O is for the other league. That's Hockey East. It was formed two years ago, when Ivy athletic directors threatened to put a rein on the increasing professionalization of college hockey. The so-called super league has seven members and a 34-game regular-season schedule that includes frequent trips across the country for contests with Western College Hockey Association teams. Nonetheless, the ECAC is 5-1-1 against Hockey East this year.

P is for Providence. That's Providence, Rhode Island. That's where the 1986 Final Four will meet. The games are scheduled for the Providence Civic Center. The semifinals are March 27 and March 28. The consolation and final are held on Saturday, March 29.

Q is for quarterfinals. That's where the Crimson stumbled last year. That's also the first round of the eight-team ECAC and NCAA Tournaments. Two Eastern teams and two Western teams will host the two-game, total-goals quarters on March 21 and 22.

R is for RPI. That's the ECAC team that is the NCAA and defending conference champion. The Engineers rode a 38-game winning streak to the national crown. Right now 11-4-1 and second place in the ECAC, RPI visits Harvard Saturday night, looking to close the gap and avenge the Crimson's victory in Troy, N.Y., in January.

S is for Sarajevo. That's in Yugoslavia and that's where Scott Fusco played for the United States Olympic Team in the 1984 Winter Olympics. That year off is also why Fusco is still scoring goals for the Crimson five years after he matriculated.

T is for tradition. That's a large part of Harvard hockey. That's a lot of championships; that's a lot of banners hanging in Bright; that's excellence year after year.

U is for UMD. That's the University of Minnesota-Duluth. That's the team that ended the Crimson's season last year with a pair of 4-2 NCAA quarterfinal victories in Minnesota.

V is for Veritas. Truth is that I couldn't think of anything that started with `V' except Vermont, Friday's opponent, and quite frankly Vermont didn't deserve its own letter just after raising its drinking age.

W is for Weiland. That's Ralph "Cooney" Weiland, the great Harvard hockey coach for 21 years, who died this summer. Cooney coached the Crimson to 315 wins, seven Ivy championships and two ECAC titles.

X is for x'd out. That's the two injured Crimson players. Freshman defenseman Chris Biotti, a first-round NHL draft choice, has torn ligaments in his knee and is apparently lost for the season. Sophomore Allen Bourbeau, one of the Crimson's most potent scorer this year, has been out with torn stomach muscles. His condition is day-to-day.

Y is for the Yard. That's the home of Ed Krayer, Josh Caplan, Craig Taucher and Chris Biotti, the team's four freshmen.

Z is for Zamboni. That's the name of the machine that cleans the ice between periods. That's the end of the list.