Sextet Clinches League Title With 5 to 2 Win Over Tigers

The varsity hockey team gained its second straight Ivy League crown dull way last night as it defeated a slipping tiger, Sorely in need of double runner skates, by a 5-2 score.

Bill Cleary, in his usual amazing fashion, counted in all of the sextet's goals netting four and assisting in the fifth. Two of the junior's tallies were unassisted, with one hitting the not from the center zone

Princeton's all-out effort came in the opening period, when it managed to hold the Crimson to a 2 to 1 lead despite tiger skaters sliding and falling on the ice at the rate of two a minute.

Cleary scored first at 6:04, following a pass sequence from Cooledge and Crehore. His second goal, a sole at 17:24, broke a 1-1 tie after Pete Gilette tallied for Princeton at 14:02.

Crowd Jeers

After the tight first period, the puck was continually batted back and forth between teams and neither side was able to tell when it had enough control to try an offensive rush.

Second period play was so slappy it brought occasional jeera from the Garden crowd of 5,600 and probably rated as the dullest the varsity has engaged in this season. Cleary's opening goal at 1:20 was the Crimson's only offensive move until the brilliant center scored again with his 70-feeter at the start of the third stanza.

The Tiger defense seemed too pesky for the second line and wing terry O'Malley netted the trio's only score one assists from Ned Bliss and Cleary in the third period.

Two of the game's best performances were turned in by defensemen Ned Almy and Mario Cell, who replaced Denny Little beside Doug Manchester.

Flynn Has 18 Saves

Goalie Charlie Flynn gained almost as many saves as the Tigers' Bill Van Alstyne because of the dull second period when varsity passing was at a minimum. Flynn totaled 18 for two and a half stanzas, while Van Alstyne registered 20. crimson sub Jim Bailey picked up two in the final ten minutes.

Princeton coach Dick Vaughan pulled the season's trickiest offensive play when he took out his goalie at the end of the second periods which 35 seconds to play. Cleary delighted the crowd by following with a shot the length of the rink, but it missed the cage by three feet.

The victory gave the Crimson a 15-1-1 record in NCAA competition and may have finally clinched its first national title bid. Its two contenders for the NCAA eastern invitations, Clarkson (15-3) and St. Lawrence 915-1), meet tonight in canton, N. Y.

Cleary's five points brought him within four of the national scoring recent with one regular game and two tentative championship matches at Colorado springs still left to play.