Fired-up to Replace the Firing Line

The legend and the clown are gone.

Scott Fusco, last year's Hobey Baker Award winner as the best player in college hockey and the holder of nearly every scoring record in Harvard history, is playing in Switzerland this year.

Tim Smith, who earned a reputation for both his happy-go-lucky skating style and his powerful shot, has taken his one-man show to Austria.

Only Lane MacDonald, the quiet left wing, remains.

Together Fusco, Smith and MacDonald made up the Firing Line, one of the most potent lines in Crimson history. They entertained and delighted crowds with their fast skating and hard shots. They foiled opposing defenses with their smooth passes.

And they scored.

Two years ago, the Firing Line racked up 86 goals and 100 assists. Last year, it accounted for 74 goals--almost half the team's total. And Fusco and Smith, who graduated, accounted for 52 of those goals.

Burned Out?

It's not going to be easy to replace the legend and the clown. Perhaps the Firing Line is finished?

Not if Allen Bourbeau and C.J. Young have any say in the matter. Because while it will be seeking a nickname of its own, this year's first line--with Bourbeau at center, Young at right wing, and MacDonald at left wing--has a good chance of burning just as brightly as the Firing Line.

And of scoring as many goals.

Bourbeau, a junior, earned a reputation as a speedy skater with a nose for the net last year when he played on the second line and scored 24 goals and recorded 19 assists.

In the NCAA Championship game against Michigan State, Bourbeau recorded a hat trick to pull the Crimson within one goal of the national title.

He will replace a legend. But he's capable of turning in legendary performances.

"There's a little more pressure involved," Bourbeau said of his role this year. "The team is counting on me more. But I like the pressure."

As the team's main scoring threat, Bourbeau--like Fusco last year--is likely to be the target of opposing teams' cheap shots. But he will benefit from a recent mandate in the ECAC to clean up play. And his fast skating will help him escape the clutches of would-be attackers.

Young, at 5-ft. 10-in., 175 lb., has Smith's stature. And although he may lack Smith's quick humor and fast shot, he has been impressive in practices.

Young, a freshman, was captain of the Belmont Hill High School team last year and a member of Team Massachusetts in his final two years.

"He's a tough little monkey," Harvard Coach Bill Cleary said. "He gets in the corners, and he has some skill, too. He works. He's a good skater. He even passes well. He complements the other two very well."

Youngster

For Young, playing on the first line has been a delightful--if sometimes intimidating--experience.

"Being up there with [Bourbeau and MacDonald] is an honor to me," Young said. "Those guys are great players. I just hope I have the confidence to play with them."

And playing for Harvard is a step up from playing for Belmont Hill.

"It's all new for me," Young said. "I'm just out trying to work hard. I'll see what happens this weekend. I'm happy with the way things are going. In a beginning it's a shock coming into this type of program. You just have to do your best."

MacDonald, a junior, is the link between past greatness and an uncertain--but potentially ripe--future. He skated for two years with Fusco and Smith, two years older than he, and now will be the elder statesman of the new first line.

"There are some differences [between the two lines]," MacDonald said. "Al and Scottie are different. Scottie is more a straight-ahead player, and Al uses his moves more. C.J. doesn't have quite the shot Tim has, but he's been more of a two-way player--he plays well in both ends of the ice."

Together the new first line will try to repeat the success of the Firing Line.

"I think it will be one of the best lines in the ECAC," Bourbeau said.

But while the Firing Line is gone and its feats set down in the record books, the new addition of the first line will get its debut in Bright Center tomorrow.

Bourbeau, MacDonald and Young will try to match the incredible scoring prowess of the Firing Line, and help the team do something the Firing Line left unfinished--win Harvard its first NCAA Championship since 1904.

If it does this, it will have earned a nickname for itself--the Finishing Line.