Flying Skaters Take On Cornell, Hope To Break Red Stranglehold

"Harvard might just as well have stayed in Beantown and sent the Boston Bruins in their stead," Cornell Daily Sun sports editor Dave Golomb wrote last month. "For it would have taken a lot more than the Crimson had to offer to top Cornell's awesome hockey machine last night."

Harvard was humiliated at Ithaca that evening, yielding six second-period goals on the way to a stinging 9-3 loss. After the close, well-fought game the Crimson had played with the Big Red at Cambridge a month earlier, it was a particularly painful experience.

And even though the Crimson has not lost a game since that time, running roughshod through four opponents, the players are still wondering how close they are to the Ithacans, Is it two goals? Or six? Tonight. when Harvard meets Cornell again at 9 p.m. in the ECAC semifinals at Boston Garden, the question might be settled a little more accurately.

The ECAC playoffs, of course, are more than an elimination tournament to determine an Eastern hockey champion. Two squads from the top eight, and not necessarily the two finalists, will be selected to represent the ECAC in the NCAA championships next week.

Irrevocable

Last year, Harvard and Cornell were the two squads. This year, for the first time in recent memory, one team is already an irrevocable selection-Cornell. which has now, with the completion of the first undefeated ECAC season in modern history. won 48 consecutive Eastern games.

The other, either Harvard. Clarkson or Bosten University, will be chosen this weekend, and ironically, Harvard has a realistic chance even if it fails to vanquish the Big Red tonight.

Last year, the Crimson fought bitterly with Cornell in the finals, losing only in the final two minutes when goaltender Bruce Durno lost his stick in a scramble, and Ithacan Kevin Pettit blasted the puck past him to put Cornell ahead for good. This year, the same thing could happen again, especially in view of the close game at Cambridge last January, but if Harvard manages to stay close, even though losin, it could represent the ECAC in the NCAA's.

But this assumes that Clarkson, which has lost twice to Boston University this winter, can defeat the Terriers in the first game tonight, It also assumes that Harvard can whip B.U. convincingly in the consolation round Saturday night, and that Cornell blows Clarkson out of the Garden in the finals. None are outside the realm of possibility.

Extremely Difficult

But even considering the Crimson's superb performance against Boston College last Tuesday. Harvard has an extremely difficult task tonight. The Eagle squad that the Crimson rolled past in the third period can hardly compare with either Cornell or B.U., and even at that it took a spectacular goaltending job by Durno to keep Harvard out of trouble during a shaky second period.

The Crimson. however, has proved that it can stay with Cornell if Durno performs well and if it plays an alert, tight checking game, Should Clarkson beat B.U., Harvard has only to stay close. then defeat the Terriers Saturday. But if B.U. wins, it will take the greatest effort of the season to send Harvard to the NCAA's. And if Harvard can beat Cornell, it deserves the trip to Lake Placid next week, just as a bonus.