Bright Smiles and Dreams of Hockey Stardom

Harvard hockey Coach Bill Cleary will never forget Johnny Janicek.

Steve janicek '75, Johnny's brother and a Crimson hockey player during the mid-1970's, had invited his family from Canada to see Harvard play in the opening round of the Beanpot Tournament.

Cleary gave Johnny the best seat in Boston Garden: a piece of the Harvard bench.

At the end of the first period, as Harvard was skating off the ice for the locker room, Johnny walked up to the Boston Bruin emblem at mid-ice and stopped.

Without a stick, skates or uniform, Johnny Janicek--in front of a soldout Garden crowd--did his own version of Bobby Orr posing for the cameras.

"There he was saying, 'I'm number four', like there was no one in Boston Garden," Cleary said.

Johnny Janicek is only one of the many hockey-crazed kids to root on the Crimson. This year, like all years, there has been an enthusiastic kiddie corps in attendance at Bright Center.

The kids hang around behind the Harvard bench during the game. They do the "Pee-Wee Herman" dance. They scream out "sieve" with the rest of the crowd.

And when the game ends, they head back to the Crimson locker room to catch a closer glimpse of Cleary, Bright's own ringmaster. Or they'll wait with program and pen in hand, hoping for a Harvard player--any Harvard player--to come out.

The ringmaster and resident child psychologist himself wouldn't have it any other way.

"It's better that these kids emulate this team than other things in life," Cleary said. "I encourage these kids to come here. Life's too short."

These kids have gladly accepted Cleary's invitation. After all, Cleary was once a kid and tiny hockey junkie, too.

Cleary's son, Bill Cleary III '85, who played for the Crimson, used to tag along with his father when he was young. The Clearys have always thought of hockey as a giant family gathering--a huge dinner where everyone's invited. No wonder that tradition goes on at Bright. Coach Cleary is probably the biggest kid of them all.

But this "kid invasion" also has its benefits for the members of the team.

"It's kind of flattering to see these kids all wide-eyed waiting for you," Harvard Captain Steve Armstrong said. "It's kind of fun when a kid asks for an autograph."

Fun is exactly what Cleary strives to instill in the Harvard program. Whether the kids anxiously wait for Crimson players or skate with the team during practice, Cleary wants the kids--and his team--to have fun.

"You got to do something like that," Cleary said, "to loosen the guys up."

Cleary remembers Harvard's final practice before the 1986 NCAA Championship game in Providence, R.I. Joe Cavanaugh's kids skated with the team right before the Big Game against Michigan State. Just keep the game fun, coach.

Sophomore C.J. Young's two brothers, Chris, eight years old, and Jeff, 15, have certainly had a lot of fun this year. To them, the Crimson is The Team.

"They're always in awe," brother C.J. said. "They play hockey themselves. It's a real positive thing."

While the Young brothers and relatives of other Crimson players make sure to visit the locker room, their exposure to Harvard hockey has some other hidden benefits.

"They're so young and they don't have many goals," Young said. "It's sort of an inspiration for them."

"It might encourage them to study harder," Cleary said, "and say 'Hey, maybe I want to be there.'"

The Harvard hockey team provides role models for several younger hockey players. According to Armstrong (who grew up watching Cornell hockey in Ithaca), every young hockey player looks up to college hockey players.

"We've all been there," Armstrong said. "We all see ourselves in them."

It's Saturday night, February 13, and Harvard has just defeated the Big Red, 3-1, at Bright. The victory assured the Crimson of home ice in the ECAC quarterfinals. Virtually all of the sold-out capacity crowd has filed out. Only the team's family members are left, waiting for the players to finish getting dressed.

The main lights are off and the stands are empty. But behind one section there's a small kid holding a hockey stick that's taller than he is. His hockey puck is a styrofoam cup. And he tries his hardest to keep the puck moving, dreaming, perhaps, of being at center ice, with the crowd roaring above him.

Remember, every Saturday is special for the Sports Cube. Next week: life on the road.