Icemen Zap Polar Bears, 6-4

BRUNSWICK, Maine--A George Hughes hat trick paced the Harvard hockey team to a convincing 6-4 thumping of ECAC Division 2 champion Bowdoin here at Dayton Arena last night.

The Crimson improved its record to 2-3-0 overall. Hughes's second career three-goal game left the Somerville senior on top of the Harvard scoring parade with five goals on the year.

Harvard coach Billy Cleary started junior goaltender John Hynes in the cage last night. Hynes, the number-one goalie all last season for the icemen, put in a strong performance, stopping 23 shots in his first start of the season. Freshman Wade Lau, who had started in the nets the previous four games, watched the contest from the bench.

Snowballing

Deadlocked 2-2 with the Polar Bears after the first period, the Crimson ran away with the game not only on the ice but also on the scoreboard as Hughes scored the only two goals of the second stanza.

Parked in front of the Bowdoin net, George zipped a Murray Dea pass into the lower corner for a 3-2 Crimson lead early in the period.

George then made it a two-goal margin on a power-play tally at 15:42, tucking in his own rebound. Assists on the goal went to John Cochrane and David Burke.

Harvard made clear the superiority of Division One in this period especially, outshooting the Polar Bears 14-4 and simply owning the puck throughout.

The neatest goal of the night was Hughes's third, a short-handed tally that came as a result of a two-on-one break with David Burke at 8:32 of the third.

Hughes sent the freshman streaking into the Bowdoin zone, and the high school All-American drew the lone defender and fed the puck to George, who deked right and snapped a wrister into the vacated side of the goal.

That made it 5-2 Harvard. Two Bowdoin goals in the final frame, sandwiched around Alan Litchfield's first score of his college career, closed out the night's scoring.

Litchfield, a freshman from Scituate, drove a slapshot into the lower right-hand corner of the cage. Defense mate Jack Hughes and Dea assisted on the jubilant rookie's tally.

The Crimson had been forced to settle for a 2-2 tie at the end of the first period as Bowdoin goaltender Rob Menzies somehow handled a tenacious Harvard offense, registering 21 saves in the first 20 minutes.

The icemen twice fell behind in the first stanza, but a pair of Crimson goals--a Steve Andrew stuff off a Jon Garrity rebound and one of Cochrane's 35-ft. slapshot specials--kept the crowd of 2200 relatively quiet.

The Crimson held both of Bowdoin's Division 2 All-Americans--defenseman Gerry Ciarcia and winger Bob Devaney--to just one assist each. In addition, the Harvard penalty-killing unit, led by Cochrane, successfully killed off all seven Crimson penalties. SCORE BY PERIODS HARVARD  2  2  2--6 BOWDOIN  2  0  2--4

SCORING SUMMARY

First Period: B--Mark Rabitor (John Corcoran, Bob Devaney) 2:03; H--Steve Andrews (Jon Garrity) 6:16; B--Mike Carman (Roger Elliott, Dave Boucher) 16:49; H--John Cochrane (Mike Watson) 16:54. Second Period: H--George Hughes (Murray Dea) 2:08; H--G, hughes (Cochrane, David Burke) 15:42. Third Period: H--G. Hughes (D. Burke, Jack Hughes) 8:32; B--Ron Marcellus (Paul Howard, Mike Collins) 10:38; H--Alan Litchfield (J. Hughes, M. Dea) 11:18; B--Marcellus (Mark Pletts, Gerry Ciarcia) 18:52.

GOALTENDING

SAVES: John Hynes (Harvard)-23

Rob Menzies (Bowdoin)-41

SCORING SUMMARY

First Period: B--Mark Rabitor (John Corcoran, Bob Devaney) 2:03; H--Steve Andrews (Jon Garrity) 6:16; B--Mike Carman (Roger Elliott, Dave Boucher) 16:49; H--John Cochrane (Mike Watson) 16:54. Second Period: H--George Hughes (Murray Dea) 2:08; H--G, hughes (Cochrane, David Burke) 15:42. Third Period: H--G. Hughes (D. Burke, Jack Hughes) 8:32; B--Ron Marcellus (Paul Howard, Mike Collins) 10:38; H--Alan Litchfield (J. Hughes, M. Dea) 11:18; B--Marcellus (Mark Pletts, Gerry Ciarcia) 18:52.

GOALTENDING

SAVES: John Hynes (Harvard)-23

Rob Menzies (Bowdoin)-41