Hiding its finesse for 20 minutes, and showing it sparingly thereafter, the varsity hockey team swamped an outclassed M.I.T. squad, 14 to 1, at the Arena last night. Only a tiny crowd (50) watched the Crimson post its first home win of the season.

The Engineers threw up a surprisingly strong defense around Joe Bova, their excellent goalie, and as a result were able to hold the Crimson scoreless for the entire first period. Ragged passing and a general air of sluggishness didn't help the Harvard cause, either.

But the start of the second period brought a return of competence, if not brilliance, and a quick pair of goals by Captain Dusty Burke gave the Crimson a lead to which it added relentlessly. The eventual 14-goal total is the varsity's highest this year.

Down to the last five minutes. It seemed as though goalie Brad Richardson would register his first shutout: M.I.T. simply wasn't fast enough to utilize the breaks it got. Then, however, a defensive lapse put Tech's Ernie Chambers in the clear, and Richardson had no chance on his accurate 15-foot drive.

Burke, back at defense because of Bill Bliss' injury, led the Crimson with four goals and three assists, and played his usual fine all-around game. Center Norm Wood, a sophomore who has shown much promise, also banged home four tallies.

The scoring summary:

First Period: No scoring. Penalties: DiBona (T), tripping: Kiley (T), slashing.

Second Period: Burke (H) (Hubbard), 1:33: Burke (H) (Greeley), 2:11: Harris (H) (unassisted), 6:30: Hubbard (H) (Burke, Greeley), 11:56: Burke (H) (unassisted), 15:11: Wood (H) (Bray, O'Brien), 18:49: Wood (H) (Colt, O'Brien), 19:52. Penalty: Hosmer (T), elbowing.

Third Period: Burke (H) (unassisted), 1:41: Wood (H) (Burke), 10:25: Patton (H) (Chase), 12:32: Greeley (H) (unassisted), 12:54: Timpson (H) (Harris, Burke), 14:33: Harris (H) (Timpson), 15:28: Chambers (T) (Wells, Mahoney), 16:31: Wood (H) (Colt), 16:50.