Freshman Goalie Tripp Tracy Named ECAC Rookie of Week

Harvard freshman netminder Tripp Tracy was named the ECAC's Rookie of the Week for his 28-save blanking of Vermont Sunday in the Crimson's 4-0 win.

Tracy registered his second shutout of the season and is the first ECAC goaltender to notch two perfect games this season. The Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. native has not lost a contest so far, and last weekend's win boosted his record to 5-0-0.

Although Catamount star goalie Christian Soucy turned in a solid performance against the Crimson, it was Tracy that came out with the victory, the shutout and the honors.

Last year, Soucy was the precocious rookie stealing the spotlight from veteran goaltenders. Soucy's now the veteran, and he better watch his back.

Tracy is currently the ECAC's leading goaltender overall. In five games, he has gathered 129 saves and boasts a .921 save percentage as well as a 2.18 goals-against average. Tracy is also the second leading netminder in league play, behind St. Lawrence's Brady Giroux.

Not the Only Star: Tracy is not the only Crimson freshman to be named ECAC Rookie of the Week this season. Tracy's classmate and partner in goal, Aaron Israel, had the honor after his first collegiate start. Since then, Israel has not done so badly himself, posting a 2.95 goals-against average while sucking in 156 saves in five games.

"We've had excellent goaltending all year by both freshman," Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni said.

Break out the Ray Bans folks. The future looks bright with these two sharing the net.

The Return of Martins: Sophomore forward Steve Martins may be back on the ice for Harvard (8-1-1 overall, 8-0-1 ECAC) sooner than he or anyone else expected.

Martins, arguably the Crimson's second most talented forward, suffered an ankle injury the first day of practice this season, and the Gatineau, Que. native thought he'd be out of uniform at least until the Beanpot in February.

But after the Vermont game, Martins said he hopes to be back and competing against Boston College on January 3.

"My injury's doing real well," Martins said. "My ankle feels good, and I might even be skating this week and back a little sooner than expected."

Martins' return will mean added punch for the Crimson's already punchy offense.

The Cabot resident was last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year, and in his first season he exploded for 13 goals and 14 assists. Martins was also an integral part of the Crimson's penalty killing unit, setting up three short-handed tallies in the 20 games he played.

Martins said the Crimson is obviously handling the season fine without him.

"They're playing really well," Martins said. "I mean number three in the country isn't bad."

Martins has kept in hockey shape with daily pool workouts, but the sophomore powerpack can't wait to make his return.

"I certainly just want to get out there," Martins said.

Sitting Pretty: Heading into tomorrow's game against Ivy whipping post, Dartmouth, Harvard is sitting pretty both in the league and in the nation.

If (when) the Crimson beats Dartmouth, Harvard will hold a sevenpoint league lead over second-place Yale and a nine-point lead over Rensselaer and St. Lawrence, which are tied for third. With that type of lead, the Crimson is cruising towards another regular-season title.

And it's also cruising towards a high bid in the NCAA tournament--if we dare look that far ahead. Harvard consolidated its position as the number three team in the nation after its pounding of once-vaunted, now-jilted Vermont (the Catamounts, ranked number nine at the beginning of the season after sweeping paper tigers, St. Lawrence, and Clarkson, are nowhere in the polls now).

Michigan jumped to second and Lake Superior State (formerly number two) dropped to fourth.

Getting Your Kicks: Army dropped out of Division I two years ago, because it couldn't find a way to win (other than beating up its opponents, which worked a few times).

Colgate may have found a more appropriate solution. Stay in the league and take the lumps. Just play horrible non-league teams to make it all worthwhile.

The Red Raiders are 0-6 in league play and have been outscored 37-18. But the team has gotten its kicks by beating Canadian cream-puff York, 7-3, earlier this year, and Division III Plattsburgh, 14-3, Friday.

After winter break, Colgate will play Kent State and Air Force, in between league shellackings.

At least they're wins.

ECAC Notes: Clarkson continued its descent into hockey oblivion this past week with an ignominious 5-4 loss at Princeton and a 4-4 tie at Yale. The Knights have had as much talent as any team in the nation the past two years, and, just like last year, seem headed for nowhere. Think Coach Mark Morris will be around much longer?...The big college hockey action this winter break won't be in some backwoods, Empire State hell-hole, as it usually is. This time, it's in Inglewood, Calif., which, depending on your standards, isn't much of an improvement. The Great Western Forum will host its annual shootout featuring Lake Superior State, Maine, Western Michigan and Princeton (huh?). The Bears-Lakers likely championship match on December 20 should be very interesting...Harvard Captain Ted Drury may make the Hobey Baker Finalist list, but don't count out St. Lawrence's Greg Carvel. After collecting four assists in his team's road split, Carvel's stat line is awesome: 11 goals, 15 assists in just 12 games. That's 2.2 points per game. Wow...

Princeton freshman right wing J.P. Connor was named ECAC Player of the Week after scoring two goals in the 5-4 upset of Clarkson...RPI's 9-3 win over Union kept the Engineers ninth in the nation.