Sextet Opposes Middlebury Tonight; Varsity Looks for First Win of Year

The varsity hockey team, with what it hopes was just a sad mistake behind it, travels to Vermont today to oppose a Middlebury team which is largely an unknown quantity. The Vermonters opened their season yesterday at West Point against a very weak Army sextet and emerged with an 11-1 victory. However, as Middlebury coach Duke Nelson points out, the win did little to establish anything about his squad except that it can beat Army.

However, it is fairly certain that this evening's contest will be a good deal closer than the varsity's 7-1 win last year. Middlebury retains much of last year's depth, with two solid, experienced lines at its disposal. The third unit is quite weak and will see little action, leaving the offensive burden resting with the strong first line of Mike Karen, Dick Morrison, and Phil LaTreille.

Defensively, Middlebury has only one experienced pair of defensemen, and their goalie saw only 10 minutes of action all last season. The Crimson's main hope of repeating last year's victory will lie in the possibility of penetrating the defense frequently and effectively. A week ago against Boston College, the varsity could do the former but not the latter.

For the Crimson, coach Cooney Weiland will probably rely on his B.C. starting lineup, with Harry Pratt in the goal, Mo Balboni and captain Dick McLaughlin on defense, and Bud Higginbottom centering for Paul Kelley and Dave Vietze. The face-off is at 8 p.m.