Icemen Begin Quest for NCAA Crown Tonight

As the disgruntled fans filed out of Watson Rink on a cold night in January after watching Cornell edge Harvard in overtime, you could see them shaking their heads and mumbling in between the curses, "What do you have to do?" It was another frustrating loss, and the Crimson icemen could boast only a mediocre 6-7-1 record.

Well, a lot has happened since that dreary night and now Harvard finds itself in the NCAAs against the number one team in the country, Michigan Tech, tonight at 7:30 in the Garden. Nobody would have believed the Crimson would make it then, but you've got to believe it now.

Harvard has lost only twice since the Cornell debacle, once to Yale and again last Saturday to Boston University in the ECAC finals. During that stretch Cleary's Comeback Kids have accomplished a lot of things that teams past and present have not done in a long while. The team has a chance to do something tonight that no Harvard team has ever done, and that's to win in the opening round of the NCAA tourney.

Michigan Tech at the Top

That's no easy task. Michigan Tech (27-8-3) has been at the top of the national poll since mid-January. The Huskies have been without doubt the most consistent and balanced team in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The squad not only has the highest goals-per-game average (5.53) in the league, but also the lowest goals-against average (3.32).

The Husky scoring threat is led by All-American center Mike Zuke, a mere sophomore who has racked up 71 points on 27 goals and 44 assists. His linemates are no slouches either, as left winger Lorne Stamler is third in scoring with 53 points and Bill Steele has notched 44.

Tech's second leading scorer, and top goal getter, Bob D'Alvise, is the center of the second line (though coach John MacInnes does not like to number his lines). D'Alvise has 28 goals and 38 assists. Graham Wise and George Lyle flank D'Alvise on the line, but the fans may be seeing freshman Stu Younger skating in Wise's place in a strategic move by MacInnes.

Penalty Killers

Younger usually skates on the fourth line with John Jaschuck and Scott Jessee, but Jaschuck and Jessee see a lot of action as penalty killers, and they do a good job of it. Michigan Tech has 15 short-handed goals this season.

Aiding on the short-handed situations, and taking a regular shift on defense is another All-American from Tech, senior Jim Nahrgang. Nahrgang is paired with junior Bob Lorimer. The second duo is Paul Jenson and Bruce Abbey, while Jim Murray (no relation to the Harvard goalie) is the swing man.

MacInnes has been rotating a sophomore and a senior in the nets this season. Senior Rick Quance, however, has seen the lion's share of the action due to injuries to the catching hand of sophomore Jim Warden. Though MacInnes does not announce his starting goalie until just before the game, it is likely that Warden will be the man, since Quince played the most recent game against Michigan State.

Warden in 12 contests has a 9-2-1 record, with a 2.85 goals-against average and one shut out. Quance is 18-6-2 on the year and sports a 3.50 average and a pair of shut outs.

Although some do not take much stock in statistics, an interesting one for the Harvard fans is the Huskies' first period production. While Harvard has had a tough time getting started in many games this season, Tech has been strongest in the opening stanza.

In 38 games this season, Michigan Tech has scored the first goal 26 times, while the Huskies have a 62-30 scoring edge against opponents in the period.

But as most coaches will be sure to tell you, the regular season stats don't mean that much come playoff time. The NCAA tournament is a "whole new season", and almost anything can happen. You've just got to believe.