For those watching the polls, this season's final standings are starting to shape up.

Maine will be the top-ranked team in the East in the NCAA tournament.

Either Michigan or Miami, Ohio will take the top spot in the West, whichever wins (or goes furthest) in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's post-season tournament.

Not more than two ECAC teams will get bids (although the elimination of an automatic bid to a non-conference team may help Yale squeeze in if it sweeps the remainder of its games).

And, because of its 4-2 Beanpot win over Boston University, Harvard should get the number two bid in the East, allowing the Crimson a first-round bye and the gift of not having to play Maine until the finals of the tournament.

That assumes, of course, that Harvard wins the remainder of its games and, at the very least, advances to the finals of the ECAC tournament held in Lake Placid, N.Y. But after this weekend's shocking 3-3 tie against Princeton, Harvard should be especially careful not to look past any of its games.

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Boost to Princeton: The Tigers may have only come away with one-point this weekend, but that was one more point that Princeton Coach Don 'Toot' Cahoon expected to get.

Princeton freshman James Konte stopped 33 shots against a weak Harvard team while John Fust tipped in two goals to secure the tie and the one point.

"This is a funny year. We played hard last night [a 8-3 loss at Brown], but it was just one of those nights when the puck gets away from you," Cahoon said after the Harvard tie. "[Today's game] certainly gives us some light at the end of the tunnel. Our kids get a payback for hanging in there."

Cahoon certainly knows how important a win over Harvard can be. He played and coached at Boston University and still keeps his home in these parts.

Now in his second year at Princeton, Cahoon is hoping he can inject his Boston passion for hockey into central New Jersey.

"We're fortunate the people at Princeton have given our program the support and opportunity to improve," Cahoon said. "We're hoping to improve, hoping we can attract some young players. We certainly can become more competitive and more consistent."

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Baird Honored: Adams House isn't known for its athletes, but the gloomy, ultra-Bohemian Plympton St. institution honored junior Chris Baird last night in a special dinner.