Varsity Skaters Prepare for Opener

Harvard's varsity hockey team will make its season debut tomorrow night when the Crimson meets the University of New Hampshire at UNH's Snively Arena.

Harvard has a strong chance for a successful season, although the team will be hard pressed to surpass last year's 17-4-1- record, the best in a decade.

The Crimson lost 11 lettermen from last year's squad, including the renowned "Local Line" of All-Americans Dave Hynes and Bob McManama and All-East Bill Corkery. This trio formed the highest scoring unit in Harvard history, together collecting a total of 181 goals in three years of varsity play.

Harvard will miss the services of defensemen Kevin Hampe, Doug Elliott and Bob Muse, as well as veteran goalie Joe Bertagna. All four skaters graduated last spring, leaving senior co-captain Mark Noonan as the only defenseman with a sizeable amount of varsity experience.

Twelve returning lettermen will help Crimson coach Bill Cleary fill in the gaps left by graduation. The line of Randy Roth, Jim Thomas and co-captain Bob Goodenow has returned intact after combining for 85 points last season. These three compose the first line this year.

Junior veteran Leigh Hogan will center a second line, with classmate Ted Thorndike on the right and sophomore Dan Bolduc on the left. Thorndike collected nine goals and 11 assists last year on the varsity, while Bolduc earned 32 points on the freshman team despite missing half of the season with a leg injury.

Two returning lettermen and a new sophomore also will make up a third line, with Jim McMahon centering for right-winger Steve Dagdigian and left-winger Phelps Swift. Juniors McMahon and Dagdigian notched 18 and 7 points respectively last winter, while Swift led the freshman squad in goals with 25.

Three wings--Wiz Wyatt, Kevin Burke and senior Fred Paul--are vying for spots on the fourth line, which is centered by sophomore Kevin Carr. As the freshman first line center, Carr collected 53 points to lead his team in scoring.

Defensively, Cleary starts Noonan and junior Steve Janicek as the first pair, with seniors Levy Byrd and Ed Rossi forming the second unit. Dave Hands and Todd Nieland may also see some action. Sophomores Jim Murray and John Aiken are the two possible goalies.