What we have here is a hot hockey team.

"It's within reach now," said Crimson forward Greg Britz when asked what Saturday night's Bright Center 6-2 win over Yale meant to Harvard's playoff chances. Riding their Jongest winning streak since 1975 -- five games -- the icemen now sport a 7-9 ECAC record with five games remaining, but four are against Ivy opponents and all five are on the road.

Still, after struggling through jungle warfare on ice--Yale's chippy, pricker-bush defense--busing to Princeton and Cornell will seem like a day at the beach to the icemen. "That was just atrocious out there." Harvard coach Billy Cleary said after the game. "Kids swinging sticks, hitting after the whistle -- it's a disgrace."

And Bill Larson, belted after tallying the Crimson's third goal seven minutes into the third period, agreed. "I can't believe it," he said, raising his right arm to reveal a gash. "This happened when I put my arms up after my goal."

Larson's marker which followed first period goals by Mark Fusco (power-play bullet) and Greg Olson, put the icemen ahead, 3-1.

Three minutes later, when Rick Benson knocked a Fusco pass out of the air for Gary Martin to shove home, the rambunctious Eli's abandoned hockey in favor of Roller Derby, with Dan Polizani--three trips to the box in the last two periods--playing Charlie O'Connell.

The resulting 23 penalties (12 on Yale, 11 on Harvard) are easily the most in a Crimson contest this year, and probably up there on the ECAC list. But while the physical game might have intimidated the icemen a month ago, the new Bright Center Flyers hung on, with Martin and Poliziani trading third period goals and David Burke sliding an open-netter home in the final minute to seal the win.

"If someone had asked me about the playoffs before this weekend. I wouldn't have been too optimistic" Britz said.

"But now, I really think we've got a chance, although we will have to go 5-0 to do it."

On hand for his seventh-straight clutch performance in the Harvard net was Wade Lau, who swept 30 shots aside. Lau has now allowed 14 goals in his last seven games, which include the five Harvard wins and a pair of 3-2 losses.

THE NOTEBOOK: The win marked the first time Harvard had beaten Yale in four years. The Crimson last won the Beanpot four years ago, and last made the ECAC playoffs then, too. Hmmm.....The announced crowd of 3350 is by far the largest of the year. Capacity is 2850...The junior varsity cruised to yet another win, Saturday afternoon, beating Yale, 8-0. Kevin Hampe's boys are now 14-0-1...And plaudits to Lloyd Perlmutter, who along with goalie Nathan Berkowitz won the shootout for Mather House, 2-1, over Currier. The Voice of Bright Center exhibited quite a wrist shot, and the rumors are that Cleary was watching.