Wade Lau

He has never gone unnoticed, because freshman who start in goal for the Harvard hockey team have a way of attracting attention.

But for those who didn't see him struggle to cover up for the mistakes of inexperienced defensemen and compensate for a lack of consistent scoring punch game alter game for three years. It was hard to consider Wade Lau as anything more than a mediocre ECAC goaltender. All the unknowing saw were statistics like 4.78 and 4.63 goals against averages and a save percentage that hovered in the mid-eighties, so there were no awards for Lau, nothing to confirm his standing as one of the top goalies in the region.

That changed with last year's Beanpot. After limiting potent Northeastern to two goals in the opening round. Lau blanked Boston College, 2-0, in the finals to earn the tournament's Most Valuable Player award. He became an instant celebrity on the Harvard campus--recognized even at a local pizza parlor as "the guy who won the Beanpot."

Moreover, he became a symbol for last year's Harvard hockey revival. The Crimson reeled off a season-high four-game ECAC unbeaten streak before Lau was lost for the season with a knee injury and a 7-3 loss at Cornell eliminated the squad from playoff consideration Harvard, the feeling was, had proved the Beanpot win was no fluke with its late-season play and, led by Lau and a strong returning cast, was ready to make a serious run at the Top Eight this season after four years of disappointment.

It is Beanpot time again, and Lau is playing the best hockey of his career. But the Crimson squad that stood at 5-3 on December 13 has not won since and, despite consistently sharp play. Lau is looking at a six-game personal winless streak. His save percentage, once as high as 92, has dwindled to 83, and his goals-against average is an unremarkable 3.83. If he was the type. Wade Lau would have a right to be frustrated.

But Lau is not that type. "Wade doesn't get down on himself, and that's a big thing," says coach Billy Crcary. "He has complete confidence in himself, but he's humble in his approach to the game, himself and people, and I think he's been that way since the day he came here."

Lau has the perfect goaltender's personality--even-tempered, yet intense and industrious. "He has his head on straight, says team captain and four-year teammate Michael Watson. "He's a hard worker, and he's one of the leaders on the team."

And defenseman and freshman-year roommate Mitch Olson adds. "Wade's great; he's not obnoxious or loud like a lot of goalies. He takes things a little easier."

That quality has helped Lau weather some hard times, such as the two worst seasons for the Harvard hockey team since World War II in his freshman and sophomore years. "I think I've done a pretty good job of mastering the art of being mentally ready," he says, "I don't lot things affect me too much."

He is the cool head in the locker room, win or lose. "He's a calming influence on the team," says manager David Jones, who has watched him for four years. "He'll say, 'Be careful, we still have two periods to go'--he's realistic."

And when the puck does slip by him, he stores up the memory and shrugs it off. He can remember every goal ever scored against him, when it happened and how it was done, but he remembers analytically, not emotionally. "That was just like the second goal at Colgate last year," he'll say and describe his mistake, or, "I had one just like that my sophomore year in high school."

If there are a lot of goals to remember, it's only because Lau's been between the pipes since he was six years old. He played goalie almost exclusively through squirts, bantams and peewees and was an all-Minnesota stalwart at Johnson High in St. Paul, recruited by five of the Ivies and half a dozen Western schools.

Lau narrowed the choice down to Cornell or Harvard, and despite a personal plea for the Big Red from childhood idol Ken Dryden, brought his semi-flop, semi-stand up style to Cambridge.

He has never regretted the choice, despite Harvard's 31-56-6 four-year mark. An Economics major, he takes his studies seriously and looks ahead to Business school. He relieves the pressure of the netminding with fanatic rooting interest in all sports, and calls home to "cry on the shoulder" of fiancee Renee Moore (the wedding is in June) when things go wrong at the rink or in the classroom.

But most of the time Lau is happy, especially on the ice and especially this year. "When you see you only have one year left playing hockey," he says, "it makes you want to play every minute the best you can." He admits he has considered pro hockey but doesn't want to keep playing, in Europe or the low minors, just to prolong the fun.

"Deep down, back in your mind, when you've been successful at the level I've been--a Division I goaltender--you have to have thought of it," Lau says. "Let's put it this way: if I have a great second half like last year, and the right people are watching and offer me a spot playing in the right place, I'd love to do it. But I don't want to play just to keep playing; when it comes time to hang up the skate, you have to hand them up."

As the weeks of Lau's college hockey career wind down, the numbers pile up. He enters tonight's game, for example, with 1811 saves, just 110 behind Harvard record-holder Bruce Durno. He has played almost 4000 minutes in the nets for the Crimson despite missing two months of his freshman season with a knee injury and four more games after getting hurt last year. He also has a chance of becoming the first Harvard player to win back-to-back Beanpot MVPs.

But none of this--not even the Beanpot--is uppermost in Wade Lau's mind right now. "This might surprise a lot of people," he says, "but it I had to pick two games for us to win this week it would be Brown and Yale, not the Beanpot games."

Despite a 5-7-1 ECAC record with just eight league games left. Lau sees a real playoff possibility for the Crimson and, more than any other, playing in a playoff game is an honor Lau would like to enjoy.

"This year's team has enough experienced talent to come back," he says "It's definitely the closest knit team we've had since I've been here, and that will help, too."

And so will having Lau healthy for the stretch run. He has played every minute of every ECAC game for Harvard this season, except for the tail-end of the season-opening 11-1, trouncing of Dartmouth, and the knee injury that felled him in practice the day before the squad left for Princeton last February has completely healed.

It would be fitting for Lau, who has played well and often gloriously during the had days, to go out a winner Last year's seniors were the first in Harvard hockey history who played on a losing team for four years, and Lau, Watson, and the rest of the class of '82 are in danger of becoming the second.

"I would gladly trade last year's Beanpot games for playoff games." Lau says, referring again to the number-one goal of his Harvard hockey career. "Last year, the Beanpot made our season. This year, I hope it doesn't."CrimsonHisham I. YoussefLAU makes a save on B.C.'s ED RAUSEO at Bright Center earlier this year.