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THE SPORTING SCENE
For the first time in five years the Crimson sextet faces the strong possibility of no invitation to the post-season NCAA playoffs to be held three weeks hence at Troy, N.Y. A more difficult question is who will get the nod, for this winter's Eastern intercollegiate hockey has been the wackiest in recent years.
If you want to consider all the dark horses, the field still includes the halfdozen mentioned at mid-season-B.C., B.U., Clarkson, Harvard, R.P.I. and St. Lawrence--plus two newcomers, Dartmouth and Yale. Key upsets along the way have beset the contenders, but the race still boils down to these eight.
Should no two teams emerge head and shoulders above the rest during the last weeks of competition, a playoff for Eastern honors is likely. Such a playoff was approved last March by the NCAA Coaches Convention. Although the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee has not taken any steps to formalize such a playoff for the coming season, it approved the coaches' recommendation, and has not taken any steps prohibiting a playoff.
The records of the top eight contenders against Eastern competition, including games played Wednesday, Feb. 18, are now:
Counting only games played among the top eight the standings read:
Not as Strong as Record
Some qualifications to the statistics must be admitted, however. Dartmouth defeated B.C., B.U., Harvard, and Yale, but also was upset by Northeastern, 4 to 3, and by B.U., 8 to 2, on Tuesday. The Indians have more games left than any contender, and could conceivably run into trouble at B.C., Harvard, or Yale.
The two strongest candidates for the Eastern NCAA berths seem now to be Clarkson and St. Lawrence, with B.C. running a close third. The Eagles dropped both games up north last weekend but retain an early season win over the Larries.
And the Crimson is not as far out of it as the record indicates, for the two ties were with Clarkson and B.U., and four of the losses were to B.C. Included on the varsity's schedule are home games with Dartmouth (Feb. 25), Yale (Feb. 28) and B.U. (March 2) and the season finale at New Haven March 8. With victories in the latter four games the Crimson would be considered the fourth best sextet in the East.
Midghall Leads Individual Scorers
Despite the publicity given its two leading scorers, R.P.I. scarcely ranks among the top eight teams. Until the return of two players at mid-season, the Engineers had a squad of ten men, skating two lines, three defensemen and a goalie. Partly because of the frequent work and partly because of a patsy schedule, forwards Paul Midghall and Ray Belasky led the NCAA scoring race with 61 and 54 points, respectively, in games through Feb. 13.
If he continues at his present pace, Midghall will threaten Bill Cleary's four-year-old NCAA record of 89 points in one season. However, the Engineers must face Clarkson twice and B.C. once in the next two weeks. Among the leading scorers in the East through Feb. 13, are.
In Ivy League competition Dartmouth leads with a 5-0 record, with Yale second at 4-2 and Harvard third at 3-1. Chances are better than even that the Crimson will tie for first place, or if the Indians bow to Yale, win the title.
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