Catamounts Punish Dying Icemen, 9-4

Already eliminated from the playoffs, the Harvard hockey team also eliminated any chance for its first winning season since 1977 last night, melting before the lowly Catamounts of the University of Vermont, 9-4, at Gutterson Field House.

Eight different players (led by sophomore center Don Crowley's two scores) tallied for UVM, which now sports a 4-16-2 ECAC record (9-23-2 overall), second worst in the East. The Crimson now stands at 8-11-1 in the ECAC (11-13-1 overall), placing it in the early teens if anybody's interested, and with only tonight's game with Dartmouth remaining, has clinched its fourth straight losing season.

What should have been a Crimson no-contest, see-you-in-the-locker-room-after-the-win, how-many-goals-do-you-think-we'll-score kind of game, turned out to be a Burlington bar-laugher right from the first drop of the puck.

Vermont burst out to a 3-0 first period lead, on goals by Crowley at 1:19, Tony Messina at 6:03 and Sylvain Brousseau with five seconds left in a power play at 19:23.

Mike Watson, on the way to his fifth two-goal game this season, narrowed UVM's margin to two at 8:03 of the second stanza, picking up the rebound of a Ken Code blast from the two point and stuffing it past Cat netminder Sylvan "Yes There Are Two of Us" Turcotte.

Senior Turcotte gave way to classmate Andy Ashford in the nets at the halfway point of the period (Harvard band members take note) as UVM coach Jim Cross gave his two goalies equal time in their final varsity games. The two combined for 34 saves on the night.

The Crimson tested Ashford right away, but repeatedly denied what seemed to be excellent Harvard chances. Picking up on their goalie's inspired play, Kirk McCaskill (unassisted) with John Leavitt scored in the last two-and-a-half minutes of the period to give the Cats a 5-1 lead.

Greg Olson started the Crimson on the comeback trail at 1:01 of the third, tipping in a Mark Fusco slapshot, and after a goal by last year's ECAC MVP Craig Homola, also playing his final game for Vermont. Watson and Tom Murray scored within 40 seconds of each other to cut UVM's lead to 6-4.

But the Cats came back, with three unanswered goals in the game's final eight minutes, including Crowley's second, to even up their lifetime series with the Crimson at four apiece and send their fans to the ski slopes with a smile.

THE NOTEBOOK: Junior Steve Better, late of the 17-0-1 Harvard J.V.'s, will be in the nets for Harvard in Hanover tonight. Better has yet to appear in a varsity game, but had a 2.96 goals-against for the J.V.