Fusco Cruises, Cornell Bruises, Princeton Loses

It's been four months or 16 weeks or 80 periods or 98 days or 1533 minutes or 92.013 seconds since the Harvard men's hockey team finished its first game, a 4-1 victory over Yale in the aftermath of The Game.

It's also been just about that long since Scott Fusco failed to earn a point in a game.

The junior set a new Harvard record for consecutive games with a point Saturday night, when he notched a goal and two assists against Clarkson to run his string to 25, breaking the Crimson record of 24 held by Bob Cleary '58.

Fusco can now take aim at the ECAC consecutive game scoring record of 32, held by Brain Cornell of Cornell (1967-69). Craig Homola of Vermont (1978-80) and fellow junior Adam Ontes of RPI, who ran 32 straight until North Dakota shut him out in last year's NCAA quarter finals.

Oates lost out to Fusco in the ECAC scoring race by a single point, although he led the league most of the year in that department and held a one-point lead going into the last weekend of games.

The pre-ECAC Eastern record is 38, set by Clarkson's Ed Rowe (1955-57).

* * *

Fusco has finished up the regular season with all sorts of honors.

The Olympian clinched the team scoring title (29 goals, 40 assists, 69 points), tied for the Ivy scoring title (9-14-23) with Yale's Bob Kudleski, took the ECAC scoring title (23-29--52) and was the second leading scorer in the United States (2.65 points per game) and the leading scorer in the contiguous United States.

Fusco is a leading candidate (and one of 10 finalists) for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the most valuable player in college hockey.

He stands an excellent chance of being named the ECAC Player of the Year when that award is presented on March 14, and is a shoo-in to be named to the league all-star team.

Based on his league-leading scoring performance and the fact that no other team owes as much to one player as the Crimson does to him. Fusco might even be viewed as the favorite for the ECAC award.

Although Scott's older brother Mark earned the Hobey Baker Award in 1983, the defensemen was not named ECAC Player of the Year that season, when the honor went to Providence's Randy Velischek.

The last Harvard ECAC Player of the Year? Randy Roth, in 1974.

One good omen is that Fusco shared ECAC Co-Player of the Week laurels with St. Lawrence goalie Scott Yearwood for the last weekend of the regular season.

Fusco has been honored by the ECAC eight times so far this year, twice as Player of the Week and six times on the Honor Roll. He's been noted by the Ivy League for his performance 13 times, every week but the one during which the Crimson was idle for exams.

He is also rewriting the Harvard record book. He is presently enjoying the fifth-best single-season point total (his sophomore year ranks eighth), and he is Harvard's fourth all-time leading scorer with 160 career points, standing just one point shy of third place.

Fusco will climb no higher than third this year. If he decides to turn down the Hartford Whalers' offer and days a Harvard for his senior year, he will, baring injury, become the Crimson's all-time leading scorer and its first 200-point man.

In order to become the all-time leading scorer in ECAC history. Fusco would have to have a truly great year next season.

Assuming six more games this year, four ECAC playoff games and two NCAA playoff games, at three points a game. Fusco would finish the year with a 178 career points.

The ECAC record belongs to Cornell's Lance Nethery, with 271 in 1975-79.

So Fusco would need 93, not an unimaginable figure and 14 short of the ECAC single-season record of 108, Clarkson's Dave Taylor in 1976-77).

* * *

Now a somewhat serious look at the upcoming ECAC quarterfinal.

First, the Princeton-RPI match-up that everyone's been waiting for.

This game was first played as the Christians vs, the Lions a millennium or two ago, and don't expect the outcome to be any different this time around.

Certainly, the fans in Troy will be little more educated or forgiving than the crowd in Rome was.

One thing the Tigers have going for them is tradition--they were last in the playoffs in 1968.

RPI, on the other hand, is the defending ECAC champion and has won--oh, about 25 in a row.

The Engineers, you may know, have a member of the 1984 Canadian Olympic Team playing on their secondline.

The first time Princeton visited RPI this season, the hosts managed to escape the Tigers' wrath with a 12-4 triumph, so don't be surprised if the Engineers post double figures again.

In fact, the only real question is whether the guy who operates the scoreboard will survive the ordeal.

Harvard-Colgate is the other first-round mismatch.

