Sextet to Face Clarkson Tonight; Clash Looms Crucial for ECAC's

The Black Knights of Clarkson invade Watson Rink at 8 p.m. tonight as Harvard's erratic hockey varsity opens up its most important week remaining in the regular season.

Saturday the Crimson hosts Brown in a game it must win if it hopes to even tie for the Ivy championship.

Billy Lamarche, who reinjured his fragile knee during last Saturday's 6-2 win at Princeton, skated in yesterday's practice, and should see at least limited action tonight. The Gene Kinasewich-Ike Ikaunike-Bill Fryer line, which has scored nine times in the last two games, will be in peak condition.

Tonight's contest could easily go either way. Harvard should have little trouble if it plays the brand of hockey which over-powered Boston College in January. On the other hand, the cause is just about lost if the Crimson displays the form that resulted in three straight defeats two weeks ago.

ECAC Tourney

Both games this week will be crucial in determining Harvard's status in the post-season Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, which it won last year. In early March, a board of athletic directors from Eastern hockey colleges chooses what it considers the top eight teams in the East to play in the E.C.A.C.'s.

Unless the Crimson goes into a tailspin in its last five games, its present 11-5 record against E.C.A.C. opponents pretty well assures it a berth in the tournament. Another factor in its favor is its two resounding victories over non-Eastern Minnesota and Toronto during the Christmas holidays.

But Harvard would like to be seeded among the top four teams, and probably won't be if it loses to Clarkson tonight. In the opening round of the tourney, the first-seeded team plays the eighth, the second plays the seventh, and so on, with the higher ranked team having the home ice advantage. In the two-year history of the tournament, the home team has yet to lose a first round game.

If the board of athletic directors were to choose the top four teams today, it would likely select Providence College, Army, B.C., and Clarkson.

Providence has the best record in the East, possibly because it has not played most of the other top Eastern schools. Army has won 12 straight in compiling its 15-3 mark, including a 5-1 pasting of Harvard.

Crimson Needs Victory

B.C. has won the Beanpot Tournament, split with Clarkson, and clobbered Army on the way to its 14-5 record. Although Clarkson trails Harvard by a fraction of a per cent in Eastern competition, it would probably be ranked ahead of the Crimson because of its tougher schedule. But a Harvard victory tonight should vault the Crimson into the top four ahead of the Black Knights.

Colgate is not included among the select four because of its easy schedule, but its 12-3 record, including a 4-1 win over Clarkson, clinches it a place with Harvard among the top eight. Dartmouth, Brown, and R.P.I. are further candidates for the E.C.A.C.'s. Dartmouth, which slaughtered the Crimson 7-1 last week, will be almost assured a spot if it wins the Ivy League.

Even against such competition, the Harvard sextet could duplicate last year's Eastern championship. Victories over Clarkson and Brown just might fire up the Crimson enough to carry them all the way through the E.C.A.C.'s again.

Undergraduates may obtain tickets for tonight's game with Clarkson by exchanging coupon number 27 at the Ticket Office, 60 Boylston St., before 5 p.m. Tickets for Saturday's game with Brown may be obtained in exchange for coupon number 28.