But nothing panned out for the Saints. Harvard hung tough and Jonas, despite having a few precarious moments diving across the crease, did not have to make any spectacular saves because St. Lawrence's home run passes never connected.

Through the night, the SLU power play laid a big, fat, 0-for-8 egg.

And when ECAC Rookie of the Year candidate Tim Pettit outworked two Saint defenders for an empty-netter at 19:10, the Crimson erupted in euphoria and relief. Even Mazzoleni gave a violent wave and fist pump.

To make sure the rest of the league noticed the significance of Harvard's accomplishment, Pettit scored again 11 seconds later. The early season swagger was back.

"There is no better way to end a five game losing streak than to beat the best team in the conference," Pettit said. "Who our opponent was was not lost on us."

"You better believe tonight was a relief," Mazzoleni added.

The road to Lake Placid now is clear and straight for the Crimson. It has by far the easiest schedule of its ECAC rivals.

Harvard will travel to RPI and Union this weekend. The Engineers also have fallen apart as of late, and the Skating Dutchmen, regardless of their recent run, will forever be eminently beatable. The season finale is a duece at home against pushover Princeton and an inferior Yale team who only beat Harvard earlier this year because of the Crimson's injuries.