Although it took the Crimson an overtime effort to gain its first victory over Colgate, the icemen, polished off the Red Raiders, 3-0, when they visited Cambridge.

Further the Red Raiders looked wear and inexperienced in that showing. At one point, freshman Mark Holmes tied the puck up against the board, and held it there, without anyone pressuring him, for long enough to draw a race delay-of-game penalty.

Colgate goalie Jeff Cooper is very much for real, however, and if he gets hot, as he often does against Harvard, the Crimson may have some trouble filling the net.

Other than Cooper and three forwards with decent scoring totals--Gerard Waslin, Rejean Boivin and Lowell MacDonald, brother of the Crimson's Lane--the Red Raiders shouldn't offer much resistance, if the Crimson plays at full speed.

But Harvard has had trouble getting up for weaker opponents of late.

The first close series should be the Clarkson-St. Lawrence match-up. The Golden Knights are the third seed and the Larries the sixth, but look for a possible upset here.

Clarkson's usually strong goalie. Jamie Falle, looked terrible in the Knights season ender against Harvard Saturday, and SIU netminder Yearwood played well against the Crimson the night before, pacing his team to a 4-3 upset of Harvard.

More important, however, is the rivalry aspect of this matchup. Clarkson is in Potsdam, 40 minutes south of Canada in upstate New York and about a million miles from anywhere.

St. Lawrence is in Canton, 10 minutes from Potsdam, but also an eternity from civilization. The nearest major city to either of these places is Ottawa.

So, frozen out of the human race five months a year, the Larries and the Knights live out an incestuous but intense rivalry.

The Clarkson-St. Lawrence tradition is no less than the Hatfield-McCoy rivalry of the Great White North.

So throw out everything but your long underwear and count on a pair of close ones in this series.

The final matchup is Yale-Cornell.

Besides matching the fourth and fifth seeds, this are has a lot of other interesting facets.

First, Yale and Cornell played a 9-8 game just a few weeks ago. The loss cost the Big Red sole possession of the Ivy title.

Forget that, though--you never, ever, forget a 9-8 hockey game.

Incidentally, the three-way lie for the Ivy title between the Crimson, Cornell and Yale was the first-ever three-way split of the league title.

There hasn't been an outright winner now in three years, either.

Back to the Yale-Cornell game. They'll probably have to bring extra stretchers to Lynah to carry out all the bodies. The Elis and the Red are the two hardest hitting (read: dirtiest) teams in the East and in the wake of the 9-8 affair, no quarter will be asked--and none given.

No matter who wins, and Cornell rates a slight favorite because of the Lynah advantage, there will be plenty of bruises to go around the morning after.

* * *

Goalies often make the difference in the playoffs, and Crimson netminder Grant Blair enters this weekend's series in top form. Blair is still tied with Bruce Durno '71 for the Harvard career shutout record (seven).

The junior netminder enjoyed a brilliant performance Saturday against Clarkson (one goal allowed, 22 saves). The single goal didn't come until the last five minutes.

"I knew I had a shortout but I forgot about the record," Blair said after the game. "Breaking it's no big deal. Tying it was big. There's no pressure on me now."

Blair needs 113 saves to tie the Harvard career saves record (2160) and 115 saves to tie the single-season record (762). Both records are currently held by Wade Lau '82.

Blair will reach both figures this year if the Crimson advances to the NCAA's and gets the two or four extra games in.

* * *

The Crimson is in good shape to earn an NCAA bid.

Because the icemen finished second in the ECAC in the regular season, advancing to the final game of the playoffs should sew up an NCAA bert.

If the Crimson beats RPI in the final game (don't even think RPI isn't going to the finals), then the Cantabs draw an automatic bid.

And the best news of all is that the Crimson can't possibly meet RPI until the final ECAC playoff game.

* * *

Long ago, the 12 ECAC coaches predicted the order of finish this way: 1. RPI. 2. Clarkson, 3. Harvard, 4. St. Lawrence, 5. Cornell, 6. Yale, 7. Colgate, 8. Vermont, 9. Princeton, 10. Dartmouth, 11. Brown, and 12. Army.

Not at all bad. Only three teams, St. Lawrence, Vermont and Brown finished more than one position off where they were supposed to.

Army finished only 20 games behind RPI--just think what one or two more recruits might have done.

