As usual, Sovit Funco leads off the notebook. The junior center was unanimously named the Ivy League Player of the Year this week by a vote of the league coaches.

Sophomore defenseman Randy Taylor was also a first-team selection.

Taylor's defensive partner, junior Mark Benning, was named to the second team, as was junior goalie Grant Blair.

Junior Tim Smith picked up honorable mention consideration.

The selection was the third first-team selection in three years for Fusco. The 1984 U.S. Olympian, who was on leave last year, tied for the Ivy scoring lead (23 points) with Yale's Bob Kudelski.

Taylor, who was second among Ivy blue-liners in scoring, earned his first Ivy consideration of any kind. It was tangible evidence that other coaches have not failed to notice that he has blossomed into the backbone of the Harvard defensive corps.

His selection was newcomer Benning's first honor since he was named Notre Dame's Freshman of the Year two years ago.

Blair who was Co-Ivy Player of the Year last season with Cornell's Duanna Moeser, look a back seat to Brown senior goalie John Franzona this season.

Cornell a Joe Nieuwendyk claimed Rookie of the Year honors, which went to Harvard's Butch Cutone last season Cutone has not out the entire season this year with a leg injury.

Moeser Princeton's Cliff Abrecht and Yale's Randy Wood rounded out the first team. The second squad included Kudelski, Nieuwendyk, Yale's Bob Logan and Peter Sawkins, and Cornell Steve Inglehart.

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The ECAC will announce its Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and first and second teams today at a news conference at the Boston Garden.

The battle for Player of the Year will be between Fusco and RPI's Adam Oates, who last the conference scoring little to the Burlington, Mass., native in the final weekend of the season.

Oates may be the finest passer in college Hockey and his 20-1 team won the ECAC regular season title. Fusco, on the other hand, has no weaknesses in his game and no squad owes more to a single player that the second-place Crimson does to him.

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