All Harvard needed was a tie to stamp its ticket to Lake Placid.

Harvard 2, RPI 1

Jonas needed nine full minutes to prove he could rise to the occasion for playoff hockey.

It took him nine minutes to make his first save--a harmless wave of a shot into the corner with his blocker--because it took the Engineers that long to send a shot on goal.

The shots would get harder for Jonas, but the netminder stopped 32 of 33 shots, and the Crimson defense prevented the high-octane Engineers from ever shifting into gear. The 2-1 win was a dream opening to the series for Harvard.

"This was a really good win," Tomassoni said. "Our team was really smart out on the ice tonight."

With the score knotted at 1-1 midway through the third period, sophomore forward Steve Moore collected the puck in the neutral zone and raced in on Laing, catching all RPI players on the wrong side of the ice. Harvard's leading scorer wound up all the way to blast the puck over Laing's glove.

RPI would never break that tie as the Crimson defense played its most technically sound game of the season. Harvard denied the speedy Engineers space on the ice and played smart, physical hockey.