One Who Knows About the Garden

Which member of the Harvard hockey team missed his own goaltending debut because he had to use the bathroom?

Five minutes before the first game in which he was supposed to play net at the tender age of five, freshman Chuckie Hughes turned to his parents and announced that he needed to be excused. His father, who was coaching the team, was reluctant to let him go. But at Hughes' insistence, his mother escorted him to the restroom. By the time she had helped him get all his equipment off and back on again, the game was over.

"My dad was so mad because the team had to play the whole game without a goalie," Hughes says.

Fortunately for Harvard, he has moved on from such inauspicious beginnings to become one of the top netminders in the ECAC, along with teammate Allain Roy. Hughes, a member of the ECAC All-Rookie Team, will be in net tonight when Harvard faces Cornell in the ECAC consolation game.

"At the beginning of the season a lot of people thought that our goalie position would be a big question mark, but Chuckie and Al have really come through, and, of course, Mike Francis continues to be strong for us," Captain Lane MacDonald says. "It's turned out to be a position where we have a great deal of depth."

Nowhere was this depth more apparent than at this year's Beanpot, which Harvard won for the first time since 1981. Hughes was instrumental in getting the Crimson into the finals, collecting 38 saves in a 5-4 victory over Boston College.

"He's been one of the big stars for us," senior Allen Bourbeau says.

The Beanpot win must have been especially sweet for Hughes, a native of nearby Quincy. He's used to winning at Boston Garden, having led Catholic Memorial to its thirdstraight state championship last year.

But this was the Beanpot, a tradition with which he grew up. And he was playing for Harvard, a school he had always wanted to attend.

"Everything that's happened has just been beyond my wildest dreams," Hughes says.

While some people may have found the pressure of the instant fame that followed difficult to handle, the charming and affable Hughes just "ate it up."

"I've never had so much attention in my life, and I loved it," Hughes says.

"Chuckie just loves to talk--he holds nothing back," sophomore Ted Donato says. "I'll run into people who've talked to him and they'll say that they got in like three words, but he's such a nice guy that you just have to laugh."

While the Beanpot was obviously one of the high points of his career thus far, Hughes admits that his hockey experience has had its ups and downs.

"My father pushed me really hard," Hughes says. "I'm glad that he did to a point, but it's been pretty tough. I almost quit hockey a couple of times because he pushed me so hard. But I think learning to handle it helped me to deal with pressure, so now I'm not afraid of pressure situations."

Hughes has certainly given his father ample reason to be proud. Ranked third in his graduating class, he has received numerous off-the-ice honors, including being named the Hartford Whalers Best Student-Athlete in New England and being selected All-scholastic by both The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald. Harvard was the natural choice when it came time to decide which school he would attend.

`The Right Choice'

"I had always wanted to come to Harvard," Hughes says. "The only reason I even looked at the other schools [that were recruiting me] is that I wanted to make sure it was the right choice."

Coach Bill Cleary and the rest of the team were also important in his choosing Harvard.

"My teammates have been great--I really look up to them," Hughes says. "They totally reflect Coach Cleary's attitudes and the type of people he wants. You can be a good player and a good student, but if you're not a good person, he doesn't want you."

Hughes certainly exemplifies that team philosophy and has made the transition to college life through hard work and discipline. Donato, one of his closest friends since they were high school teammates at Catholic Memorial, has noticed the difference.

"I think he's matured a lot this year, both as a player and a person," Donato says.

"I think the whole thing is self-discipline--disciplining myself to do things I don't necessarily want to," Hughes says. "Sometimes it's hard because you'll want to slack off, but [hockey's] such a commitment that you can't really afford to."

The Future

As for academics, Hughes is considering concentrating in psychology or biological anthropology and would like to attend business school someday, but hockey definitely figures in his future.

"If things work out, I'd like to play as long as I can," says Hughes, whose NHL rights are held by the New Jersey Devils. "I would love to try the NHL or Europe."

Until then he has a few plans for the Crimson.

"I want to win four national championships," Hughes says.