Harvard played the crucial third period with only four defensemen, two of whom are freshmen. An injury during the game to junior defenseman Graham Morrell left a big hole in an already weak Crimson defensive corps. And Mazzoleni opted not to send out junior Leif Ericson, the Crimson's sixth blueliner.

That left freshmen Blair Barlow and Dave McCulloch on the ice, along with junior assistant captain Peter Capouch and sophomore Aaron Kim.

This diminished defensive unit was not prepared to handle the Catamount attack, and it showed. Vermont forwards often had a free pass to Jonas.

"This defensive squad is supposed to be a lot stronger," Mazzoleni said. "We had one of our defensemen flunk out on us and we're also missing the presence of [freshman] Kenny Smith."

Mazzoleni was referring to bruising blueliner Liam McCarthy, Class of 2001, as the veteran who was not able to return to the team this year. And the team still awaits the debut of the much heralded Smith, who suffered a stress fracture in preseason workouts and whose return date has been pushed back several times this year.

It is questionable though, how much of an impact either of them would have made on this game. It was a sad sight to see the defense abused by the Catamounts, but the future looks bright.

Certainly it would have helped to have Morrell in there, not only to make his usual contributions, but to simply give the other four some rest. Smith, from all scouting reports, has the tools to be a special player. The two of them combined should give Harvard enough ammunition on the defense to prevent any future collapses.