Iceman Drop Beanpot Opener to B. C.

Coach Bill Cleary stood outside the Harvard locker room yesterday, a rather forelorn figure. The real crowds were just a few feet away, outside the Boston College locker room.

"I've got to be pleased," he said several times of his team's play, shaking his head occasionally, accepting consolation from his friends. Indeed, you had to be pleased. too, if you went to the Boston Garden last night looking for a great hockey game of the sort you might expect in the Beanpot.

The Harvard fans couldn't be too pleased though, because their team--playing without top scorer Scott Fusco, sidelined by a groin injury--came ever so close to earning a berth in next Monday's championship, only to fall to B. C. after 8:53 of sudden-death overtime. Eagle freshman Bob Sweeney stole the puck from Harvard's Mitch Olson in the Crimson zone and passed to linemate Ed Rauseo, who swept the puck around Harvard goalie Grant Blair.

Harvard's overall record fell to 11-6-1 with the loss (9-5-1 in the ECAC). Fusco, who decided only two hours before last night's faceoff to miss the Beanpot opener, said he will definitely play tonight, when Harvard returns to the ECAC wars at home against Providence.

Harvard came as close to winning as possible last night, only to falter in the end. The iceman took a one-goal lead into the final four minutes of regulation before surrendering a power-play goal to Eagle Captain Lee Blossom.

At the 2:30 mark in overtime, Dave Burke blasted a shot that hit the right post behind B. C. netminder Billy Switaj almost flush. And at 6:14, the game seemed to be Harvard's when B. C. 's David Livingston was called for momentarily bolding Tony Visone in center ice. But the Eagles survived the power play, covering well at both points and preventing Harvard blueliners Ken Code and Mark Fusco from launching booming slapshots.

"There's no question we were struggling at that time," B C Coach Len Ceglarski said later. "I thought Billy (Switaj) handled it really well."

And after Switaj survived the crisis, the Eagle forwards took over and 49 seconds after Livingston came out of the penalty box, it was all over.

When the teams left the ice, the skaters from Chestnut Hill had won their fifth straight opening-round and their second straight in overtime.

Nevertheless, the Crimson had put up a fight. "We had our chances in the third period and overtime," Cleary said. "In the third period, they [B C] really didn't generate anything until the penalty We did a great job We had more chances in the third period than they did."

But the Eagles played a sensational game of their own, holding an edge in the early going and waiting for their opportunities in the stretch

After both teams came out looking hesitant in the opening minutes. Eagle defensemen Jim Chisolm broke the ice With his team mates screening Blair, Chisolm smacked a moving puck at the left point and beat the freshman netminder low at the far side

But the Crimson goalie came fighting back Just minutes after the first goal. Blair was called on to stop a point-blank rebound attempt by Billy McDonough during a power play and survived a Rob Monleon breakaway when the Eagle right wing shot wide

But then Harvard's Greg Britz, breaking down the right wing, hit Greg Chalmers in the slot with a perfect centering pass which the sophomore center converted, tying the score at 10 18

The Crimson played B C more evenly after that With Blossom in the penalty box, Switaj had to make tough stops on Britz's offerings from the crease and on a Mark Fusco slap shot.

The teams traded goals once more in the period. Tim Michael gave the Eagles a short-lived 2-1 lead when he beat Blair at 15:24, and Harvard struck back less than two minutes later when Chalmers beat Switaj with a less-than-blistering backhander for his second red light of the evening

Harvard continued to take if to the Eagles early in the second period The Crimson's fourth line put intense pressure on B. C. around the seven-minute mark, when Switaj made a stunning save, battling away with his stick a high shot by Dave Connors But Switaj muffed the next shot that came his way Chalmers' blast (it was officially credited to Britz) from the left faceoff circle hit his pads and bounced up into the top of the net

B. C. soon gave the Crimson defense some headaches of its own, though Eagle centers McDonough, Rauseo, and Doug Brown had several good chances for tip ins from the crease Blair stopped those but the Eagles got their equalizer after Blair got involved in some shoving behind the net, leading to a B C power play With just nine seconds left in the man-advantage. Eagle blueliner George Boudreau slammed a slapshot off the far post behind Blair. Rauseo alertly knocked it in

But the Crimson took a one goal lead into the final stanza, thanks to a Code pass which launched Shayne Kukulowicz on a break a way Switaj made the stop, but the puck trick led behind him, allowing the junior right wing to hit the back of the net at the 15 58 mark

In what Harvard hoped would be the final period. B C came closer and closer to the Crimson net, only to be stopped by the strong play of Blair and the Harvard defensemen. All of the blueliners repeatedly took Eagle forwards out of the play, with Mark Fuscode livering some crushing body checks

The Crimson seemed to be turning to the attack in the final minutes, looking for the insurance goal. The line of Britz, Chalmers and Visone--which played a strong game after being put together only three days ago almost got it, swarming around the B. C. net with five minutes left

But then Britz was called for interference in his own zone, which led to the tying goal 1:24 later, Sweeney, who later set up the game winner, slid the puck across the crease to an unguarded BlossomCrimsonTimothy W. PlassGREG CHALMERS scores one of his three goals (according to the press box consensus; the officials credited him with two) past B.C.'s BILLY SWITAJ in the Eagles' Beanpot victory last night. The newly-formed line of Chalmers, Greg Britz and Tony Visone almost won it for Harvard, but B.C. struck late in regulation and in overtime to send the Crimson to the consolation round.