Coming Home

He hugged him like a father and shook his hand like a coach. Then he patted him on the head and told him he was wearing the wrong uniform.

Scott Fusco laughed at the thought. And then the forward--decked out in his latest red, white and blue--proceeded to help the United States Olympic hockey team annihilate Harvard Coach Bill Cleary's troops last night at Boston Garden.

The one-goal, one-assist performance from Fusco in the 11-2 rout of the Crimson squad only brought an ear-to-ear smile to Cleary's face. The stellar defensive play of Mark Fusco helped put Cleary on Cloud Nine.

For even in the loss, Cleary knew it all too well--the brothers Fusco were wearing the right uniforms.

"I've had some great times at Harvard," said Scott, who is currently taking off what would be his junior year at Harvard to pursue the same gold medal Cleary won in 1960. "But this is an opportunity I don't think I could have passed up."

In their first return to Boston since August, both Burlington natives admitted to a few chills on taking the ice against their former teammates. "It brought back a lot of great memories," said Mark, who as a standout defenseman on last year's ECAC championship Crimson squad took laurels as the nation's finest collegiate player. "But it's always hard to play against your former teammates."

Scott added, "I was a lot more excited for this game. When you play 70 games [in a pre-Olympic Games tour], you don't get too excited. But I was ready for tonight I wanted to play well in front of my family and friends."

Not to mention his coach, who had a few jibes for the brothers after the game.

"Did you all ever play that well when you played for us?" Cleary joked.

And from U.S. Coach Lou Vairo, there were only words of praise for the duo. "When you get two players as talented as the Fuscos you're lucky," he said. "But when you get two players of their characters you're really blessed."

No one knows that better than Cleary "I'd wake up with nightmares thinking that number 6 wouldn't be there anymore," he said about Mark.

The whole Harvard team had night-mares last night, as Mark spent two periods breaking up plays with that old apparent ease and pelting Crimson netminder Grant Blair with slapshots--the very kind he used to send careening towards Harvard's opposing goalies.

"Mark looks like he's their best defenseman in terms of hockey sense," says Harvard forward Shayne Kukulowicz, a former teammate of the Fuscos.

When Mark went to the bench with leg cramps in the third period, Scott continued his offensive fireworks. Taking advantage of the Harvard squad's tendencies, learned in his two years on the team. Scott tallied the Olympians' seventh goal of the night.

"I sat on the bench and knew their whole system." Scott said of the icemen "I saw the things they were doing wrong and just played off those."

Was he concerned with what Harvard was doing wrong?

"I've got my own problems to worry about," he added.

If the younger Fusco keeps up his present play, though, he should have no trouble securing a spot on the squad when final cuts are made in mid-January. Mark has just about assured himself a place on the team.

"It's just a thrill and an honor to know that those two men have been a part of our program." Cleary said, twirling his Olympic tie.

"I'm just glad we don't have to play against them again."