Harvard Icemen Dump Clarkson, 10-5

Danny Bolduc touched off a Harvard explosion last night in Watson Rink that demolished Clarkson, 10-5, in the quarterfinal round of the ECAC hockey tournament.

The junior right wing from Waterville, Me., pumped in three of his four goals in 3:22 in the second period to break open a tight 2-1 contest. Bolduc's timely hat trick turned the contest into a Crimson rout as Harvard took a 5-1 lead into the locker room after the second, and increased it to 8-1 halfway through the third.

Boldue blazed his way into the New England record book as his second and third tallies came within six seconds. The previous mark belonged to Boston University's Rick Meagher, who scored two in nine seconds this season against Cornell.

Harvard's inspired speed skater, who hasn't seen one of his shots tickle the twines in quite some time, started the avalanche at 9:06 when he intercepted an errant clearing pass, put about 15 moves on goalie George Galbraith and fired. What looked to be a save was not, as the puck trickled past the goal line.

Some three minutes after that, Bolduc shoots off a dedicated Clarkson defender and swooped in Terry O'Reilly-style to light the lamp once again. Bolduc then took the ensuing face-off from center ice six seconds later and scored on a slap that for the hat trick.

The Golden Knights put up a fight for a period and a half, holding Harvard to a slim 2-0 margin after the first, then coming back for a goal at 0:44 of the second as Bill Blackwood's shot got past a screened Brian Petrovek. Petro was sharp throughout the game, however, staving off 15 shots (10 in the first period) and allowing two goals before being rested midway through the third.

Clarkson had plenty of incentive last night; a win would have given the squad an extra couple of days away from Potsdam, N.Y. Clarkson hung on despite first-stanza tallies by Jim McMahon at 8:09, on the power play, and Ted Thorndike on a strong individual effort at 12:30.

But the Golden Knights fell apart after Bolduc's onslaught between 9:06 and 17:28, and managed to justify the 300 unsold tickets Clarkson returned to the Harvard ticket office this afternoon. The relatively empty Watson Rink was treated to a scoring fest in the third period as the two squads combined for ten goals.

The line of Kevin Carr, Paul Haley and Bolduc teamed up to five three past a beleaguered George Galbraith in 43 seconds (on four shots) to up the Crimson lead to 6-1 in the third. Haley slid one across the crease to Carr at 2:55, then Carr and Bolduc reciprocated by assisting Haley at 3:08. Bolduc picked up his fourth of the night 30 seconds later.

Clarkson bid farewell to Petrovek with another tally at 7:05 on a Terry Conroy slapper and greeted incoming John Aiken with three more on five shots, as Harvard let up after amassing a 9-2 lead.

First Time

Steve Dagdigian tallied the Crimson's ninth, and spare forward Wiz Wyatt nabbed his first goal of the year at 13:56. For the record, David Gray, Dan O'Driscoll and Christ Valentine had Clarkson's final three goals.

The only sour note for the Crimson last evening was the absence of center Leigh Hogan, who is sidelined with a recurring muscle spasm in his stomach. Hogan's status is on a day-to-day basis, and there is a chance he will be ready for Friday night's semifinal contest against Cornell in Boston Garden.

Bill Hozack filled in between Jim Thomas and Thorndike for the injured Hogan and picked up an assist on Thorndike's score in the first.