STATE PRODUCTS SPARK HARVARD
By Paul Harris
The Detroit News
Sunday, February 28, 1993
 
     Harvard hockey Coach Ronn Tomassoni jokingly says it started
out when his assistant, Jerry Pawlowski, needed some companionship.
     Whatever its genesis, the end result is goalie Tripp Tracy of
Grosse Pointe and forward Jason Karmanos of Orchard Lake both
contributing as freshman to the Crimson's 18-3-2 record this
season.
     Harvard's "Michigan Connection" started with Pawlowski, a
former Harvard player from Northville.
     He knew of Karmanos from playing midget (ages 14-15) hockey
with Karmanos' older brother on the Compuware team.  The company,
Compuware Corp., which also owns the Detroit Jr. Red Wings of the
Ontario Hockey League, is owned by the Karmanos' father, Peter.
     Since Tracy and Karmanos both played for the Compuware Tier II
Junior A team last season, Pawlowski soon knew about Tracy, too.
     He also knew the pair would fit in with the stringent academic
and athletic demands of Harvard.
     "The type of guys we recruit are well disciplined," Pawlowski
said.  "When we're recruiting, we're not only looking for good
hockey players, we're also concerned about their personal habits."
     So far this season, one of Tracy's big habits has been
stopping a lot of pucks.  Splitting time with Aaron Isral, also a
freshman, he has a 10-1-1 record with a 2.39 goals-against-average,
a .912 save percentage and two shutouts.
     "The first thing that comes to my mind is he's really a
competitor," said Tomassoni of Tracy.  "He's a battler.  He really
competes day in and day out."
     That competitiveness led to the Crimson's biggest win of the
season, a 4-2 win over Boston University in the championship game
of the annual Beanpot Tournament at Boston Garden Feb. 8.  Boston
University had won the prestigious tournament three years in a row.
     "I like to think of myself as playing well in a really big
game," Tracy said.  "I had just lost my first college game, at RPI,
the week before.  That was a big win."
     Tomassoni said another Tracy strength is his skating ability,
which was honed in an unusual manner.
     "My parents made me take figure skating lessons (as a 5-year-
old) before I started hockey," he said.
     Despite his distaste for figure skating at the time, he has
realized its merits.  Every summer he spends a week working with a
figure skating coach in Toronto.
     Karmanos' statistics aren't as gaudy -- one goal and three
assists for four points -- but he has played in all 22 games and
impressed the team's coaches.
     "Just a very tough kid," Pawlowski said.
     Both he and Tomassoni told of an incident during finals week,
in which Karmanos suffered a concussion after he went head first
into the boards.  But he had a test the next morning.
     "I didn't want to put off the exam until later," said
Karmanos, who plays center and left wing.  "I felt better in the
morning, so I took it."
     He didn't mention it was a three-hour test.
     After missing two days of practice because of the concussion,
Karmanos returned, only to suffer a cut which required 16 stitches
on his elbow.  He didn't notice it until he saw some blood on his
elbow pad.  He didn't realize the extent of the injury until he
took off his equipment after practice.
     Tracy and Karmanos are adjusting not only to college life, but
also to each other.
     "Jason and I are extremely good friends and we have become a
lot closer this year," Tracy said.
     It was difficult for them to be good friends before because
Tracy attended Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett and Karmanos
went to Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook.
     As close as the two are, however, their personalities are
quite different.
     "(Tripp's) always talking, he doesn't shut up.  He gets kidded
about it, but that's Tripp," Tomassoni said.  "But, we're still
looking for Jason to say a couple of words."
     But Karmanos' actions, particularly in the classroom, have
spoken loudly.  He has a B average, as does Tracy.  That's
impressive for freshmen athletes at a school with Harvard's
academic reputation.
     "There is an adjustment.  You're on the ice every day and
trying to find some time for school work," Karmanos said.  "It's
the balance of hockey and academics and you have to adjust to a
lack of time."
     "But it's not like you're always pressed to do work.  Now I
have more time to do everything here."
 
 
  John H
  U Mich