Sextet Meets Dartmouth Tonight, Needs Win for N.C.A.A. Position

Varsity hockey coach Cooney Weiland and his team have only two thoughts in mind these days: a March excursion to Colorado and an Ivy League hockey title. Both these desires will meet one of their stiffest tests tonight when the Crimson plays second place Dartmouth away at 7 p.m.

Even with the varsity's convincing 5-3 win over B.C. on Wednesday night, a loss to the Big Green would almost certainly put the Crimson out of contention for the Eastern NCAA ticket to Colorado Coach "Snooks" Kelly, B.C. hockey coach, who doubles as Eastern NCAA selection chairman, effectively dispelled any over confidence the varsity might feel tonight, when he commented on the Eagles game with Dartmouth a week ago, which his team won in overtime, 6 to 5. "We won the game," Kelly said, "but we shouldn't have. They are easily as good a team as we are."

The Crimson, with a record of 3 and 0, is the present League leader, but Dartmouth's 3-1 League record actually puts it in a first place tie with the Crimson, since both teams have six points. Yale, in third place and the only other team really in contention, beat Dartmouth on Wednesday, 3 to 2, in the last minute of play.

Strange as it may seem, Crimson forward Bob Cleary does have a competitor in his bid for League scoring honors, Dan Goggin, a defenseman for the Big Green, has two goals and ten assists for twelve points, trailing Cleary's seven goals and eight assists. Four of Goggin's assists came in Dartmouth's 8-1 shellacking of Yale earlier in the season.

In essence, tonight's game will pit three almost equally strong lines against two very good defenses. Bud Higgen bottom's recovery from a cracked ankle in time for the B.C. game has enabled Weiland to put him at center in the third line. Besides vastly improving this line, it also gives Weiland the opportunity of having a comparatively fresh forward wall on the ice at all times.

Dartmouth's defense, the strongest part of its team, has Goggin and Don Thomas starting, with an equally effective pair, Tony Gittes and Phil Larson, in reserve. Sophomore goalie Dirk Frankenburg, who has come along very well through the season, will start in the nets. Two other sophomores, Rod Anderson and John Wadman, along with John Lanigan, make up the Green's starting line.

Weiland is expected to start the same team that faced B.C. on Wednesday, with Captain Jim Bailey in the nets, John Copeland and Ed Owen at defense, and Cleary, Lyle Guttu and Paul Kelley on the first line.