Harvard freshman netminder Tripp Tracy was named the ECAC's Rookie of the Week for his 28-save blanking of Vermont Sunday in the Crimson's 4-0 win.

Tracy registered his second shutout of the season and is the first ECAC goaltender to notch two perfect games this season. The Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. native has not lost a contest so far, and last weekend's win boosted his record to 5-0-0.

Although Catamount star goalie Christian Soucy turned in a solid performance against the Crimson, it was Tracy that came out with the victory, the shutout and the honors.

Last year, Soucy was the precocious rookie stealing the spotlight from veteran goaltenders. Soucy's now the veteran, and he better watch his back.

Tracy is currently the ECAC's leading goaltender overall. In five games, he has gathered 129 saves and boasts a .921 save percentage as well as a 2.18 goals-against average. Tracy is also the second leading netminder in league play, behind St. Lawrence's Brady Giroux.

Not the Only Star: Tracy is not the only Crimson freshman to be named ECAC Rookie of the Week this season. Tracy's classmate and partner in goal, Aaron Israel, had the honor after his first collegiate start. Since then, Israel has not done so badly himself, posting a 2.95 goals-against average while sucking in 156 saves in five games.

"We've had excellent goaltending all year by both freshman," Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni said.

Break out the Ray Bans folks. The future looks bright with these two sharing the net.

The Return of Martins: Sophomore forward Steve Martins may be back on the ice for Harvard (8-1-1 overall, 8-0-1 ECAC) sooner than he or anyone else expected.

Martins, arguably the Crimson's second most talented forward, suffered an ankle injury the first day of practice this season, and the Gatineau, Que. native thought he'd be out of uniform at least until the Beanpot in February.

But after the Vermont game, Martins said he hopes to be back and competing against Boston College on January 3.

"My injury's doing real well," Martins said. "My ankle feels good, and I might even be skating this week and back a little sooner than expected."

Martins' return will mean added punch for the Crimson's already punchy offense.

The Cabot resident was last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and in his first season he exploded for 13 goals and 14 assists. Martins was also an integral part of the Crimson's penalty killing unit, setting up three short-handed tallies in the 20 games he played.

Martins said the Crimson is obviously handling the season fine without him.