Icemen Looking Forward to 20-Day Layoff

The Harvard men's hockey team now has a 20-day layoff before its next contest. It's going to need it.

The Harvard-Colgate game--which was postponed after the untimely death of Colgate Coach Terry Slater--has been rescheduled for January 6.

That gives the Crimson a grueling three-game stretch against Vermont (January 3), Dartmouth (January 4) and then Colgate.

Certainly, none of the three teams is an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference powerhouse, but the Crimson will, nonetheless, be faced with the prospect of spending four days on the road. Not the way most undergraduates spend their reading period.

To make matters worse, after the Northeastern trek, Harvard will have to gear up for two of the toughest ECAC opponents it will face all year, third-ranked Clarkson and eighth-ranked St. Lawrence.

Rest Up the 'D'

Harvard will also need the rest to patch up its injury-ridden defense.

Senior Captain Kevin Sneddon is still experiencing the back problems that have kept him out since Brown. Both senior defenseman Brian McCormack (strained shoulder) and senior goalie Allain Roy (twisted ankle) sat out Sunday's game against Cornell.

"These are not major injuries," Assistant Coach Jerry Pawloski said. "These are just bumps and bruises, just to keep them out of a few games. We're projecting to have them back for the [Great Lakes] Tournament."

Power Play?

Harvard's difficulties on the power play continued against Cornell, as the Crimson capitalized on only one of eight extra-man advantages. But compared to the rest of the ECAC, Harvard is doing quitenicely.

The Crimson, which has traditionally been a dominant force on power play opportunities, ranks second in the ECAC with 22.2 percent (10-of-45).

St. Lawrence, however, is way in front of the pack.

Behind its mighty offensive trio of Mike Lappin, Martin LaCroix and Dan LaPerriere, the Saints collected on 12-of-38 opportunities for a whopping 31.6 percent efficiency.

Yale?

The Elis continue to shock the hockey world. Behind junior goalie John Hockin--who blocked 57 of 64 shots--Yale swept Princeton, 5-3 and 7-4, this weekend to bring the Elis to an impressive 6-0-1 ECAC record.

Yale has never won an ECAC title, and stumbled to a somber 9-11-2, ninth place finish last year.

Nevertheless, the Elis, who have no memory of a winning hockey season, are now poised atop the ECAC, ahead of Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

Interestingly enough, Yale is the only undefeated college hockey team in the nation.

A quick glance at the Elis schedule explains why.

Yale has played four home games in the infamous Yale Whale against Colgate, Cornell, Vermont and Princeton--not the most taxing of schedules.

To the team's credit, the Elis did beat Brown and tie Harvard at home.

Junior Mark Kaufman (9-6-15), James Lavish (8-2-10) and Martin Leroux (2-10-12) lead the Eli attack.

Yale has a two more weeks to savor its undefeated season. But few expect it will continue past Christmas break.

The Elis take on 1990 NCAA champion Wisconsin in the Bank One Badger Hockey Showdown on December 27.

If Yale wins (it won't), the Elis take on first-ranked Maine (good luck).

Showdown

The ECAC closes out the 1991 year with a showdown between two of the top teams in the nation.

St. Lawrence will visit cross-Arctic rival Clarkson this Friday at the Golden Knights' brand new Cheel Arena.

Expect a solid hockey game, as the ECAC's top offensive team, St. Lawrence, goes up against the top defensive unit, Clarkson.

St. Lawrence's steller Lappin-Lacroix-LaPerriere trio will be challenged by Clarkson's outstanding netminding. Golden Knights Chris Rogles and Jason Currie are second and third in the ECAC in save percentage, respectively.

Clarkson is also number one in power-play killing at 89.3 percent.