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With the season just kicking off, it looks like the Harvard men's hockey team will be going with a two-freshman rotation in net.

The last time the Crimson used two frosh as starting goalies was four years ago--when Allain Roy and Chuckie Hughes guided Harvard to its 1989 NCAA championship.

Hotchkiss graduate Aaron Israel played magnificently on Saturday when the crimson won 3-2 over the Brown Bears on foreign ice. The 19-year-old showed poise during the physical contest and impressed observers with his flashy glove saves. For his performance against Brown, the ECAC named him Rookie of the Week.

Freshman Tripp Tracy, a veteran of the respected Compuware junior program, dressed for the game and manned the bench.

While pleased with his two recruits, Coach Ronn Tomassoni still said after Saturday's win that the goaltending situation remains flexible and can change day-to-day.

Sophomore Steve Hermsdorf--who played remarkably in exhibition play against Dalhousie--is currently manning the pipes for the powerful junior varsity squad, which collected its second win this Saturday against a highly-touted Brown JV squad.

"We're going to play it by ear on the rotation," Tomassoni said. "If there hadn't been a JV game, you would have seen Steve on the bench tonight as well. And he played very well in that game by the way."

Win One for the Kids: Harvard won all three contests on Brown ice this weekend. Not only did the Crimson take the varsity and junior varsity games, one of its boosters took the shooting challenge staged during the second intermission.

Twelve-year-old Dan Phillips of Marshfield, Mass. triumphed over his competitor in the Pizza Pier hockey shootout by scoring four goals in 20 seconds from the blue-line.

Phillips, who wore a Harvard sweatshirt during the event, was cheered by the crowd until he raised his arms and proudly exposed his loyalties. The cheers quickly turned to boos. Still, the young Harvard hockey fan was ecstatic at his victory and his prize: a pizza party for four at the local joint.

Veterans Day Special: Nearing the end of the third period, Harvard was granted a two-man advantage when Brown took two stupid penalties. Looking for an insurance goal, the Crimson put everything it had into a flurry of offense--but the assault ended unsuccessfully when freshman Geb Marett knocked down Brown's Eric Trach after a whistle.

The penalty didn't wind up costing Harvard, but Tomassoni certainly adjusted his game strategy after the failed power-play opportunity.

During the last five minutes, Tomassoni turned to his veterans and made swift change-ups to keep the legs fresh. Practically all that could be heard from the Harvard bench was the chant: "Keep it deep!"

In fact, not a single Harvard freshman touched the ice during the last three minutes of play.

"It's early in the year," Tomassoni said. "We shortened our bench and went with experience. It worked out and sometimes you have to do that."

Captain Ted Drury, who saw his share of ice-time during those final minutes, said experience was important at that stage of the closely-fought match.

"You need the guys with experience out there. You have to know what to do with the puck," Drury said.

NCAA POLL 1. Maine (25)  2-0-1  250 2. Lake Sup St.  3-1-0  216 3. BU  1-0-1  167 4. Michigan  4-2-1  153 5. Clarkson  2-1-0  108 6. HARVARD  1-0-0  78 7. Wisconsin  4-2-0  77 8. Denver  5-1-0  71 9. Miami, Ohio  5-1-0  69 10. West Mich.  4-1-1  49

Complied by the Albany Times-Union, with first-place votes in parentheses, records and total points.