Varsity Sextet Bows to BU, Tops Brown

It takes a while for the varsity hockey team to get going. It has lost three times this season and all of these defeats came after layoff periods.

Once the team has warmed up by playing a game, however, it has been unbeatable. This pattern was demonstrated last weekend when the sextet dropped its first-round Beanpot game to B.U., 5 to 3, on Friday and then went on to crush Brown, 7 to 0, on Saturday.

The match with the Terriers was the team's first post-exam game, while B.U. had opened its second-half drive two days before by topping Brown, 9 to 2.

Yet, despite the fact that B.U. has been regarded as the Crimson's closest competitor for the New England N.C.A.A. selection, the sextet's victory over Brown the following night was so impressive that Crimson coach Cooney Weiland has insisted that the sextet is still in the running. "If we keep playing the way we did against Brown I don't see how they (the Selection Committee) can overlook us," Weiland commented last night.

The Crimson coach added that "barring injuries, the team is one of the strongest in the area now and should not make the mistakes it did against B.U. any more. It was just unfortunate that we had to play B.U. right away after that long mid-term layoff."

Although Brown was definitely an inferior opponent, the sextet's performance in Providence completely supported Weiland's optimism. With the return of defensemen Dan Ullyot and John Copeland, the Crimson was outstanding in every department and should continue that way.

Weiland very simply explained the B.U. loss, which dropped the team into the consolation round of the Beanpot Tourney with Northeastern: "We ran out of gas."

The Crimson held a 3-0 lead over the Terriers in the Beanpot opener on goals by Lyle Guttu, Dave Vietze and Paul Kelley before its defense collapsed at 15:49 of the second period. But after that first B.U. goal, the sextet became slow and uninspired. And nothing could snap them out of it.

B.U. added another goal at 18:40 when the defensemen failed to cover invading lineman and then netted three more in the final period. Again, Terrier goalie Harry Levin was called on to make only ten decent saves (official total, 21) as compared to Captain Jim Bailey's 31.

Against the Bruins on Saturday, the team looked completely different. John Copeland, who has the "hardest shot in college hockey," according to Weiland, made his first appearance this season and proved that he is still in good condition. Twice, his blue-line shot figured in goals, and once he scored on a shot just inside the defense line.

Also at defense Dan Ullyot regained his top form after a slow start against the Terriers. Ullyot's thorough knowledge of the position should strengthen the defense considerably for the second half of the schedule.

The return of these players enabled converted lineman Bob McVey to move up and center the line between Dave Vietze and Dick Fischer. This shift was the best Weiland has made all season.

The tall, hefty center netted three goals in the game and on one of them he managed to fake out Brown's star goalie, Harry Batchelder, completely. Batchelder actually was the Bruins' only standout, turning in 47 saves, compared to Bailey's total of ten.

The passwork on all three lines was most always perfect. Les Duncan continues to show constant improvement and against Brown his good hockey thinking was particularly effective with wings Maurice Balboni and Dave Holmes on the third line.

The first line connected all night long and both Paul Kelley and Bob Cleary scored in the opening period. McVey's second line is, of course, the pleasantest surprise of the season, for it gives the varsity two lines of equal caliber.

The Crimson will face losing North-eastern in the consolation round of the Beanpot tomorrow at 7 p.m. B.U. will meet a powerful Boston College sextet which could get back into N.C.A.A. running with a victory. If this happens, the Crimson will be in a position to regain New England supremacy when it encounters the Eagles on Feb. 13