The Harvard sextet sets off for the northern edge of New York this weekend, and should return with a victory and a defeat.
Tonight the Crimson meets St. Lawrence, whose 1-9 record is the Larries' worst in ages. With several of its best skaters academically ineligible, St. Lawrence has managed to beat only Yale, in overtime. Harvard's 3-6 mark indicates that it's the better team.
Clarkson
The Clarkson game tomorrow night will be another story. The Golden Knights' 7-2 record is blemished only by a 5-4 upset at the hands of Colgate, and a 3-2 overtime loss to Brown in the semi-finals of the Christmas Tournament in New York City.
Clarkson was the better team even in the loss to Brown, and would have won if two of its shots hadn't hit the post of the Bruins' goal.
For its part, Harvard-did as well as anyone could have expected in splitting its four games over the Christmas vacation. The Crimson upset Providence and Northeastern, and lost only to powerful Michigan and Boston University.
Two especially bright spots emerged from the holiday action. In the 2-1 win over Providence, sophomore Dennis McCollough came off the bench to score both Harvard goals, the second one in the last minute of play with a Crimson skater in the penalty box.
New Goalle
Sophomore goalie Bill Fitzsimmons played in all four games, the first four of his varsity career, and surprised everyone by his steady performance.
Although he yielded eight goals to usually high-scoring B.U., he permitted just six shots to get by him in the other three games. Only some great saves against Providence enabled McCollough's two goals to be enough for a Crimson victory.
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