Harvard 1 - Dartmouth 1

Hanover, N.H. -- The 165th playing of the Dartmouth-Harvard rivlary and the final ECAC Division I men's hockey contest of the 1900s turned out to be one of the great goalie battles of the season.

That is, until a 28-second span late in the third period. It took two great efforts, but Crimson junior Steve Moore and Big Green junior Michael Byrne finally broke up the would-be scoreless tie with clutch goals late in regulation. That would end the scoring, and Dartmouth snapped an eight-game losing streak against Harvard.

For the Crimson (5-5-1, 5-3-1 ECAC), proven veteran J.R. Prestifilippo started between the pipes. For the Big Green (2-5-3, 1-2-3), it was rookie Nick Boucher. Putting their names, numbers and jersey colors aside, it was difficult to tell the two 5'-11" netminders apart. In the end, the two head coaches -- both former Division I goaltenders -- saw the reliable men between the pipes make just one mistake each.

It was the first Dartmouth-Harvard tie since a meeting on Feb. 14, 1973, ended in a 2-2 draw.

"I'm proud of Nick Boucher. That's the best game he's played," said Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet, who netminded the Big Green to a pair of NCAA Final Four appearances back in 1979-80. "Overall, the defense has been strong. I think our young defenseman are playing well and our defensive group as a corps is playing very well. And our forwards are coming back to help out. It's a good mix."

In the initial meeting between these two teams this season -- back on Nov. 5 -- the Crimson dominated in a 7-2 triumph. This time, there would be no such offensive shootout. In fact, it took two heroic -- and perhaps a bit lucky -- efforts for the lamps to light at all.

The first came from Moore. After 56-plus minutes of scoreless play, the veteran forward found a loose puck in front of the net and dumped it out of Boucher's reach to hand Harvard what seemed to be the decisive 1-0 advantage.

The crowd was deflated, but not for long. Just 28 seconds later, Byrne gathered a rebound off a shot from teammate Ryan Poulton and fired a blazing 10-foot slapshot into the back of the Crimson net.

The two exciting goals -- coming after more than two-and-a-half periods of perfect goalie play -- had the crowd in a frenzy, but the lamps would light no more. Dartmouth and Harvard combined for just one shot in overtime, and each team picked up a point as the ECAC standings were put to rest until after the New Year.

"They beat us 7-2 at the beginning of the season, but I don't think they're going down. I think we're going up," Gaudet said. "We're not putting it away like we'd like, but Byrne's goal was the biggest goal we've had this year. That was huge."

While the offensive output has been somewhat troublesome, Dartmouth has shown itself to be an up-and-coming defensive squad. After allowing only four goals against a pair of talented Hockey East opponents last weekend, the young Big Green kept quiet a Harvard attack that dressed five seniors and three juniors on the four offensive lines.

With the exception of Western Michigan's seven-goal outburst in the first game over Thanksgiving weekend, Dartmouth has not surrendered more than three goals since the 5-5 tie with Princeton on Nov. 12.

"Defensively, I think we've all done a good job lately," rookie blueliner Pete Summerfelt said. "It would be great if our team would start producing a little more offense. We've had a lot of opportunities -- myself included -- but we're not capitalizing. That could be the difference, but defensively I think we're doing well, so we'll just keep plugging away."

The young Big Green will now take a week off for the holidays before tackling the toughest portion of its schedule. Dartmouth will face a pair of 1999 NCAA Tournament participants, Boston College and Ohio State, on Dec. 29 and 30 before taking on cross-state rival New Hampshire, the nation's No. 1 team, on Jan. 3.

"It's definitely going to be a big test for our team, but that's the direction we want to go," Summerfelt said.

"We want to start competing with the top-notch teams because we want to be a top-notch team. We have to prove ourselves against schools like UNH and see where we stand."

Big Green notes: All of the figures were the same, but head coach Bob Gaudet tweaked his defensive lineup slightly for tonight's contest. P.J. Martin, a freshman, filled in at right defense alongside captain Ryan Burkart, while Dory Tisdale, a junior, moved over to form a line with fellow veteran Ryan Poulton . . . . Michael Byrne's goal was his first of the season and 14th of his career. With an assist on the play, Ryan Poulton now has a modest point streak of two games . . . . With the tie, Dartmouth avoided a fourth consecutive Crimson sweep of the season series. In all, Harvard swept the season series six times in the 1990s . . . . Dartmouth finished the night 0-for-3 on the power play, but silenced all four of Harvard's man-advantage chances as well.