At 3:22, The Crimson received a fax announcing his resignation.

"The meeting was difficult," captain-elect Trevor Allman said. "There were a lot of emotions. He wished us all the best with our futures."

The players expressed respect for Tomassoni and the effort he put into Harvard hockey.

"He's a good person," Moore said. "When any program loses a good person it's sad. His dedication to his job was very evident and very admirable."

Reports in the Boston Herald and local television have already mentioned several candidates for the job.

The two most notable on the list are current Princeton Coach Don "Toot" Cahoon and U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Ben Smith '68. Cahoon, who transformed the Tigers into an elite ECAC team, may head to Cambridge this week for an interview.

Other intriguing projected candidates include Yale Head Coach Tim Taylor '63, Mighty Duck forward Ted Drury '93, who would retire to take over the reins, Union Head Coach Kevin Sneddon '92 and Hobey Baker winner Mark Fusco '83.

In continuing Cleary's tradition of hiring from within the organization, Harvard's current assistant coaches Jerry Pawloski '88 and Mark Bavis ma also get a long look for the position.