Needing two points to secure home ice, the Crimson offense took advantage of the absence of Yale junior goaltender Dan Lombard, who missed the game due to a punctured lung.

Sophomore winger Brett Nowak scored the game-winning goal for Harvard with four minutes left in the second period.

Nowak took the pass at the right side of the net from freshman winger Kenny Turano and moved to the backhand past a defender. Nowak returned to the forehand and fired a wrister below rookie goaltender Peter Dobrowski's pads to give the Crimson a 5-3 lead.

"I think we dug ourselves into an early hole," Yale Coach Tim Taylor '63 said. "The first three goals were problematic, the fourth and fifth were back-breakers."

The Elis didn't quit, however, and made for an exciting finish when winger Evan Wax retrieved a rebound in front of the net and rifled it under Jonas, who never saw the shot because of the traffic in front of him at 10:58.

The Bulldogs could draw no closer, however, as Jonas made 33 saves and Pettit notched his second empty net goal of the season to ice the contest. On his seventh save of the game, Jonas set the school record for most stops in a single season, set by his predecessor, J.R. Prestifilippo '00.

" There is no doubt in my mind thatJonas is MVP of the league at this moment," Mazzoleni said.

Harvard stormed out of the gates, and it seemed for the first half of the first period that Yale would be obliterated by the Crimson offensive onslaught.