For the No.2 Harvard women's hockey team, last night's showdown with No.4 Brown was supposed to quiet the skeptics.

Blowing a three-goal lead late in the third, and barely holding on for a 4-4 decision, however, isn't a way to inspire confidence.

After the Crimson dropped a 4-2 decision to No.7 St.Lawrence over Thanksgiving and narrowly escaped with a 4-3 win this past Saturday over Yale (1-11), one had to question whether the Crimson has the same skill and determination to win as last season's AWCHA National Championship team.

Without junior forward Tammy Shewchuk or sophomore forward Jen Botterill in the lineup for either game, however, neither St.Lawrence nor Yale had to face the heart of the Crimson scoring machine.

Shewchuk and Botterill had been away with the Canadian National team competing at the Three Nation's Cup. Their absence, combined with the injury to senior goaltender Crystal Springer, partially explained the team's poor performance.

Last night, however, Shewchuk, Botterill, and Springer were back in the lineup together for the first time in almost three weeks, and Harvard should have performed better.

Out of the gate, the Crimson came out firing and looked like a national champion. It controlled play, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead on junior winger Angie Francisco's second goal of the game at 7:52 of the first period.

Despite the quick start, the Crimson attack fizzled in the second period as Harvard became careless with puck in its own zone.

"We broke down defensively down the stretch," Harvard Coach Katey Stone said. "We just missed are assignments in our own end."

As the Brown defensive duo of junior captain Tara Mounsey and junior Cara Gardner turned up the heat in the offensive zone, Springer responded to the challenge-- stepping up her game as the Brown attack started to click.

However, Springer couldn't hold the fort forever, and Brown exploded for four goals in the third period to send the game to overtime.

It was the second game in less than a week where the Harvard defense collapsed in the third period. Against the Bulldogs last Saturday, Harvard surrendered three goals in the third and nearly blew a 4-0 lead against the league's worst team.

However, the problem was more than just a defensive collapse. Harvard played almost the entire game with only two lines, and the top line of Shewchuk, Botterill, and Francisco looked sluggish in overtime.

In the extra period, Brown outshot Harvard 6-0 and it was only Springer's outstanding performance that salvaged a tie for the Crimson.

Harvard's recent string of poor performances, and weakness down the stretch in games, underscores the inherent danger in relying on a couple of players to win night in and night out.

The team rises and falls on play of Shewchuk's line. If the three of them are playing well, Harvard can dominate a game, as it did in the first period against Brown.

If Shewchuk does not play up to her potential, however, there is not another player who can immediately step in and fill the void.

By normal standards, Shewchuk didn't have a bad night. With a goal and two assists, she might have been the best player on the ice, but she didn't dominate like she has in the past.

"It's nice to be back with all my teammates," Shewchuk said. "But we still have a lot of things to work on. We just weren't seeing each other out there tonight."

Away with the Canadian National team, neither Shewchuk nor Botterill had practiced with the rest of the team for almost two weeks before their return Monday, and it showed.

"I think they were out of sink," Stone said. "And they weren't ready to play in a Harvard uniform. They just need more time practicing with the rest of the team."

Given the noticeable absences over the past couple of weeks, Harvard's recent struggles are hopefully only bumps in the road.

And even though Shewchuk, Botterill, and Springer were back in the lineup against Brown, there was still a spillover effect from their absence.

However, Harvard will have to be content with its mediocre performance against Brown until after Christmas.

The Crimson don't play a league game against a team as good as Brown until Jan. 9th, when they battle No.1 Northeastern.

Hopefully by then, Shewchuk and Botterill will be back in the swing of things, and Harvard will be ready to show the hockey world what a good team that could be.