Elis Rout Icemen, Threaten Harvard's Ivy Lead

Don't make the mistake of attributing the Harvard hockey team's 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Yale Saturday night to just an off-night for the Crimson.

True, as Harvard Coach Bill Cleary noted, "we had too many good opportunities in the first period and blew them." And Harvard did look unusually disorganized in its own zone, especially later in the game.

But the real significance of the Crimson's disaster at the New Haven Coliseum is that Yale is capable of playing some truly superb hockey, good enough to beat any of the ECAC's best. It's becoming apparent that the surge of Yale hockey in the past two years is no fluke. Harvard, which is now 1-6-4 versus the Bulldogs since 1977, is certainly taking the Elis seriously, as Yale trails the Crimson in the Ivy Division by just half a game.

Three Yale players led the destruction of the visitors before a crowd of 6537. Junior goaltender Paul Tortorella, who played sensationally in two outings last year against Harvard, stoned the Crimson in the first stanza, the period in which Cleary lamented the missed opportunities. Tortorella made nine saves in the period, many of them difficult--such as when he flopped to the ice to foil Phil Falcone when the Harvard center had a clean breakaway.

After the scoreless first 20 minutes, the Crimson put strong pressure on the Elis early in the second period, but Tortorella again prevailed. And after a glove save of Shayne Kukulowicz's sharp backhander at the 6.00 mark, the rink seemed to tilt the other way, and the Bulldogs took to the attack.

Darren Acheson scored what proved to be the game-winner less than two minutes later, capitalizing after Harvard goalie Grant Blair was pulled way out of not on the previous save. And for the rest of the period, the other two Elis instrumental in Harvard's demine, linemates Bob Brooke and Mark Crerar, proceeded to rip apart the Crimson defense.

Crerar, considered a good prospect for the Canadian Olympic team, scored on the rebound of a Brooke breakaway attempt. Later Brooke set up Crerar for a pretty breakaway goal. And in the last minute of the middle stanza. Brooke scored after the pair broke in on a two-on-one to make it 4-0. The Yale Precision Marching Band's on-ice appearance in the second intermission and the Eli crowd's enthusiastic response was, in effect, an early victory celebration.

Tortorella didn't have to work hard for the shutout after that, as the Eli defense allowed only two shots on net in the final period.

Though tonight's Beanpot opener against Boston College was but 48 hours away. Cleary had little to say about it Saturday. "I have to assess what happened today," he said.

The once-hot Crimson, which would have been in second place in the ECAC had it won but instead is tied for fifth, may have lost some of the early-season confidence it hoped to take into the Beanpot Since sweeping their first five games, the icemen are 4-5-1 in the ECAC.

THE NOTEBOOK Harvard takes on the Eagles in the early game tonight, starting at 6.15 p.m. Cleary still had not decided by Saturday whom he would start in goal tonight.