Down 4-0, would the Crimson rally just as it did in the Beanpot against Boston College?

The second period certainly didn't appear so.

In fact, the only tally of the second stanza came from Union, when Chad Thompson finished a two-on-one by firing home his own blocked pass past Hermsdorf for a 5-0 Union advantage.

But Hermsdorf kept the deficit at five after that, stuffing a couple of Union breakaways and keeping the Dutchmen scoreless for the rest of the game.

As the third period began, some worried about the chance of a shutout. Meanwhile, a completely different Harvard team emerged from the locker room. In the first three minutes of the third stanza, the Crimson struck twice to silence the rowdy underdogs.

First, Martins drove home a loose puck to cut the lead to cut the lead to 5-1, and then captain Ben Coughlin fed sophomore Ashlin Halfnight for a shorthanded goal to pull Harvard to within 5-2.

The Crimson kept fighting, and with 8:36 left, sophomore Stuart Swenson rushed the crowded crease area and somehow poked the puck past Trevor Koenig to make the Union lead 5-3.

But despite several late chances--including several with Hermsdorf pulled for the last 1:26--the game would end in a 5-3 defeat.

"No matter who you play, when you get down four goals it's pretty tough to come back," Coughlin said.

With home-ice for the first round of the ECAC playoffs precarious at best, this weekend's final regular-season games are the perfect stage to display exactly what level of talent Harvard has.

"We're not as talented as everyone thinks we are," Tomassoni said. "But that doesn't mean we can't beat anyone."

Weekend Tickets

Tickets for Harvard's go on sale this morning at 9 a.m. at the Harvard Ticket Office in the basement of Harvard Hall. Students may exchange coupon 12 for Friday's 7:30 p.m. game against St. Lawrence and coupon 27 for Saturday's 7 p.m. game against Clarkson. There is a limit of two tickets per student per game. Union, 5-3 at Achilles Rink Harvard 0    0    3    --    3 Union 4    1    0    --    5

First Period

Un--Monteith 10 (Ford, Satterlund) 5:56. (PPG)