Freshmen Skaters Win Pair Behind An Improving Defense

The freshman hockey team coasted to an 8-4 victory over the Brown J.V. squad Saturday after a bumpy start. The Achilles heel of the early part of the season--the defense--was the key to the Crimson's success.

The bump at the beginning was on the head of starting goalie John Conant after he saved the first shot of the game with his facemask. Conant remained in the game for the rest of the first period, though, he gave up two Brown goals before leaving because of dizziness.

The defense of John Cochran, Franco Scalamandre, Mike Stewart and John Dunderdale held Brown to two tallies the rest of the way.

"I praise all the defensemen," coach Tim Taylor said. "Our main problem has been keeping the other team off the scoreboard." Three converted forwards comprise a major portion of the defense, he added.

Practice Makes Perfect>

Taylor said, "In practice, we've been emphasizing the fundamentals of defense," and the emphasis has apparently helped team play.

The Harvard offense went to work midway through the first period against the Bruins, exploding with four consecutive goals by four different players. The squad outshot Brown 22-9 during one stretch.

Mike Clasby opened the scoring and then Dave Schuster connected on a feed from Doug Thompson behind the net after Thompson had skated the length of the ice.

Randy Millen triggered the red light for the go-ahead goal, then Thompson held on to the puck on a rush, deked a defenseman and slid the puck across the goal line. Brown scored again just before the buzzer to make it a one-goal game.

The Crimson freshmen returned to the ice in the second period with John Phillips in goal and sewed up the win on three unanswered goals by Murray Dea, Dave McKinnon and John Marchand.

The teams traded goals in the final period as Steve Andrews found the net for the Crimson. The squad's record now stands at 6-4.

The freshman squash team has not had a match since December because of exams. The squad will resume its successful 5-0 season February 16 against MIT.

Bob Blake is playing number one for the Crimson frosh, with George Bell and Chuck Elliott behind him. Blake said yesterday, "We're hoping for an undefeated season. I think we'll have one."