Out in Left Field

Eliot House students just shook their heads in disbelief at brunch Sunday morning. No, this time it wasn't the corned beef hash, looking as worn out as the pocket of my ten-year-old baseball glove, that shocked everyone. Yale had beaten the hockey team. Yale, the school that had to be beaten to avenge the November football massacre. Yale, the team that had lost seven in a row. Impossible. It didn't happen to Cleary's invincible crusaders that had not lost since exams.

Folks, it did happen and it was no fluke. Yale played smart and aggressive hockey. Knowing that Harvard was weakened by the loss of two players, Kevin Carr and Kevin Burke, and figuring that Cleary had ordered his men not to play recklessly with an ECAC berth clinched, the Elis repeatedly took runs at small Harvard players like Randy Roth and Jimmy Thomas.

This strategy should sound familiar. Brown tried it at Watson Rink in early February and failed. Saturday, the situation was a bit different for the Crimson. Harvard could afford no injuries. Furthermore, such key players as Levy Byrd and Bob Goodenow had their strength sapped by flu. Both of them got out of bed just in time to make the bus to New Haven. Ordinarily, they retaliate with a little body-bending of their own, but skating up and down the ice alone had to be painful Saturday night.

Despite the intimidation, Harvard consistently penetrated the Yale defense only to be stopped time and again by everybody's MVP for Saturday night's game, Eli goalie Bill McKenzie. In the second period, Goodenow and Roth bore down on one Yale defender. The puck went to Roth who seemed to have the whole net to shoot at. A certain goal, right? No, just another phenomenal sliding save, which caused Goodenow to wack the boards in frustration as he glided by.

Harvard encountered another acrobat two weeks ago in the Beanpot's opening round when Ned Yetten of B.C. repeatedly denied close-in bids. Largely because of illness and injury, Harvard could not keep up the same kind of sustained attack against Yale that eventually dented Yetten for 11 goals. The Crimson's attack degenerated into one-man sallies instead of the crisp passing and fast skating that is ordinarily the key to Harvard's attack.

Yet before totally attributing the defeat to illness and injury, a number of alarming problems surfaced on Saturday night that should be pointed out. For instance, Yale players were allowed to remain in the slot where they can tip in shots or screen the goaltender. Jimmy Murray did not have a strong game, but after his magnificent play against B.U. and Cornell, everybody knows what he is capable of doing. Lastly, too many excellent opportunities went by the boards. The Eli goalie would be screened, but the slapshot from the point would rarely be on net. Beautiful passing plays were often ruined by erratic shooting.

Between the first and second periods, the Zamboni at the Yale Rink temporarily stalled because it had run out of gas. Hopefully, the Crimson, like the Zamboni, will be revved up enough to finish successfully. Going to face the rejuvenated Green Meanies in Hanover is an unenviable assignment. Hopefully, Cleary's kids can continue their post-exam surge after having gotten this bad one out of their systems.