BURLINGTON, Vt. and HANOVER, N.H.--These are heady times for the Harvard men's hockey team, the Janusfaced New Year and the second half of the season quickly upon the Crimson.

In this month of new beginnings and resolutions, Harvard finds itself focused on finishing.

Friday night's game against the University of Vermont and Saturday night's contest against Dartmouth both provided dramatic endings.

The Crimson started the weekend with a 5-1 loss to the Catamounts at Gutterson Arena.

The lone Harvard goal was scored in the second period by sophomore Craig Adams to tie the game at one apiece.

Just as a Harvard power-play ended, Adams placed a wobbly puck past Vermont goalie Tim Thomas, who slid out of the crease to his right.

The embarrassing final score was not entirely indicative of the Crimson's play as three of UVM's five goals were scored in the third period.

With less than 13 minutes remaining, Harvard trailed the Cats by only a goal.

"I thought we outplayed them for two periods," Harvard coach Ronn Tomassonni said. "We've been playing pretty good hockey for awhile. We just haven't been able to translate that into wins and goals, in particular. We're getting some real good chances, we're working real hard, but we're not finishing."

Friday night's lack of offensive production was the Crimson's most pressing concern. Games are rarely won by teams which post a single goal.

"We've talked about it a lot," senior forward Joe Craigen said. "If I had the answer, we wouldn't be scoring one goal a game. It's a big problem and we've got to fix it. It's just a matter of bearing down, shooting the puck, crashing the net and taking advantage of our opportunities when we have them."

On the other hand, the Catamounts boast two all-American Hobey Baker candidates in Eric Perrin and Martin St. Louis who, in particular, know how to bear down and score.

The French Connection from Laval, Quebec contributed four of UVM's five goals. Perrin tallied a hat trick and an assist, while St. Louis earned three assists of his own.

The all-Quebecoise first line of St. Louis-Perrin-Stephane Piche orchestrated the goal that effectively ended the game.

At 12:42 in the third period, a shot by Perrin and save by goalie J.R. Prestifilippo resulted in a rebound recovered by St. Louis off to Prestifilippo's left. St. Louis slipped the puck in front of the goal to Piche, who shot it over a downed Prestifilippo.