A Showdown at Brown

The good news is, it's over.

The Harvard men's hockey team got a taste of big time hockey Sunday when it crossed paths with the U.S. Olympic Team. The Olympians waltzed past the Crimson to the tune of a 15-3 victory.

The good news is, it's only just begun.

The Crimson begins its regular season tonight against Brown at Walker Arena in Providence. The Crimson is a young team with a horde of question marks surrounding it. The most important one: can Harvard win?

"If we run into a team like [the Olympic Team], it's going to be a hard season," Harvard Coach Bill Cleary said. "But we've got a hardworking group of kids and they're all excited about the opener."

Harvard begins its defense of the ECAC Championship without senior goalie John Devin, who hurt his knee in the Olympic game. Devin is doubtful for tonight, leaving the goaltending chores to freshman Mike Francis.

Meanwhile, Brown has proved it can compete with top teams. In the preseason, the Bruins fell to a tough Merrimack squad, 5-3.

Harvard began its 1986-'87 season with 15 straight wins. But Cleary has no such expectations for this year.

"Those things just don't happen every year," Cleary said. "We have a new power-play, new penalty killers. We're hopeful, but we have a lot of work to do."

The real work begins tonight.