Hockey Team Travels to West Point; Crimson Heavily Favored Over Army

Only three days after tying national champion B.U., Harvard's hockey team travels to West Point to play the worst team on its schedule, Army, Judging from past performances, Harvard should blow the Cadets off the ice.

Fatigue is the only obstacle facing the Crimson. Harvard will have to skate on the biggest rink in the United States (47 feet longer than Watson) after making the long trip to New York, but the Crimson should return to Cambridge with their individual statistics considerably fattened.

Army has already lost to Princeton, the second worst team on Harvard's schedule. The Cadets have won one game this season, scraping by Division II Middlebury 3-1, before falling to the Tigers, 5-4 in overtime.

Last year, Army was one of 15 team to beat Princeton at least once, but the Cadets lost almost every other Division I game. Their only other Division I victim was Colgate, and Colgate was the only team to lose to Princeton last year.

Army's coach, Jack Riley, was the Olympic coach in 1960, the year Harvard's Cleary brothers led the Americans over the Russians. Hockey has been downhill ever since for Riley, who is in his 22nd season. Army obviously does not go into the Canadian woods to recruit hockey players, and Riley has been forced to create teams out of lesser Massachusetts and Connecticut high school players.

Riley's son, Jay, came to Harvard and will be skating with Tommy Paul and Bob Goodenow against his father's team. Riley had a good sophomore season last year, but he is worried about his lack of scoring in recent games.

Riley traded in his old number (3) for a higher number (25) this season in an effort to squeeze a few more goals out of the Fates. He failed to score in the first two games, however, so he sent away for an even higher number (27) before the B.U. game. Riley picked up an assist against the Terriers, but once again, no goals.

If Army has any hope, it rests with the Cadets' defense. The Cadets' conditioning and their long rink may keep the score down.