first period, putting 14 shots on Yale goalie Todd Sullivan. Yale, however, could only muster eight shots on Tripp Tracy.

As the game wore on, several players whom Coach Ronn Tomassoni had relied on to kill off Yale's oneman advantages become more and more tired.

Yale was able to pepper Tracy with 13 shots in the third period, while the weakened Crimson fired a mere eight on Sullivan.

The standing-room-only crowd became more and more involved in the game, constantly getting on Tracy's case and spurring on their home players with memories of last year's 12-1 embarrassment.

The game was eventually decided on a weak wrist shot from the blue line past a reened Tripp Tracy, but the Harvard players know that this loss was no fluke.

"Our effort was good, but...you can't play a game shorthanded and expect to win." captain Hen Coughlin said "If we can use these early games to learn about what we need to do better later on, we'll take these as a positive. I think they will be important down the stretch."

Both Yale and Princeton focused on Steve Martins as the center of Harvard's attack.

"It's no secret we went into the Harvard game with the number one priority of shutting down Steve Martins," Yale Coach Tim Taylor '63 said.