COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo--From the second Harvard stepped off the plane, it had to know it was not in Cambridge any more.

Perhaps it was the picturesque backdrop of Pikes Peak--or the shortness of breath that 6,000 feet above sea level induces, but its weekend set against then-No. 6 Colorado College was anything but typical.

The Tigers masquerade a minor league hockey team as a college program. Its arena, the Colorado Springs World Arena, also houses professional teams. A laser light show greets the home squad as it steps on the ice. And the whole place was virtually devoid of students--from the grandstands to the pressbox, and some might unfairly say, to the ice.

[The pregame meal for the media was second only to the spread offered by the Fleet Center for the Beanpot Tournament--and far better than the Pizza Ring fare offered at Bright.]

None of these trappings are necessary to produce a successful college hockey program. But they were entirely mandatory for the development of Harvard's.

The Tigers play a skilled offensive game that nobody in the ECAC has. Their ability to zip the puck across the ice in precise fashion--always looking for the open man--created a nightmare scenario for Harvard's beleagured defense and for senior goalie Oli Jonas.

The chemistry between Justin Morrison and Peter Sejna on the top line was a thing of beauty as the pair created a series of odd man rushes. The success of the two was particulary amazing since Morrison is a senior and Sejna a rookie.

Their unselfish and skilled play accounted for half of the Tigers' goals on the weekend and created blistering chances--especially for Morrison--that only through the good graces of Jonas did not find the back of the net.