Sextet Will Play

No one but coach Cooney Weiland remembers it, but the hockey team has played Norwich before--once. Tonight the Cadets will troop out of their home in the Vermont hills and skate against the Crimson at Watson Rink in an effort to avenge the 6-2 defeat suffered three seasons ago at the dedication of their new rink.

Face-off time will be 8 p.m.

Because this will be its first visit to the Boston area, Norwich is largely an unknown quantity. The Cadets have a number of find skates from local schools, and feature an outstanding player in John Norris, who, as a freshman, scored one goal against the Crimson in the teams' previous meeting.

The Cadets are of the calibre of Middlebury and Williams, teams the Crimson defeated last year by 8-6 and 9-2 margins. But on the basis of one set of this season's comparative scores, Norwich would rate a three-goal favorite, for it scored 4-3 overtime win against a Williams team that trounced Cornell was 9 to 0.

However, as local sports fans know, the varsity football team could have been calculated at one time during the early fall to be a two-point favorite over the number one college, Northwestern. Similarly, the Norwich comparison must only be taken as a measure of the team's potential, and the Crimson rated about a two-goal favorite.

The basis for optimism lies in the team's impressive showings against Clarkson and the U.S. Olympic team. Bob Bland seems to be gaining poise and confidence in the nets, and has temporarily wrested the goalie job from Bill Henderson. With Peter Tague also participating in the goal-tending derby, the competition is provided the varsity's goal with some of its best protection in years.

But the big story for the Crimson is the balanced play all the way through the lineup. Figures speak better than verbal comparison: the first, second, and third lines have scored, respectively, 10, 11, and 9 goals, while the defense has tallied 10 goals. The team scoring leaders are closely bunched: Jim Dwinell and Stew Forbes 12 points, Mike Graney 10, Dave Crosby and Bruce Thomas 8, Dean Alpine, Bob Anderson, Dave Grannis and Tom Heintzman 7