Standing in front of his 1997-98 squad at the post-season banquet, Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni did his best to shed light on the year's journey as he summed up the 32-game season in one word: progress.

One year ago, Harvard barely made the playoffs, finished seventh out of 12 teams in league play and was eliminated in the quarterfinal round against Cornell. The team's highest scorer had 13 goals while the power play worked at a dismal 10.8-percent efficiency rate.

This year the Crimson finished the regular season behind only four teams, nationally ranked Yale and Clarkson, RPI and Brown. The freshman duo of Chris Bala and Steve Moore added firepower in the form of a combined 26 goals and 37 assists. The special teams also ranked in the top of the league at a clip of 19 percent.

Last season the Crimson averaged a dismal 3.28 goals per game, while this year that number was lifted to a respectable 3.71 against what was, according to the power ratings, the nation's toughest schedule.

Progress? Tomassoni says yes.

That, in the mind of Tomassoni meant not only hope, but it signaled what he felt was the end of the rebuilding era. The 1997-98 campaign was the springboard, and embedded within the 14-17-2 record is a sign of what the eighth-year coach hopes will come in the next few years.

With a healthy Prestifilippo and Adams back in the lineup as well as a year-more experienced Bala and Moore, the Crimson should no longer find itself struggling to escape mediocrity--indeed on paper, Harvard is no longer rebuilding. The word which has been its crutch throughout the past four years is now gone. No longer will two days of glory at the Beanpot be enough to make up for what was otherwise a disappointing season.

As he stared out at his 21 returning players at the post season banquet, Tomassoni firmly announced an end to rebuilding, declaring, "It is time."