Morse College Outlasts K-House Skaters, 5-4; Elis Spoil Kirkland Comeback With Late Tally

Alex Gibney scored on a short slap shot in the closing minutes of the game yesterday to give Yale's Morse College a 5-4 triumph over Kirkland House Harvard's previously undefeated intramural hockey champion.

K-House freely rotated 17 players in the game, including sophomore Lucy Wood. A number of Crimson players, particularly scoring ace Jeff Garrity and 200-pound defensemen Chris Dowd and Walt Herbert, were heavier and stronger than their foes, and Kirkland House hoped to be able to wear the Eli's down.

The strategy seemed to work at first. Little more than four minutes into the game Garrity scored to give Kirkland an early lead. Through the rest of the period, the Crimson skaters looked dominating as they killed off a series of penalties.

Second-Period Surge

In the second period, however, the Bulldogs started to put their game together. Eli standout Bob Murphy scored to knot the contest. Shortly thereafter, the 6'4" Herbert pursued a smaller opponent behind the net and delivered a devastating check that put the Yale skater out of the game.

The Bulldogs weren't in the least bit phased, as Murphy quickly added another goal to give Morse the lead. Kirkland's Al Peacock scored two minutes later on a breakaway that tied the score again, but Gibney notched his first tally of the game to put Morse back in front.

Early in the final stanza, a crowd battled for the puck in front of the Kirkland goal, and Steve Burylass drove it home to build the Bulldog lead to 4-2.

As the Crimson icemen pressed to get back in the game, Morse goalic Rick Smith rose to the occasion. With ten minutes left, he took a slap shot in the face and was visibly dazed, but seconds later still came up with a leg save to blunt a Kirkland threat.

Nevertheless, penalties almost did in the visiting Bulldogs. With eight minutes left, and Yale two men down. Peacock scored from the right point, cutting the Eli's lead to one.

Shoot

Kirkland seemed to get a lift from that score, and added another tally only 36 seconds later to knot the score at four.

Kirkland player-coach Mo Randall had gone in to play goal earlier in the period and made several fine saves, but Gibney's shot eluded him as Yale rallied to win, 5-4.