Going into its break for exams, the Harvard men's hockey team (12-10-1 overall, 10-6-1 ECAC) was riding the momentum of a successful 6-1 road trip. It seemed that the Crimson had finally overcome its slow start. Dartmouth  2 Harvard  1

But like an automobile that won't start in the cold, the team hasn't been able to get back into the rhythm it carried into the exam break.

First there was the upset loss to Princeton. Then the tough loss to Boston College in the Beanpot.

And last night at Bright Hockey Center, Harvard fell, 2-1, to Dartmouth (7-13-2, 5-10-2). It was the first time since 1980 that the Big Green came out victorious at Bright.

"We couldn't get a real flow tonight," Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni said. "We had some guys that had tough nights tonight."

Things started with promise for the Crimson. It controlled the opening faceoff, and within the first minute, had already notched two quality shots on Dartmouth netminder Scott Baker.

Then disaster struck.

With one-and-a-half minutes gone, Dartmouth right wing Brent Retter created a two-on-one fast-break up the left side of the ice when a Harvard defenseman got trapped up ice.

Junior goalie Tripp Tracy came out to stop Retter, but Retter fooled Tracy, spurted around him and sent the puck into the open net.

From there on, the Crimson found itself playing catchup.

And the stingy Dartmouth defensemen--usually a weakness of the team--played a strong clutch-and-grab game, limiting the Crimson to 24 total shots.

Harvard's only tally of the evening came at the end of a power play in the second period, when a deflected shot by freshman defenseman Jeremiah McCarthy was sent home by junior forward Jason Karmanos. But that was all the scoring Harvard would get.

"It doesn't take a genius to see we've struggled offensively the whole year," Tomassoni said. "We're a team that has a tough time scoring goals."

Dartmouth's winning goal came with just under three minutes left in the second stanza.

A tripping penalty on Harvard gave Dartmouth the small window of opportunity it was looking for.

Only 12 seconds into the ensuing power play, Dartmouth forward Dion Del Monte took a pass on the right side of the Harvard net, beat the lone Harvard defender and scored from 10 feet.

From then on, the Big Green's defense played tough, physical hockey, and the Crimson managed only seven shots on goal in the crucial final stanza.

Harvard looked like it would fall behind 2-0 early in the second period, after a Dartmouth shot deflected off Tracy and towards the goal.

But senior Michel Breistroff had other ideas. Lunging across the goal, he deflected the shot and prevented what appeared to be an almost-certain score.

Later in the game Breistroff single-handedly stopped a two-on-one by leveling two oncoming Dartmouth forwards, both of whom had Tracy in their crosshairs.

But the bottom line of this game was a disappointing loss and another lost opportunity, since league-leading Clarkson lost to Cornell.

Brown's victory over Vermont last night dropped Harvard into third place and gave the Bears the Ivy League championship, an honor the Crimson had claimed the last two years.

Harvard is looking to rebound tonight against Vermont at Bright.

"We have to roll up our sleeves and go out and get the victory," Tomassoni said. "We can't sit around and feel sorry for ourselves." DARTMOUTH, 2-1 at Bright Hockey Center Dartmouth  1  1  0  --  2 Harvard  0  1  0  --  1

First Period

Dar--Retter 4 (Cancelli, Hughes) 1:36.

Second Period

Har--Karmanos 6 (Nielsen, McCarthy) 8:28. (PP)

Dar--Del Monte 11 (Hughes, Whitworth) 17:13 (PP)

Third Period

No scoring.

Saves: Dar--Baker 8-8-7 23; Har--Tracy 8-10-6 24.

Power Play: Dar--1-3; Har--14.

Attendance: 2,919