It was a weekend of eerie deja vu for Cornell fans who made the trip or were in the Boston area. And there were a lot of them. Friday night in Providence saw a chippy game very reminiscent of the one played there last spring. Again, Brown jumped out to the early lead in the first, though the Red managed to regain the lead in that period rather than much later in the game as was the case last year. The Big Red penalty kill was very, very shaky, allowing the Bruins to control the puck in the zone for the majority of the time, and giving up a few goals. Not quite the same penalty kill that ended last year tops in the country. The red did not appear to be playing the same physical game as last year, and it appeared the main difference between this squad and last years was the defensive ability of the forwards to clog the zone and clear the puck. The Red came out with a win however, despite the chippy play, and a parade of players to penalty box which was very reminiscent of the game last spring. Saturday night was a whole different story. The game was so similar to the championship game in Placid that it was almost unbelievable. Again, before the Pep Band could finish its rendition of O' Canada The Crimson had put a goal on the board. Only 13 seconds had elapsed, and the rink full of Cornell fans was strangely silent for a rink where the home team had just scored a quick goal. It definitely appeared that the Harvard box office strategy of attempting to ascertain the allegiance of ticket buyers and denying Cornell fans tickets until game week did not help get a rink full of home team fans. Cornell tied the game up midway through the first period on a goal by Darren Tymchyshyn who is definitely looking to be a major player in this year's team. Though the red gave up 19 shots in the first period, Elliot kept them in the game, and the tide slowly began to turn as the period wore on. The second period, the defensive ability and penalty kill that were the trademark of last year's squad began to become apparent and when Cornell got the go ahead goal, it was impossible not to notice the similarities with the game at Placid. Again Cornell continued to press for insurance, but JR Prestifillippo denied several good opportunities, including a breakaway by sophomore Jeff Oates, who has created more than several chances for himself this year, but appears unable to finish them. Finally, with 5 minutes to go, Ryan Moynihan banged home the insurance goal off the post and the several hundred Big Red fans breathed a heavy sigh of relief. And with the knowledge of RPI's win the night before and the losses to both North Country teams, we were joyously aware that we sat in fist place with Clogate & RPI, in a surprise that few would have predicted. Harvard was definitely not the national power people predicted them to be, and this Cornell team, which grew miles just over a weekend, is a lot better than people thought. Some notes: They're young, yes, but very disciplined, avoiding altercations despite many opportunities to get into them. And even the young snipers (moynihan and Rutter to be specific) were getting in their hits. The checking line of Bergin-Papp-Kovac is going to be exciting, they create a significant portion of the scoring opportunities, and they can fdefinitely hit as well. Ryan Smart made his return, but spent a lot of it in the penalty box, and did not seem to be creating a lot of offense. And Jeff Burgoyne spent the whole of the weekend returned to his familiar deensive post, after his brief excursion to right wing and power play slot man against Waterloo. An enjoyable weekend to attend, and one that certainly makes me feel good about the season. It's always great to congregate in Boston and outnumber the home fans, and especially when the team acknowledges that, as they did on both nights. Let's go Red - big game next friday against a surprisingly 1-1 ECAC Vermont team, without a league point from the elves. Larry Weintraub '98 HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.