Stickmen Take on Cornell

Lief Rosenbenger was smashing his stick against the boards yesterday in practice, Dan DeMichele was puffing furiously down the ice, and no one was skating rink turns in the post-practice laps. The Harvard band had struggled down to practice and was playing louder than it usually does at games. Even Cooney Weiland locked psyched.

The hockey team remembers all too well the nightmarish game in Ithaca last January that saw a 4-3 lead with fifteen seconds to go turn into a 5-4 overtime loss.

And they haven't forgotten two overtime goals that could have ended Cornell's 46-game home winning streak if the referee hadn't been so quick with his whistle and the goal judge so paralyzed by the thought of a Cornell loss.

If sheer vengeance is not enough, there are other incentives for Harvard to beat Cornell tonight.

A loss will mean fourth seed in the ECAC's and barring upsets, the unenviable job of playing first seed B. U. in the semi finals. A win will mean third seed and the chance to play second-ranked Clarkson, a team Harvard has already beaten once, in the semis. And a win in the semis means a trip to the NCAA's.

Harvard will have one advantage that could be decisive. When the Crimson takes the ice tonight at Watson Rink, the crowd may not be as fanatic as the Brown, Clarkson, or Cornell fans, but it will hardly be apathetic.

There aren't any undergraduates who can remember seeing a victory over Cornell at Harvard, and judging from the ticket sales, they want to see one pretty badly tonight.

A Real Snake Pit

Ten days ago, undergraduate tickets went on sale at 9 a. m., standing room went on sale at 9:30, and the "sold out" sign went up at 10. The hockey team is somewhat bitter about Harvard's blase crowds, but tonight they should have little to complain about. Watson Rink finally becomes a snake pit.

Cornell obviously isn't going to roll over and die when it sees the fans, but at least the Big Red isn't invincible this year.

Although Cornell whipped B, U., 5-1, the score is a little misleading. B. U. 's goalie apparently had a miserable game, and the Ithacans had the enormous advantage of playing on home ice. Since then, Cornell has fallen to Clarkson, 2-1, in overtime, adding a third loss to Cornell's early season surprises at R. P. I. and Brown.

Depth

Harvard may have to jump Cornell early in the game to avoid a slow death. The Red, like B. U., has three balanced lines, and if Joe Cavanagh has to skate six-minute shifts again, as he did in the Beanpot. Cornell will wear Harvard down in the third period.

Even over-worked, Cavanagh could make the difference. The All-American couldn't be too happy about his team's record this season, and tonight he has a chance to begin a change of momentum that could land Harvard in the Nationals.

"We're not as shifty as people think," Cavanagh said as he headed for the locker room after yesterday's practice, flashing his toothless grin. If Harvard is ever going to prove that, it may have to be tonight.