No, this unit isn't a Firing Line. Just a Fired-up Line.

"The Beanpot's becoming more of a special goal than it used to be," says Armstrong, the Crimson's captain and leading goal-scorer (nine). "It's not that we take it lightly. I know Andy really wants to win it. He grew up in Boston."

The problem with the Crimson's trips to the Garden in February is that they are always preceded by a two-week stretch that includes taking exams and only light skating. Before last year's 'Pot, Harvard held only one practice before taking on Northeastern.

Harvard, looking like it had just rolled out of bed, fell to the Huskies, 5-4, in overtime.

"A lot of guys are done early with their exams this year," Crimson defenseman Don Sweeney says. "We should be able to get some practices in."

For Sweeney and a handful of other Crimson skaters, this is the last chance to win the 'Pot. Sweeney and company have lived through three years of poor 'Pots.

"The Beanpot is a big deal," says Armstrong, also a senior. "It's not that we haven't been ready for it. We just haven't played well."

Ready or not, the 'Pot is coming.