It will be hard for the Harvard men's hockey team to get psyched up for tonight's 6 p.m. Beanpot consolation game against Northeastern.

The game is basically meaningless. The winner does not get a 'Pot, nor skate a victory lap. All that a win claims is the bragging rights associated with being the third best hockey team in Boston.

And given the strength of the Northeastern team this year, those bragging rights are truly minimal. The Huskies (4-23-2 overall, 1-15-2 Hockey East) are dead last in Hockey East and a far cry from the strong Northeastern teams of the past. Even a decisive Harvard victory is not likely to convince the NCAA tournament selection committee that the Crimson is worthy of an at-large bid.

For the Harvard players who journeyed to the Beanpot championship game the last two seasons, the game is truly anticlimatic. Compounding the anticlimax is the fact that the Crimson is road weary from two dramatic overtime ties this weekend at far-away Colgate and Cornell.

"Obviously, we're not in any position to disrespect anybody," Harvard Captain Ted Donato said. "Northeastern is a capable team. However, as far as the NCAA goes, this game isn't as important as other games. There will definitely be a change in how the game is perceived by some of the older players."

"We're pretty tired, but we're going to try to block it out," Crimson sophomore Ted Drury said.

Northeastern's strength is its defense, anchored by junior netminder Tommy Cole. Cole, who will be playing in his third straight Beanpot consolation game, fell one save short of a Beanpot record with 51 saves last Monday night against Boston College. But while Cole can be awesome, he can also be horrible. Another defensive force for the Huskies is their captain, All-America Rob Cowie.

If Northeastern cannot shot down Harvard's powerful offense, it's own offense is unlikely to pick up the slack. The Huskies' MVP last year, junior forward Jay Schabel, is out for the season with an ankle injury. Really, all that's left up front are sophomore Sebastian LePlante and freshman Mike Taylor.

The Real Game

Because the game is meaningless, Harvard fans may get a chance to see some Crimson players that they normally do not have the opportunity to watch. Senior netminder Mike Francis is the probable starter for tonight's game, his fourth start of the season.

But if afficianados are smart, they will stick around for the final game between Hockey East and Beantown archrivals B.C. and B.U. While the Harvard-Northeastern game is marked by triviality, the B.C.-B.U. game epitomizes the drama of the Beanpot.