A Harvard Men's Hockey Primer

A is for atop the standings. The Crimson has already won its fifth straight Ivy League title with a 9-1 mark and leads the ECAC by two-and-a-half games with a 15-2 record and four games to play.

B is for Blair. That's Grant Blair. That's the leading goaltender in the country. That's also Harvard's goaltender. Blair has a 15-4-1 mark and a nation's best 2.76 goals-against average.

C is for cold. That's what the temperature is inside Harvard's Bright Center. The rink is super-cooled to keep the ice very hard and the high-flying Crimson skating very fast. At home, Harvard is unbeaten in its last 12.

D is for defense. That's half of the equation for the Crimson's success this year. The squad has allowed only 42 ECAC goals (best in the conference) and behind the play of its strong blue-line corps and standout goaltender Grant Blair is allowing only 2.75 goals a game overall.

E is for ECAC. That's the Eastern College Athletic Conference, the biggest college athletic conference in the country. In Division I men's hockey, the ECAC has 12 teams. The conference champion is determined in an eight-team post-season tournament.

F is for Fusco. That's Scott Fusco. That's Harvard's all-time leading scorer (100 goals, 119 assists). He's a leading candidate to win the Hobey Baker Award, college hockey's Heisman Trophy. His brother Mark won it three years ago.

G is for the Garden. That's where the Beanpot Tourney and the ECAC Tournament are held. The Crimson's lost the 'Pot five straight years, but it has a chance to bring home the ECAC Trophy for the first time in three years in March.

H is for Harvard. That's the oldest college in America. That's also a university that won its last NCAA team championship in any sport in 1906. That's a long time ago.

I is for Ithaca. That's the home of Harvard hockey hatred in the world. That's where the Crimson blew out Cornell, 11-3, in December. That's a victory that stunned the hosts, who were riding an 8-1-1 Ithaca streak against Harvard.

J is for June. That's when Grant Blair, Mark Benning, Peter Follows, Scott Fusco, Rob Ohno, and Tim Smith pick up their diplomas and leave their Crimson sweaters behind.

K is for Killer B's. That's Allen Bourbeau and Tim Barakett, the two players who key the Crimson's second line. The pair are tied for third in team scoring with 34 points apiece. Their left wing is freshman Ed Krayer. The productiveness of the trio has picked up the Crimson offense from last year.

L is for lopsided. That's what the Crimson's scoring distribution was last year. The Firing Line of Scott Fusco, Tim Smith and Lane MacDonald scored 58 percent of all the Harvard goals last year. This year, they have accounted for only 37 percent of Crimson tallies.

M is for mentor. That's Crimson Coach Bill Cleary '56. That's one-of the most prolific scorers in Harvard history and a member of the gold-medal winning 1960 United States Olympic Team. Cleary is the 15-year Harvard coach that has a career record of 222-164-21.

N is for North Dakota. That's Grand Forks, N.D. In 1983, the Crimson traveled to the Flickertail State for the NCAA Final Four. Harvard won its opening round game against Minnesota, 5-3, but lost in the finals to Wisconsin, 6-2.