Rock Steady

Most, if not all, observers of the eastern hockey scene agree that there are no really great teams in ECAC's Division One this season. This, no doubt, comes as a suprise to almost no one.

Over the past years the talent has leveled off considerably throughout the division. Colleges in upstate New York no longer have a monopoly on the Canadian hotshots from just across the border, and the local high school aces no longer feel that the best college is the one they can ride to on the subway from home.

It's gotten to the point where the once perennial doormats of the division can knock off the supposed powerhouses...and can say that it wasn't a fluke. This year more than ever the "haves" are being beaten by the "have-nots."

What is the division coming to when Yale can score back-to-back victories over Cornell and B.U.?

Most people will say it's a good thing (and I agree), but it takes some of the excitment and build-up off the classic Harvard-Cornell confrontation. It used to be a battle of the unbeaten giants in the Ivy League, in the East, and even the nation. This season the game between the Big Red and Crimson seems almost like any other division contest.

Sure the rivalry is still there, but the fantastic records are not. While Cornell is still hanging on to a national ranking (yesterday's poll had the Big Red in the number seven slot) despite embarrassing losses to Brown and Yale by a total of five goals, Harvard is nowhere to be found among the country's top ten and hasn't been there since the season got underway.

Even the Ivy League is no longer painted with shades of red. The outcome of the Harvard-Cornell clash used to decide the outcome of the Ivy crown. And Cornell has come through with the title for the past eight years, beating Harvard 17 of the last 18 contests.

Shades of green are now permeating the Ivy race, with Dartmouth the only undefeated squad around. The Big Green has beaten Harvard, Penn and Princeton for a 3-0 record. The Dartmouth loss is Harvard's only one against four wins, putting the squad high in league standings. Cornell, on the other hand, has managed to down only weak Brown in its three Ivy outings. What all this means is that tonight's game doesn't take on that same magic quality it once had.

It is no longer Joe Cavanagh swooping in on Ken Dryden, or the Local Line clicking for perfect passes up and down the ice. It is merely a clash between two of the many teams vying for the top four seeds in the division.

But for the die-hards, after all is said about the fading records and the lack of big-name college stars, it is still the "Harvard-Cornell Game." And for hockey fans this is somewhat comparable in recent years to football's "THE GAME." No matter what the records, when the puck is dropped there won't be an empty seat in the house and you can bet that it's going to be exciting hockey for three full periods.