The Hockey Team's Past and Future

This morning's setto with the Dartmouth six as the feature event of the colorful annual carnival in Hanover will find the Harvard hockey contingent pretty well launched on the final drive of its 1980 rink campaign. The first nine encounters were really little more than preliminaries to the main events to follow and in them the Crimson certainly hasn't staged more than a mediocre show for its supporters, especially when one stops a moment to scan the record of Larry Noble's Yale outfit. Experts hold up hopes for the future by saying that Coach Stubbs is bringing the local group along slowly and that it will reach its peak of efficiency at the crucial moment, when the Blue skaters might well be burned out. They hark back to performances in the dim and not so dim past, to final series in amateur and pro ranks in which a whirlwind pace has been maintained to the final hurdle. At that point, they say, the spent leaders have tripped and fallen.

The Harvard and Yale combinations have run up against several common opponents and Elis have invariably captured the palm when the results were checked up. Take the outstanding figures, those of the Toronto games. Harvard lost the first battle 3 to 2 and was handed a 6 to 2 drubbing in the second; Yale got away with a 3 to 2 overtime victory. Then the Elis laced the University Club skaters 1 to 0 and 3 to 1, whereas the Cantabridgians eked out 4 to 3 and 2 to 1 wins. The Hanover Indians have twice bitten the dust before the marauding Blue, but there were extenuating circumstances in the case of their frightful setback not so long ago. Ice just wouldn't freeze in Hanover in those days. Since then such matters have been remedied, the Green squad has been strengthened and Harvard will have a real job on its hands to carry away the scalps. And it might also be well to notice that the Yale hockey team may have been checked for a while at the start of a game, but has never failed to finish with a real scoring flourish, a thing which Harvard hasn't done. The secret of Yale's success seems to be in possessing a wealth of high-grade man-power and its ability to apply this power when and where it will do the most good. Harvard has shown potentialities whereas Yale has produced the goods. It remains to be seen whether the Elis can keep on going places and if the Crimson can gather sufficient momentum to pass their old rivals.

Offensive Reform

A general re-marshalling of its strength will be necessary if this present model of the Crimson six intends to stage a risorgimento. The best defense is an offense and as soon as a team gets the attacking idea it goes places, provided of course it's got the necessary ingredients. And it's pretty generally admitted that the hockey squad meets almost all the requirements. Judging from the season's showing, the Harvard offensive seems to have been working under wraps, and for no really good reason. Both forward trios could well afford to throw their cautions to the wind and play with a little more abandon. They think of getting back on the defense before they have actually bored in on the opponent's net. It's been this abandoned drive and punch which has carried the Elis along. No one can score, furthermore, if he's carefully covered; this goes just as much in hockey as in basketball. The crimson-jerseyed wings haven't been very successful in breaking cover and as a result haven't tallied too frequently. They'll have to break away more quickly and cleanly whenever opportunity knocks if they expect to slip the puck home. In the matter of passing, the University skaters have been far below par. Snappy accuracy and not weak pushes must feature this department of play. The center's job is to feed his wings, who in turn must be free to take the pass and apply the death thrust. Throughout the nine games played so far, too, the use of the poke check by the forwards has not been as efficient as it might. The first game of the 1929 Yale series, which the Crimson won by a 2 to 1 count, showed the victors employing this check not only as a defensive but also as an offensive weapon and the result was steadily applied pressure in enemy territory. The Yale attack was broken and the Harvard offensive got under way immediately without the preliminary skating back to gather momentum. It all boils down to the team's getting "attack conscious".

With the return of Giddens to the lineup next week, the necessary spark and scoring punch may be added. Harvard's Canadian ace has been high scorer of the Crimson squad for two seasons and will expend all efforts in making up for lost time. His return to action will of course necessitate some lineup shifts, but just what should be done is open to question. Observations at practice sesions and games have revealed that the shift should come on the second line, while the first combination of Putnam, Garrison, and Stubbs would remain intact. A relief line of equal if not greater strength is needed and Coach Stubbs seems to have the material for such a trio. With Wood retaining his pivot post, Giddens would naturally take his old berth on right wing. This leaves the other players to fight it out for the left wing post. In a couple of games and in the practice workouts, Everett has taken this position and carried out his assignments well. His light seems to have been hidden under a bushel so far and it would not be at all surprising to see him combining with Giddens and Wood before the season is much older. Everett is a fast skater, tireless worker, always ready to give and take, a player of the type of Chan Hilliard, the University Club's crack wingman. This forward combination should produce the needed scoring punch and assume the role of a "dynamite line" for the Crimson forces.

The Goalie's Job

Another feature of the Harvard team's play has been that of its goalie. In any clash between two combinations with strong attacks, the guardian of the nets plays an all important role, not only defensively but offensively. Experts agree pretty generally on the fact that 50 per cent of the goalie's job should be done with his stick, and no small percentage of this work is in an attacking line. The puck should usually be caught on the pads and when it has dropped should be flipped to a waiting teammate. Such play speeds the attack and often sends it off a jump ahead of the opposing team. Ellis seems to have out-distanced the field in the race for the net guardians post and should be a fixture for the rest of the campaign. His play has been brilliant and drab in spots, and can be improved in many respects. Many of his shortcomings must be attributed to his lack of experience (it's his first season with the varsity) but not little depends on his future development. Ellis must clear with more confidence and use his stick more efficiently. Very often he allows the puck to bounce off his pads in dangerous fashion, banking on the presence of some teammate who can carry the disc off. More careful blocking, followed by more efficient stick work on his part will do much to get the Crimson sextet going both offensively and defensively.

The points in front of him have been turning in an efficient performance on the whole. They are rugged enough to be able to use their bodies effectively, but can afford to do so even more. So far, however, they've been clinging too closely to the inrushing player after hitting him. A body check should be made quickly and cleanly, and the defense man should then break clear quickly to launch the attack once again. The points are not last ditch defenses, but important cogs in the attack. The Harvard squad has the stuff; it lacks but the offensive idea needed to make it start going places. --BY TIME OUT.