"Grant Blair's kind of an unsung hero for us," Harvard men's hockey Coach Bill Cleary says. "He goes unnoticed. Everyone always says he's been on good teams. If you want to look at him, look at his sophomore year, with practically no one in front of him, he had the lowest goals-against average in the league."

In that 1983-84 campaign, the only season in the past five that the Crimson failed to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament, Blair played some of his best hockey.

He led the Ivy League in goals-against average with a 1.96 mark. He finished third in the ECAC in g.a.a. with a 2.74 mark, just .07 goals per game behind league leader Cleon Daskalakis, who played for 29-11-1 B.U. and .05 behind second-place Daren Puppa, who played for 32-6 RPI.

The goalie will be remembered for his fine performances in the ECAC and NCAA tourneys his freshman year, but considering the quality defensemen playing in front of him, his sophomore campaign may be his most impressive.

Blair's squad managed just a 10-14-3 mark, but the netminder upped his save percentage to .918, best in the ECAC, and actually allowed fewer goals than he did with the NCAA runners-up the year before.

Blair was named Ivy League Co-Player of the Year (with his old teammate from junior hockey, Duanne Moeser of Cornell) and selected the most valuable player on the Crimson squad.

After he was drafted in NHL amateur draft following his freshman year, Blair was also starting to think about the pros. His distinctive stand-up style had won him admirers and was cleary suited to the pro game.

Not only was Blair coming out and cutting down the angles, he was playing with consistency, and his performance peaked come March and playoff time.

"He's very consistent--that's one of his trademarks," says Mike Schafer, a two-year Cornell tri-captain and Blair's teammate in juniors.

"He seems to sense when we're down and we need him," Crimson Captain Scott Fusco says.

A week ago, hosting Colgate in the ECAC quarterfinals, the Crimson came out flat, but Blair's sparkling 40-save performance bailed his team out and delivered a 2-0 shutout.

Keeping the Crimson out of trouble isn't always easy for the usually cocky netminder. Being put on the spot night after night has taken its toll.

"I feel sometimes I lack confidence," Blair says.

Father Knows Best

His father has noticed a tell-tale sign in his son's pre-game habits.