Icemen Defy Preseason Expectations

This was supposed to have been a year of big changes in the East Coast Athletic Conference.

For the first time in three years, the coaches--in their annual pre-season poll--did not pick Harvard to win the league title. The mighty Crimson had lost much of its scoring and defensive punch, and things looked bleak for the Cantabs.

The departure of the Crimson's top five offensive threats is clearly reflected in this week's listing of the ECAC's top scorers. Not a single Harvard player cracked the top eight, while St. Lawrence--the heir apparent to Harvard's conference crown--claims four players on the chart, including the top two.

However, life goes on in Crimson-land, and Harvard again finds itself atop the ECAC--tied with St. Lawrence, Cornell and Dartmouth--with a 2-0 slate.

With two seniors graduating to the pros, and two juniors off to the Olympics, the scoring burden for the Crimson so far this year has been taken up by Don Sweeney and C.J. Young, both with one goal and four points.

Newcomers Ted Donato, Peter Ciavaglia, and Kevan Melrose each have recorded three points.

That trio, as well as freshmen John Weisbrod and Mike Vukonich, picked up their first career points over the weekend. When junior Scott Farden opened the season's scoring barrage for the Crimson against Brown, it was also his first collegiate goal. And sophomore Brian Popiel, who spent last year on the JV, picked up his first point by assisting Melrose's third-period shot in the Brown contest.

Melrose, the sophomore transfer from North Dakota, has been a pleasant surprise. Melrose did not play hockey at all last season, watching as the Fighting Sioux demolished most everyone in its path to the national championship.

There was some concern that the 5-ft., 10-in., 205-lb. forward would be forced to sit out this year after his transfer, but a check of NCAA rules showed that since he had been inactive all season, he could wear his Crimson sweater this fall.

Melrose has taken Andy Janfanza's spot at right wing on the third line with Vukonich and John Murphy. With Janfanza now centering the fourth line, Craig Taucher was bumped off the roster for the Brown and Yale matches.

Goalie to the Stars: The Crimson's sharpest shooters may be a little more widely dispersed than they were last year, but like the past two years, a Crimson netminder heads the conference goals-against-average race.

With his very impressive outings against Brown and Yale, freshman Michael Francis is the only ECAC goalie to have played two entire games while giving up only two goals.

Francis becomes the first Harvard frosh to notch a perfecto since Grant Blair in 1983, and the first in memory to record a shutout in his opening collegiate contest. Blair, who went on to become second-team All-America and lead the Crimson to the NCAA Finals in 1985, turned the trick three times his first season--against Yale, Brown and Northern Michigan.

Perhaps most impressive for the young netminder, he stopped cold the Bruin and Bulldog power-plays in 11 efforts. Janfanza and Captain Steve Armstrong must also be given credit for outstanding penalty-killing play.

By the way, the Harvard power-play clicked on four of eleven attempts--slightly below last season's record 35.9 percent pace.

John Devin, whom Francis has been subbing for, is expected to return to action next weekend. The senior netminder suffered a strained ligament in his knee during the Team USA exhibition match, and has not played since.

Up Where We Belong: The two victories, including the Crimson's first at Yale since 1977, have kept Harvard amidst the national top ten, where its has regularly resided for the past two seasons. Both the Coaches' and WMEB/CHSB Polls rate Harvard seventh.

For the first time ever, Maine, the choice of both surveys, is ranked number one. ECAC-rival St. Lawrence is second in one poll and third in the other. Minnesota, despite having lost to Northeastern last week, is ranked second in the Coaches' Poll.

The Hukies and Colgate are the only other Eastern teams making appearances in the top tens this week.

Northeastern, which has never won a Hockey East Championship, leads league powerhouses Boston College, Boston University and Providence with a 4-1-1 record. The once-proud Eagles and Terriers have a combined 5-6 record in their league games.