TROY, N.Y.--I was worried.

Worried that the passion was gone, the love for the game lost.

Alright, perhaps it was a bit premature.

The past few Harvard men's hockey games have been as free from emotion as your average championship chess match.

Sure, defeat usually does that to a team, but not a pumped fist could be found in the last few games.

Where was the emotion? Where was that 10,000 men spirit?

Needless to say, you could see the emotion spill out upon the Houston Field House ice last night, as the Crimson held on for perhaps the biggest victory of the year, a 5-3 defeat of RPI.

Is it the road that helps? "Well, it's nice to get away from Harvard," junior defenseman Peter McLaughlin said. "You can concentrate on the task at hand and not worry about handing in problem sets."

Did someone say Steve Martins wasn't playing with the usual gusto this year? Ah, bite your tongue.

Just watch him flip a pretty shot into the top corner of the Engineer goalie and skate away in wild celebration--swinging arms, pumping fists, and glaring at his fallen enemy.

"It's important for our team to be psyched about every goal we score," Martins said. "It really helps morale."

Want another Martins goal? You got one.

The Crimson power play finally let loose, and at last the bounces went Harvard's way. When Martins fired the puck home, the whole unit skated away with arms raised.

"I made a little extra effort [for emotion], at times, but it definitely helps out and puts the other team down," Martins said.

Harvard wasn't even done.