A successful season for the hockey team is on the line tonight when the skaters take on Princeton in Watson Rink. Shufflling frantically to salvage respectability, Coach Cooney Weiland has shaken up his personnel in the hopes of breaking out of the Crimson's worst slump of the year.

Ten days ago the Harvard icemen were riding high after their upset-of-the-year over a Cornell team which has subsequently clinched its first Ivy League championship. But the Crimson's fall off that cloud was fast, as they lost badly to Brown a week ago, then were upset for the second time this year by Yale, 8-5, last Saturday.

Harvard Needs Wins

Now Harvard needs wins tonight and next Saturday against Yale to finish third in the Ivy League and break even for the season. And the Crimson needs to win both games big to keep alive its faint hopes for an invitation to the ECAC playoffs.

Princeton stunned the Crimson 6-3 on February 5 -- the first time the Tigers have beaten Harvard in hockey in 13 years. That was right after Harvard's exam break, and the score tonight should more closely resemble the result of the teams' first game, which was 6-3 for result for the Crimson.

The Tigers can score, as illustrated by the eight goals they netted in one period on the way to defeating Yale, 10-7, two weeks ago. Sophomore Terry Peterman is one of the Ivies' top scorers this year, and fellow Ontarians John Ritchie and Mike Spence give Peterman potent support.

To face the Bengals, Weiland has devised three all-new lines and defenses. Sophomore Ben Smith will join Kent Parrot and Dennis McCullough on the first line, and Pete Waldinger moves to the second line with Jack Garrity and Bob Fredo.

Canadian Line

The three Canadians on the Harvard roster -- Don Grimble, Pete Miller, and Gordie Price -- have been united on the third line.

Weiland will have six defensemen to work with, though Bob Carr will miss the game because of strained knee ligaments.

As for the ECAC playoffs, the selection commitee announced Monday that seven of the eight teams have been chosen, with the final spot to go to either Colgate, Harvard, or Yale. Colgate's 7-7-1 record against Division I teams is considerably better than Harvard's 7-10, however, and includes wins over both first place Clarkson and second-place Boston University.