With all due respect to Cadet Coach Jack Riley's 500-plus wins, without Canadians and with only a limited number of players available from states that have schoolboy hockey (because of the geographic distribution requirements of the Academy), Army has no more chance of success in Division I than Princeton has this weekend at RPI.

* * *

In the final ECAC scoring standings, Harvard placed these players in the top 11.

Not surprisingly, joining Fusco are his linemates. Freshman Dane MacDonald, sixth with 37 points and junior Jim Smitth, tied for ninth with 3-4.

The top 11 scores overall came from just four teams--Harvard RPI (which also placed its entire first line on the list). Yale and Cornell.

MacDonald was the leading freshmen scorer, a single point ahead of Yale's Randy Wood.

The ECAC Rookie of the Year will be announced March 1-1 along with the Player of the Year, but MacDonald will be facing tough competition.

Wood earned his points without a Scott Fusea centering his line, and St. Lawrence's goalie Years and has had an outstanding the year.

Nonetheless, it is ironic that Harvard and Yale should have freshmen break their fresh scoring records the same year.

In the final goaltending standings, Blair (274 goals against average) stood third, right behind Falle (2.72) and RPI's Daren Puppa (2.52).

Puppa, a sophomore also finished the regular season undefeated in ECAC play at 17-0.

THE NOTEBOOK'S NOTEBOOK: St. Lawrence, senior Bruce Robertson, who had played in one game in two years going into last weekend and was called up from the J.V. after several players walked off the team, was named to this week's ECAC Honor Roll Robertson had the critical third goal in the Larries 4-3 overtime upset of the Crimson, and two goals the following evening at Dartmouth Brian Busconi and Don Sweenes have caught up to Grant Blair's 26 penalty minutes and the three now share the team lead. The ECAC semi-finals at the Boston Garden are slated for 6:15 and 9:15 p.m. next Friday (top seed plays in later game) Saturday times are 5:30 for the consolation and 8:30 p.m. for the championship Tickets for the semifinals and finals are on sale at the Garden. Prices are $8 and $10. And in case you were wondering. Lowell's on the left.The Hocker Notebook Appears Every Thursday in The Harvard Crimson. Men's Hockey Statistics (18-6-2 overall, 15-5-) ECAC, 7-2-1 Ivy) Player  Games  Gosl  Assts  Pts  Per/Min Scott Fusco  26  29  40  69  7/14 Lane MacDonald  26  18  28  46  10/20 Tim Smith  26  27  18  45  9/18 Mark Benning  26  4  30  34  8/24 Randy Taylor  24  5  23  28  4/8 Tim Barakett  26  4  11  15  7/14 Peter Follows  26  7  6  13  6/12 Brian Busconi  26  3  9  12  13/26 Steve Armstrong  26  6  5  11  11/22 Don Sweeney  23  3  6  9  13/26 Brad Kwong  26  1  8  9  10/20 Bill Cleary  26  4  4  8  9/18 Rob Ohno  23  4  4  8  6/15 Jerry Pawloski  26  0  8  8  9/18 Andy Janfaza  20  2  5  7  6/12 Rick Haney  26  1  6  7  5/10 Peter Chiarelli  16  4  2  6  3/6 Scott Farden  18  0  6  6  2/4 Greg Chalmers  8  3  1  4  4/8 Nick Carone  9  0  3  3  4/8 Tim McMahon  9  1  0  1  2/4 Ralph Hartmann  4  0  0  0  0/0 Tim Hart  1  0  0  0  0/0 Mike DcVoc  1  0  0  0  0/0 Grant Blair  25  0  0  0  9/26 John Devin  5  0  0  0  0/0 Harvard Total  26  126  223  349  157/333 Opponents Total  26  80  120  200  199/405

By periods  1  2  3  OT  Total Harvard  43  42  40  1  126 Opponents  24  28  26  2  80

Power Play Percentages Harvard 48 for 138(348) Opponents 19 for 112(170) Goaltending Player  GP  Minutes  G  S%  GAA  W-I-T Grant Blair  25  1446.28  71  647  901  295  16-6-2 John Devin  3  145.04  9  68  883  372  2-0-0 Empty net  3  2.01  0  -  -  -  0-0-0 Harvard Total  26  1593:33  80  715  .899  3.01  18-6-2 Opponents Total  26  1593:33  126  806  .865  4.74  6-18-2

