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Thank you, Cornell.

While it's always tough to show appreciation for an Ivy League rival, the Harvard men's hockey team should be wiring fresh flowers to Ithaca after Saturday night's game.

Heading into the Big Red contest, the Crimson was still reeling from the near-shocker against visiting Colgate on Friday.

While the Crimson beat Colgate, 5-4, it allowed the Red Raiders back into the game after apparently taking control of the match with a five-goal lead.

So skating onto the ice with Cornell, Harvard had to be a bit worried--especially since Cornell had beaten a strong Brown squad, 4-2, the night before.

Right after the face-off, all the Crimson fears came true. At least for 12 seconds.

Instead of starting the game by opening a big lead, Harvard was down by a goal right away. Take that.

Realizing that things needed to be turned around pretty quickly, Harvard exploded for one of its best offensive displays of the year and probably its hardest-played game of the season.

Coach Ronn Tomassoni had criticized his team after the Colgate game for not realizing that its best weapon--speed--is useless without putting in the effort.

So far, two of Harvard's most convincing wins have come after falling behind early and digging out the victory, against Brown and Cornell at home.

If the Crimson can keep this hardwork approach going in games when it takes a lead, this already-pleasant season could get an awful lot easier and even more fruitful.

Happy Polls: Even though it had trouble with Colgate, Harvard (7-1-1 overall, 7-0-1 ECAC) certainly kept the pollsters nodding with by crushing Cornell.

The Albany Times-Union national poll had the Crimson ranked third, trailing only Maine and Lake Superior State.

The high ranking was somewhat surprising considering last month's loss to Boston University and tie with Yale.

Still, there's no doubting that Harvard definitely has one of the three most-talented squads in the country. Always a treat, the free-ticket policy for Harvard students is looking even sweeter than usual this season.

Injuries to Forwards: Sophomore forward Steve Martins, missing-from-action since day one, had the cast removed from his right ankle last week.

Martins, who tore ligaments in the ankle during the first team scrimmage, was expected back sometime this month, but it now seems a January return is more likely.

With the cast gone, Martins has been getting around better and is busy building up his strength to go back as soon as possible.

Classmate Brad Konik, who missed this weekend's games, tests conducted on his right knee on week.

The CT scan caused swelling in the joint, forcing Konik to sit out the weekend games. But with the results negative, Konik should be set for Sunday's game against Vermont. ECAC LEAGUE STANDINGS

Team  W-L-T  P  GF  GA  Overa ll Harvard  7-0-1  15  37  22  7-1-1 Yale  4-1-1  9  34  22  4-4-1 Rensselear  4-2-0  8  20  15  5-2-2 St. Lawrence  4-2-0  8  23  14  7-2-1 Vermont  4-2-0  8  20  15  6-4-1 Brown  4-4-0  8  35  31  4-5-0 Clarkson  2-3-1  5  25  17  5-4-1 Cornell  2-3-1  5  16  24  2-4-1 Princeton  2-4-0  4  21  29  4-4-0 Dartmouth  1-4-0  2  11  21  1-5-0 Union  1-4-0  2  9  22  1-6-0 Colgate  0-6-0  0  18  37  1-8-1 STATISTICAL SCORING LEADERS

League  Overall

Player/School  GP  G-A-P  GP  G- A-P Mark Kauffman, Yale  6  6-10-16  9  8-10-18 Ted Drury, Harvard  8  8-8-16  9  8-10-18 James Lavish, Yale  6  7-8-15  9  7-10-17 STATISTICAL GOALTENDING LEADERS

League  Overall

Player/School  GP  W-L-T  Pct  A vg  Pct  Avg Brady Giroux, SLU  4  4-0-0  .935  1.75  .9142.79 Christian Soucy, UVM  6  4-2-0  .925  2.51  .9112.88 Neil Little, RPI  5  3-2-0  .920  2.62  .9162.65 NCAA Poll 1. Maine (25)  11-0-1  250 2. Lake Sup St.  7-1-3  213 3. Harvard  7-1-1  193 4. Michigan  8-3-2  185 5. Minn. Duluth  8-3-1  129 6. Miami Oh.  10-3-1  116 7. Wisconsin  8-5-0  86 8. Michigan St.  7-4-1  48 9. Minnesota  5-3-4  45 10. RPI  5-2-2  30

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.