OK, there were a couple of positives after all--Tracy and Hermsdorf played solid hockey in net. But then again, a team can't be smiling when it has made its goaltenders the stars even though they gave up six goals.

Tracy wasn't beaten on any of the numerous breakaways and odd-man chances, and it wasn't humanly possible for him to stop the rebounds and deflections by the Terriers who were unguarded right in front of him.

And Hermsdorf stopped all 10 shots that came his way. For all you scoring at home, it was Hermsdorf (and Harvard) 1, B.U. 0 in his 24 minutes of action.

"We just wanted to come out and work really hard in the third period," Hermsdorf said. "Tripp played a great game--those goals were not his fault."

But despite the goalie play, the game was purely ugly from a Harvard standpoint. No individual can be faulted for the loss. It was a team defeat.

If the players haven't already done so after the previous disappointments, they have to look hard at last night's game and pick up the pieces. Union and Rensselaer come to town this Saturday and Sunday, and they are better than every ECAC team the Crimson has played this year, save maybe Brown.

"This is a huge, loud alarm bell," Coughlin said. "This is a crucial point in our season, and we have to answer the call."