He has never gone unnoticed, because freshman who start in goal for the Harvard hockey team have a way of attracting attention.

But for those who didn't see him struggle to cover up for the mistakes of inexperienced defensemen and compensate for a lack of consistent scoring punch game alter game for three years. It was hard to consider Wade Lau as anything more than a mediocre ECAC goaltender. All the unknowing saw were statistics like 4.78 and 4.63 goals against averages and a save percentage that hovered in the mid-eighties, so there were no awards for Lau, nothing to confirm his standing as one of the top goalies in the region.

That changed with last year's Beanpot. After limiting potent Northeastern to two goals in the opening round. Lau blanked Boston College, 2-0, in the finals to earn the tournament's Most Valuable Player award. He became an instant celebrity on the Harvard campus--recognized even at a local pizza parlor as "the guy who won the Beanpot."

Moreover, he became a symbol for last year's Harvard hockey revival. The Crimson reeled off a season-high four-game ECAC unbeaten streak before Lau was lost for the season with a knee injury and a 7-3 loss at Cornell eliminated the squad from playoff consideration Harvard, the feeling was, had proved the Beanpot win was no fluke with its late-season play and, led by Lau and a strong returning cast, was ready to make a serious run at the Top Eight this season after four years of disappointment.

It is Beanpot time again, and Lau is playing the best hockey of his career. But the Crimson squad that stood at 5-3 on December 13 has not won since and, despite consistently sharp play. Lau is looking at a six-game personal winless streak. His save percentage, once as high as 92, has dwindled to 83, and his goals-against average is an unremarkable 3.83. If he was the type. Wade Lau would have a right to be frustrated.

But Lau is not that type. "Wade doesn't get down on himself, and that's a big thing," says coach Billy Crcary. "He has complete confidence in himself, but he's humble in his approach to the game, himself and people, and I think he's been that way since the day he came here."

Lau has the perfect goaltender's personality--even-tempered, yet intense and industrious. "He has his head on straight, says team captain and four-year teammate Michael Watson. "He's a hard worker, and he's one of the leaders on the team."

And defenseman and freshman-year roommate Mitch Olson adds. "Wade's great; he's not obnoxious or loud like a lot of goalies. He takes things a little easier."

That quality has helped Lau weather some hard times, such as the two worst seasons for the Harvard hockey team since World War II in his freshman and sophomore years. "I think I've done a pretty good job of mastering the art of being mentally ready," he says, "I don't lot things affect me too much."

He is the cool head in the locker room, win or lose. "He's a calming influence on the team," says manager David Jones, who has watched him for four years. "He'll say, 'Be careful, we still have two periods to go'--he's realistic."

And when the puck does slip by him, he stores up the memory and shrugs it off. He can remember every goal ever scored against him, when it happened and how it was done, but he remembers analytically, not emotionally. "That was just like the second goal at Colgate last year," he'll say and describe his mistake, or, "I had one just like that my sophomore year in high school."

If there are a lot of goals to remember, it's only because Lau's been between the pipes since he was six years old. He played goalie almost exclusively through squirts, bantams and peewees and was an all-Minnesota stalwart at Johnson High in St. Paul, recruited by five of the Ivies and half a dozen Western schools.

Lau narrowed the choice down to Cornell or Harvard, and despite a personal plea for the Big Red from childhood idol Ken Dryden, brought his semi-flop, semi-stand up style to Cambridge.

He has never regretted the choice, despite Harvard's 31-56-6 four-year mark. An Economics major, he takes his studies seriously and looks ahead to Business school. He relieves the pressure of the netminding with fanatic rooting interest in all sports, and calls home to "cry on the shoulder" of fiancee Renee Moore (the wedding is in June) when things go wrong at the rink or in the classroom.

But most of the time Lau is happy, especially on the ice and especially this year. "When you see you only have one year left playing hockey," he says, "it makes you want to play every minute the best you can." He admits he has considered pro hockey but doesn't want to keep playing, in Europe or the low minors, just to prolong the fun.