Harvard Climbs to Number Three Spot in National Polls

For those watching the polls, this season's final standings are starting to shape up.

Maine will be the top-ranked team in the East in the NCAA tournament.

Either Michigan or Miami, Ohio will take the top spot in the West, whichever wins (or goes furthest) in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's post-season tournament.

Not more than two ECAC teams will get bids (although the elimination of an automatic bid to a non-conference team may help Yale squeeze in if it sweeps the remainder of its games).

And, because of its 4-2 Beanpot win over Boston University, Harvard should get the number two bid in the East, allowing the Crimson a first-round bye and the gift of not having to play Maine until the finals of the tournament.

That assumes, of course, that Harvard wins the remainder of its games and, at the very least, advances to the finals of the ECAC tournament held in Lake Placid, N.Y. But after this weekend's shocking 3-3 tie against Princeton, Harvard should be especially careful not to look past any of its games.

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Boost to Princeton: The Tigers may have only come away with one-point this weekend, but that was one more point that Princeton Coach Don 'Toot' Cahoon expected to get.

Princeton freshman James Konte stopped 33 shots against a weak Harvard team while John Fust tipped in two goals to secure the tie and the one point.

"This is a funny year. We played hard last night [a 8-3 loss at Brown], but it was just one of those nights when the puck gets away from you," Cahoon said after the Harvard tie. "[Today's game] certainly gives us some light at the end of the tunnel. Our kids get a payback for hanging in there."

Cahoon certainly knows how important a win over Harvard can be. He played and coached at Boston University and still keeps his home in these parts.

Now in his second year at Princeton, Cahoon is hoping he can inject his Boston passion for hockey into central New Jersey.

"We're fortunate the people at Princeton have given our program the support and opportunity to improve," Cahoon said. "We're hoping to improve, hoping we can attract some young players. We certainly can become more competitive and more consistent."

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Baird Honored: Adams House isn't known for its athletes, but the gloomy, ultra-Bohemian Plympton St. institution honored junior Chris Baird last night in a special dinner.

Baird, the only varsity hockey player living in the house rated number one in sexual activity, has established himself this year as one of the Crimson's top forwards, playing on the first line with Captain Ted Drury and junior Brian Farrell.

The meal featured prime rib, tortellini and asparagus, some of Baird's favorite training-table food according to one anonymous dining hall employee (and die-hard Baird groupie).

Welcoming all diners was a huge tapestry reading "Chris Baird: The Weapon," and listing his up-to-date season statistics.

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Notes: Yale's Mark Kauffman had an off weekend and Harvard Captain Ted Drury didn't, allowing the former Olympian to regain the scoring lead in the ECAC, He has 33 points (14-19), while Kauffman has 32 (14-18)...Brown senior forward Scott Hanley certainly scored big on Valentine's weekend.

His eight points (four each night) earned him ECAC Player of the Week honors. He led Brown to two big victories over Princeton (8-3) and Yale (6-2)...

Vermont sophomore Christian Soucy, the 1992 Rookie of the Year, seems to have returned to form after a series of unspectacular performances in net.

He made 23 saves against Union (a shutout) and stopped 41 shots in a 5-2 win against ninth-ranked Rensselaer. Soucy is now the fifth best goalie in the ECAC. Number one is St. Lawrence's Brady Giroux (2.40 goals-against-average), followed by Harvard freshman Tripp Tracy (2.41 gaa)...

How tight is the ECAC race? Clarkson split its weekend (a 3-0 shutout of Cornell and a 5-2 loss to Colgate), causing the team to plummet from fourth to seventh in the league.

