At this point, I glanced at the scoreboard and had to remind myself that the objective of hockey was still lighting the lamp, and Harvard's had yet to shine.

The casualties were mounting. Sophomore winger Jeff Stonehouse had to leave the match with a concussion. Captain Trevor Allman needed stitches after the game.

Through all of the din, referee John Bunyon barely called enough penalties to avoid a brawl. By game's end, though, he had issued 25 minors.

"We came in expecting this to be physical," said senior defenseman Matt Scorsune. "We had to meet the challenge and we didn't back down."

No, Harvard didn't back down and perhaps the bitterness in the violence should be typical of a cross-town rivalry. But the physical play also robbed Harvard of the offensive flow it needed to come back.

The Crimson executed its game plan defensively very well--B.C. managed just four shots on goal in the first and five in the third, but it could never sustain its own pressure on Clemmensen. When Bunyon arbitrarily decided to give Harvard a man-advantage, the power play continued its slump, going 0-for-6. It has now scored twice in its last 26 chances.

Coming off a promising 5-1 win against Union last Saturday, the offense reverted to its earlier, futile form.

"Something I'm striving for is for kids to play hard from the beginning to the end," Mazzoleni said. "I'm proud of the way we played tonight. Down the road we'll win these games."