A discouraged Harvard hockey varsity journeys into the hills of New Hampshire today. In the small town of Hanover, 50 miles north of nowhere, the Crimson will clash with a league-leading Dartmouth sextet which has won its last three games.

In direct contrast, Harvard has dropped its last two games, losing a double-overtime duel to Boston University in the opening round of the Beanpot last Monday and then wasting another excellent effort Wednesday in a 2-1 decision to Cornell.

Dartmouth, in addition, has been defeated only once this season on its home ice. Against Princeton last Saturday, the Indians' third line demonstrated that for the first time in three years, coach Ab Oakes can rest his first two lines and put something more than a bunch of plumbers on the ice.

One Loss

Both teams recall, however, that Dartmouth's Ivy record is blemished by a solitary loss--to Harvard on a goal whose legality, at best, can be called questionable.

Dartmouth may be out for revenge, but the Crimson will be seeking a much more basic objective. The varsity must win to keep any vestige of its title hopes alive. A third league defeat would effectively remove Harvard from the running.

Coach Cooney Weiland believes his team can repeat their mid-January victory over the Indians despite its two recent losses. His third line has also been playing well lately; sophomore John Stevens scored the lone goal against Cornell Wednesday. And even more encouraging, the second line, last Year's scoring leaders, has shown increasing signs of life.

Defense Developing

Curiously, an effective offense, supposedly Harvard's real strength this year, has failed to materialize while the defense, a significant problem at the beginning of the season, has become the Crimson's forts.

Brandy Sweitzer has allowed an average of only 2.3 goals a game, and has received excellent support from his defensemen, John Daly, Mike Patterson, Bob Clark, and Bill Fryer, recently reconverted into a fourth defenseman.

The Crimson can't afford another league loss. If it does lose today, it will be the first time the varsity has lost three in a row in at least five years. In the U.S., Indians are used to losing; there's no reason why the Dartmouth brand can't get back to normal this morning.