ECAC Standings Team  W  L  T  Pct. RPI  20  1  0  .952 Harvard  15  5  1  .738 Clarkson  15  6  0  .714 Cornell  14  6  1  .690 Yale  13  7  1  .643 St.Lawrence  12  9  0  .571 Colgate  9  12  0  .429 Princeton  7  12  2  .381 Brown  6  15  0  .286 Vermont  4  17  0  .190 Dartmouth  3  17  1  .167 Army  0  11  0  .000

The ECAC quarter finals are twogame series with seed 8 at seed 1, seed 7 at seed 6 at seed 3 and seed 5 at seed 4. If the teams split the twogame series, a 10-minute mini-game decides the winner.

By periods  1  2  3  OT  Total Harvard  43  42  40  1  126 Opponents  24  28  26  2  80

Power Play Percentages Harvard 48 for 138(348) Opponents 19 for 112(170) Goaltending Player  GP  Minutes  G  S%  GAA  W-I-T Grant Blair  25  1446.28  71  647  901  295  16-6-2 John Devin  3  145.04  9  68  883  372  2-0-0 Empty net  3  2.01  0  -  -  -  0-0-0 Harvard Total  26  1593:33  80  715  .899  3.01  18-6-2 Opponents Total  26  1593:33  126  806  .865  4.74  6-18-2

ECAC Standings Team  W  L  T  Pct. RPI  20  1  0  .952 Harvard  15  5  1  .738 Clarkson  15  6  0  .714 Cornell  14  6  1  .690 Yale  13  7  1  .643 St.Lawrence  12  9  0  .571 Colgate  9  12  0  .429 Princeton  7  12  2  .381 Brown  6  15  0  .286 Vermont  4  17  0  .190 Dartmouth  3  17  1  .167 Army  0  11  0  .000

The ECAC quarter finals are twogame series with seed 8 at seed 1, seed 7 at seed 6 at seed 3 and seed 5 at seed 4. If the teams split the twogame series, a 10-minute mini-game decides the winner.

Power Play Percentages Harvard 48 for 138(348) Opponents 19 for 112(170) Goaltending Player  GP  Minutes  G  S%  GAA  W-I-T Grant Blair  25  1446.28  71  647  901  295  16-6-2 John Devin  3  145.04  9  68  883  372  2-0-0 Empty net  3  2.01  0  -  -  -  0-0-0 Harvard Total  26  1593:33  80  715  .899  3.01  18-6-2 Opponents Total  26  1593:33  126  806  .865  4.74  6-18-2

ECAC Standings Team  W  L  T  Pct. RPI  20  1  0  .952 Harvard  15  5  1  .738 Clarkson  15  6  0  .714 Cornell  14  6  1  .690 Yale  13  7  1  .643 St.Lawrence  12  9  0  .571 Colgate  9  12  0  .429 Princeton  7  12  2  .381 Brown  6  15  0  .286 Vermont  4  17  0  .190 Dartmouth  3  17  1  .167 Army  0  11  0  .000

The ECAC quarter finals are twogame series with seed 8 at seed 1, seed 7 at seed 6 at seed 3 and seed 5 at seed 4. If the teams split the twogame series, a 10-minute mini-game decides the winner.

ECAC Standings Team  W  L  T  Pct. RPI  20  1  0  .952 Harvard  15  5  1  .738 Clarkson  15  6  0  .714 Cornell  14  6  1  .690 Yale  13  7  1  .643 St.Lawrence  12  9  0  .571 Colgate  9  12  0  .429 Princeton  7  12  2  .381 Brown  6  15  0  .286 Vermont  4  17  0  .190 Dartmouth  3  17  1  .167 Army  0  11  0  .000

The ECAC quarter finals are twogame series with seed 8 at seed 1, seed 7 at seed 6 at seed 3 and seed 5 at seed 4. If the teams split the twogame series, a 10-minute mini-game decides the winner.

The ECAC quarter finals are twogame series with seed 8 at seed 1, seed 7 at seed 6 at seed 3 and seed 5 at seed 4. If the teams split the twogame series, a 10-minute mini-game decides the winner.