Murphy's Hat Trick Helps Icemen Conquer Army, 5-1

WEST POINT, N.Y.--If the Army defended the country the way it plays hockey, Gorbachev would be in the White House and Pravda would be on every breakfast table in America.

Fortunately for the free world, the Cadets take better shots on the firing range than they do in their Multi-Purpose Sports Facility here on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy.

Last night, Harvard tapped danced its way to a 5-1 victory over the Cadets before 2193 spectators, solidifying its hold on first place in the ECAC with a 13-2 record. Meanwhile, the Cadets--who are vying for last place in the league with winless Brown (0-13)--fell to 1-12-2 in the ECAC.

"I hate playing against teams you're supposed to beat," Harvard Coach Bill Cleary said.

Army Coach Rob Riley cited the graduation of last year's first line and goaltender as the reason for his team's losing campaign.

"Our first line last year was competitive with any line in the league," Riley said. "And our goaltender, I think, was the best."

In hockey, you don't usually talk of field possession. Hockey, by design, is a game of swift attack, with one team flying up the ice and the other team returning the favor. But last night, Harvard kept the puck in its own end for an inordinate amount of time. The Army could only dig trenches and watch, helpless, as puck after puck spurted into its net.

How outrageous was the onslaught? With a little over three minutes left in the second period, Harvard Captain Steve Armstrong launched a fly ball toward Cadet goalie Brooks Chretien. The freshman netminder backpedaled, waved off his teammates, and lifted his glove for the catch.

Perhaps the sun got in Chretien's eyes, because Armstrong's shot slipped over his glove and into the net for a 4-0 Harvard lead.

"If you throw it at the net enough times, you're going to get some flukes," Armstrong said. "It's unfortunate for the goaltender."

The Crimson (13-5 overall) was such the master last night that it cashed in twice on the same play. Early in the first period, defenseman Don Sweeney took a pass from John Weisbrod, returning to the lineup for the first time since December 6 (when he suffered a knee injury against Colgate) and slipped down the left side of the ice. Ten feet from the net, Sweeney dished a pass to John Murphy, who had put up a pup tent in front of the Cadet net.

When Murphy got the puck, he tapped it home.

The Cadets must have felt they were watching an instant replay with nine minutes left in the second period. It was Weisbrod to Armstrong to an entrenched Murphy again for a 3-0 Crimson lead.

Murphy, who endured a 15 game goal-scoring drought at the beginning of the season, cashed in again late in the final period for his first collegiate hat trick. Murphy has gone from arctic cold to Carribean warmth--in his last four games, he has seven goals.

"It feels pretty good after my slow start," Murphy said. "I'd like to keep it going. I was playing well at the beginning of the season. It was just a slump. I'm not playing any differently now than I did then."

Cleary felt so sure of victory going into last night's game that he started backup goaltender Michael Francis. Francis, a freshman who last saw action in a 6-3 loss to the University of Minnesota Duluth in late December, responded to the call of duty with 17 saves. Only Tim McWain's blast from 40-ft. with seven minutes left in the final period spoiled his shutout.

"I had a good time," Francis said. "It's great to be back."

Francis' sole collegiate blanking came against those scoring sergeants, the Brown Bruins, in the Crimson's season-opener in November.

THE NOTEBOOK: Kevan Melrose made his first appearance as a defenseman, taking Brian Popiel's place...Weisbrod played in the a Crimson JV game Wednesday to get ready for his varsity return. He had been skating for a week prior to his JV cameo...John Devin will be in the nets for Harvard tonight, when the Crimson takes on Princeton.