Here We Go Again

This year's freshmen and sophomores probably won't remember; the juniors and seniors who do might not even care. But two years ago the Harvard men's hockey team was pretty hot.

No, not the squad that went to the NCAA finals last year and shocked a good portion of the American hockey watching public. We're talking here about the 1981-82 icemen, who won more hearts than titles.

They came off a lengthy losing streak and slid into the Ivy title before falling in both the ECAC final and the NCAA quarterfinal rounds.

People used to head over to Bright Center in those day's if the reserve reading was gone from Lamont and there was nothing good on TV. Harvard got blown out of the Veanpot and seemed destined to do likewise in any serious league or post-season competition.

But the squad started showing signs of life and the guys downstairs decided it was time for us to check things out.

After my first college hockey game. I was interested; after the second, I was hooked. The Crimson only tied Yale, but Wade Lau made 24 saves and had the entire student section chantin his name. As an impressionable freshmen, I took this as a sign of greatness.

Which of course it was. That same night Greg Olson also found his way into the pantheon by somersaulting over the Yale net and landing flat on his back about 10 feet from our second row seats.

I was a bit worried; here at my second hockey game, there was a deed player right in front of me. Everybody in the section probably had the same thought for about a minute then we saw the shadow in his helmet split the a wide while smile, Olson picked himself up and zipped away, No question. These guys were cool.

This was a full year before anybody pitched a tent outside the Harvard Hall ticket office when player tickets went on sale. It was the first time Harvard had made it into the ECAC playoffs since 1976, and the realization came very slowly that Was Lau was inches from deification and the team as a whole inches from greatness. They played before some sparse gatherings that year, but stuck it out and surprised an awful lot of people.

Now, 1976 to 1982 is a long time, but 1902 to 1984 is a lot longer. Yale won the first Ivy League men's basketball championship 82 years ago. It is a feat Harvard has yet to match. Until this year.

Its first ever league title is within the Crimson's reach and like the come from behind campaign the hockey team staged two years ago. Harvard's battle to the top has been unanticipated. The fact that the cagers are in a three way tie for the first with just one weekend left could be called a pleasant surprise. But that would be a gross understatement.

Briggs Athletic Center has been pretty cavernous most of this year. Even against national power Duke, the cagers only drew 2750 fans to occupy 3000 seats and the contest was a lot more interesting than Lipsey and Steiner or the average installment of "Dallas."

This team is hot. If your juniors and seniors want a comparison think back to the days when screams of "WADE-LAU-WADE-LAU" echoed through Bright. Then consider Joe Carrabino's personal cheering section. Even in the midst of a catatonic crowd at Brown this weekend cries of "The Emu! The Emu! punctuated the Harvard rooting.

There's something pretty good going on here and an Ivy Player of the week is much more likely to draw support like that than a large flightless bird.

And remember Greg Olson laid out on the ice at Bright? Consider Pat Smith, who got body checked into the floor early in the second half of that same Bruin catastrophe. Harvard's starting point guard Ivy curled up on his side as the Brown five the refs and three of his teammates meandered up the court.

Smith struggled to his feel shook himself out and returned to the benefit to get his breath with as much poise as Olson ever showed.

And this year's cagers show as much poise as that hockey squad ever did. They also show game after game what coaches like to call "a total team effort." And they've shown this year consistently improving league leading form. Harvard hasn't lost by more than three points since January 13.

The form will make its final appearance of the regular season Friday and Saturday nights at Briggs, which holds 350 less than Bright, Cornell also tied for first in the Ivies and Columbia will be in attendance. Tickets are available in you guessed it the basement of Harvard Hall. Leave your tent at home.