Bertagna Thwarts Yale Rally, Preserves Harvard's 2-1 Win

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--Hail Bertagna, Bertagna rules the nets! Crimson netminder Joe Bertagna was the difference for Harvard here Saturday night as he held off a third period surge by a Jekyll and Hyde Yale squad to preserve a slim 2-1 victory.

It was not the game most fans would have predicted. The Elis hung tough throughout, playing the man and throwing their weight around. The Crimson stood to lose a lot in terms of injuries, so coach Bill Cleary took no chances, playing Jim Thomas and Bob BcManama just one period each.

The Elis got off to a bad start, with defenseman Don Craig drawing a ten misconduct at 2:15 of the opening period. They couldn't seem to mount much offense through the first two, getting off just 15 shots on net.

The Crimson struck for its two goals in the first five minutes of the middle period and it appeared to be a coast to the finish from there. Bob Goodenow tallied first on one of his booming slappers from the point, as Harvard took advantage of a five on three situation.

Randy Roth displayed a little dazzling stick handling before getting off a low shot from the face off circle that snuck into the far corner of the net before Yale goalie Ken McKenzie could see it.

The third period saw a somewhat rare and quite reassuring sight for Harvard hockey fans. The Crimson hung on to win the game with defensive play, especially on the part of Bertagna.

Yale got three break-away bids in the period, the first one eventually resulting in the Elis' lone score. With Harvard on the power play, the puck slipped past the point and skidded down past the Crimson blue line. Bertagna moved out to clear the puck away from a breaking Dave Buchar, but the race was a dead heat and Buchar managed to get it into the corner. Just as Bertagna reached the net, Buchar centered the puck and in a scramble in front Gary Balsizer poked it in for the score.

Yale kept the pressure on, but Bertagna was equal to the task, stopping Ernie McGowan on a clean break and coming up with four big saves during a Yale power play with five minutes remaining. The Elis pulled McKenzie with 47 seconds left, but could get just one good bid at the tying goal.