With only five points separating the third and seventh teams, the final positions won't be known until the end of the season. ECAC LEAOUE STANINGS Team  W-L-T  P  GF  GA  Overall Harvard  13-1-2  28  75  43  16-2-2 Rensselear  11-4-1  23  67  46  14-6-4 Yale  10-4-2  22  71  58  13-8-2 St. Lawrence  9-6-1  19  61  53  14-8-2 Brown  8-6-2  18  73  61  9-9-2 Vermont  9-7-0  18  59  49  11-11-2 Clarkson  7-6-3  17  67  47  11-9-4 Colgate  6-10-0  12  58  75  8-13-3 Dartmouth  6-10-0  12  59  69  8-12-0 Princeton  4-10-2  10  52  77  6-12-2 Cornell  4-11-1  9  42  64  5-14-1 Union  2-14-0  4  33  75  2-17-0

ECAC STATISTICAL SCORING LEADERS Player/School  GP  G-A-P Ted Drury, Harvard  16  14 goals-19 assists-33 pts. Mark Kauffman, Yale  16  14 goals-18 assists-32 pts. Scott Hanley, Brown  16  12 goals-17 assists-29 pts.

ECAC STATISTICAL GOALTENDING LEADERS Player/School  GP  W-L-T  pot  Avg  SV  Sho Brady Giroux, SLU  10  7-1-1  .921  2.40  255  1 Tripp Tracy, Harvard  9  7-1-1  .914  2.41  233  2 Chris Rogies, Clarkson  13  7-3-2  .904  2.59  291  2

NCAA Poll 1. Maine (25)  28-0-2 250 2. Michigan  25-2-0 204 3. HARVARD  16-2-2 177 3. Miami, Ohio  20-7-3 177 5. BU  25-6-2 158 6. Minn-Duluth  21-8-1 149 7. Lake Sup St.  18-6-4 103 8. Wisconsin  19-10-1 76 9. RPI  14-6-4 28 10. Mich St.  17-11-1 18

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

ECAC STATISTICAL SCORING LEADERS Player/School  GP  G-A-P Ted Drury, Harvard  16  14 goals-19 assists-33 pts. Mark Kauffman, Yale  16  14 goals-18 assists-32 pts. Scott Hanley, Brown  16  12 goals-17 assists-29 pts.

ECAC STATISTICAL GOALTENDING LEADERS Player/School  GP  W-L-T  pot  Avg  SV  Sho Brady Giroux, SLU  10  7-1-1  .921  2.40  255  1 Tripp Tracy, Harvard  9  7-1-1  .914  2.41  233  2 Chris Rogies, Clarkson  13  7-3-2  .904  2.59  291  2

NCAA Poll 1. Maine (25)  28-0-2 250 2. Michigan  25-2-0 204 3. HARVARD  16-2-2 177 3. Miami, Ohio  20-7-3 177 5. BU  25-6-2 158 6. Minn-Duluth  21-8-1 149 7. Lake Sup St.  18-6-4 103 8. Wisconsin  19-10-1 76 9. RPI  14-6-4 28 10. Mich St.  17-11-1 18

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

ECAC STATISTICAL GOALTENDING LEADERS Player/School  GP  W-L-T  pot  Avg  SV  Sho Brady Giroux, SLU  10  7-1-1  .921  2.40  255  1 Tripp Tracy, Harvard  9  7-1-1  .914  2.41  233  2 Chris Rogies, Clarkson  13  7-3-2  .904  2.59  291  2

NCAA Poll 1. Maine (25)  28-0-2 250 2. Michigan  25-2-0 204 3. HARVARD  16-2-2 177 3. Miami, Ohio  20-7-3 177 5. BU  25-6-2 158 6. Minn-Duluth  21-8-1 149 7. Lake Sup St.  18-6-4 103 8. Wisconsin  19-10-1 76 9. RPI  14-6-4 28 10. Mich St.  17-11-1 18

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

NCAA Poll 1. Maine (25)  28-0-2 250 2. Michigan  25-2-0 204 3. HARVARD  16-2-2 177 3. Miami, Ohio  20-7-3 177 5. BU  25-6-2 158 6. Minn-Duluth  21-8-1 149 7. Lake Sup St.  18-6-4 103 8. Wisconsin  19-10-1 76 9. RPI  14-6-4 28 10. Mich St.  17-11-1 18

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

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