Giant Blair skated way out of net for one final time in Harvard's ECAC season as the crowd counted off the final seconds last night of the Boston Garden.

He controlled the puck in the corner of the rink nearest to the Crimson crowd until the siren sounded and a horde of jubilant teammates mobbed him, so that the fans had a close-up view of the first Harvard hockey team to celebrate an ECAC title in 12 years.

Not only did the Crimson capture its third crown in the tournament's 22-year history last night, but it virtually clinched the East's top seed for the NCAA tourney and a shot at the fourth-ranked team from the two western leagues.

Harvard hosts the two-game, total-goals quarterfinal series Friday and Saturday at Bright Center.

Harvard's 4-1 defeat of Providence, the East's regular-season champion, was more than just the climax to one of its best-ever ECAC campaigns. It also capped a five-year ascent from two of the most horrendous seasons in Crimson history in 1978-79 and '79-80, to a mediocre finish the next year, to a runner-up playoff finish last year, to Harvard's championship this year.

Perhaps appropriately, the one player still with the squad who can remember the nadir of Harvard hockey the took a year off) was named the MVP of this year's playoffs. Mitch Olson, who scored two key goals against New Hampshire in the semifinals, contributed the insurance goal late in the third period in last night's contest after the Crimson had nursed a one-goal lead over the Friars for 14 minutes.

Until then, Providence goaltender Mario Proulx had managed to keep his team within striking distance, turning away 36 Harvard shots Combined with his 44-save blanking of St. Lawrence in the semifinal round and his quarterfinal performance against Yale, the French-Canadian junior had five straight periods of shutout goaltending to his credit before the Crimson scored in the second period.

Friar Coach Lou Lamoriello felt his netminder, who allowed just five goals in his four playoff games, deserved consideration for the MVP award. "Mario has given us the big save all year long. I'd like to see your voting for MVP," he said after the game to the reporters who had voted on the award. "Not to take anything away from the fine player who won."

Virtuoso

But as superb a performance as Proulx registered last night, the story of the game was that Harvard put the pressure on the Friars and kept working until the pucks began crossing the goal line. "That's been a trademark of this team," Crimson Coach Bill Cleary said. "They just kept banging away until it went in."

The thought that Proulx might frustrate Harvard all night long didn't really worry the Crimson, Greg Britz said later. "He really wasn't making great saves," the senior right wing said. "He was leaving rebounds and pucks were going over him. He wasn't looking very solid."

"We knew we couldn't play that well and not score goals," Scott Fusco, who scored the go-ahead goal, added.

Actually, in the early going Harvard couldn't produce the continuous pressure that led to its goals. Both teams came out looking very hesitant. The defenses controlled the play in the opening period, ruining every scoring threat at each end. The Friars, especially, made a point of forming a protective ring around Proulx, allowing only four Crimson shots on net in the first 20 minutes.

The Crimson blueliners foiled several Providence chances along the way Ken Code stickchecked the puck away from Friar Rich Costello right on the doorstep midway though the period. Brad Kwong smothered Costello's centering pass on a two-on-one break three minutes later and Mark Fusco stymied high-scoring Friar Paul Guay on a late one-on-one, riding him into the boards.

At the opposite end, Jacques Delorme stopped a Harvard threat, shoving Scott Fusco from in front before he could take a centering pass, and Steve Taylor later alertly cleared the puck after Proulx dropped a routine glove save in the crease.