ECAC Hockey Action Begins Tonight

Brown got the shaft by the ECAC selection committee last week, so with a somewhat overwhelming sense of deja vu, Harvard meets Clarkson in tonight's quarterfinal round of the ECAC championship tournament at 7:30 p.m. in Watson Rink.

The Crimson squad has participated in nine of eleven ECAC tournies since its inception in 1962, and has played Clarkson in one round or another, five of those nine times. The Golden Knights have managed to win on only one occasion, a 6-4 quarterfinal job in 1964.

In 1963, the Crimson beat Clarkson in the semis and went on to win the championship. 1969 also saw a semifinal matchup and Harvard took it 8-6 but lost the finals to Cornell. The Crimson nabbed its second championship in '71 downing the Golden Knights in the finals, and last year Clarkson came close in the quarterfinals, but lost 6-5 in overtime.

Got Their Number

Even in regular season play, Harvard hasn't lost to Clarkson since 1964. To the trained eye, it appears that a pattern emerges somewhere in there, and it would therefore be safe to say that 'we've got their number.'

Clarkson has had a wild season, compiling a 16-14 overall record and coming up 11-9 in Division I play. The Golden Knights started out with a bang, winning their first five games and winding up with a 10-2 division record at mid-season. Included among these wins is an impressive 10-1 trouncing of Cornell.

This pattern, however, didn't hold for the second half of the season, as the squad dropped ten of its last fifteen contests. Included among those were losses to such weak sisters as Colgate, St. Lawrence, Vermont and Providence. In fact, Clarkson has lost at least one game to about everyone on its schedule.

Why, you may ask, was Clarkson given the seventh seed by the selection committee? The answer seems to be that late season momentum plays a big factor in the choices, and Clarkson has picked up three victories in its last four games. This, and the fact that the squad has been able to win some of its big ones, make it a potential threat to Harvard tonight.

Plenty of Scoring

While the hometown fans in Potsdam, New York, haven't had much opportunity to see a tight defensive struggle this year, they have been treated to plenty of scoring. What the team lacks in keeping the puck out of its own net, it makes up for by putting it in the enemy's net just as often.

The center icemen do most of the scoring for the Golden Knights. Brian Mason leads the pack with 13 goals and 36 assists, followed by centers Brian McKenzie with 17 and 21, and Rus Audycki who has tallied only seven goals but has racked in 31 assists.

Winger Pete Harasym leads the goal scorers with 21 while grabbing 15 assists and Mike Conroy, another winger, has 15 and 19 for 34 points.

The point totals for Mason and Conroy appear even more impressive when one realizes that the two of them have spent a total of 151 minutes in the penalty box. Clarkson has been assessed 239 minutes in penalties this season, making it small wonder that the Crimson power play quintet of Bob McManama, Bill Corkery, Randy Roth, Bob Goodenow and Jim Thomas are looking forward to tonight's game.

Rotation

Former B.C. assistant coach Jerry York has been rotating between Kevin Woods, Carl Piehl and freshman George Galbraith in the nets this year. Piehl, with a 4.6 goals against average, will probably get the call tonight.

Harvard is healthy and ready to go. The squad isn't taking the game lightly, however, as Clarkson has the firepower to make it a high scoring but tight contest. The Golden Knights, remember, came awfully close last year.