One day after participating in a shootout against Yale, the Crimson was forced to switch gears and compete with the Tigers at their own game, that is, in the trenches.

After 65 minutes of physically punishing hockey, Harvard walked off the ice with a critical 2-2 tie against the surging Tigers on Saturday night.

"It's been a trademark of our team," Princeton Coach Len Quesnelle said. "If we're physical, we give ourselves a very good chance to win."

In a game that featured superb goaltending and bruising defense, Harvard scored the first two goals of the contest, but Princeton rallied in the third to force the tie.

It was fitting that on the night when the Crimson was honoring its seniors who were playing their final regular season home game, its best senior--and best player--all year came through with a banner performance.

Goalie Oli Jonas made 38 saves, many during the crucial moments of the game, to shut down Princeton's attempt to derail the Crimson from finishing third. His Tiger counterpart, Dave Stathos was equally busy, stopping 37.

After a scoreless first period, Harvard finally broke through at 5:28 of the second.

Freshman winger Tim Pettit held the puck along the right-side boards and passed to assistant captain Chris Bala in front of the net. Bala positioned himself and quickly fired beating Stathos, left side to give the Crimson the 1-0 lead.