An unexpectedly savage sextet from Dartmouth supported by Bob Tharinger's phenomenal teepee-tending held Harvard to an unimpressive 4-2 Ivy League win at Watson Rink Wednesday night. The Indians came to town dragging a 4-15 record and a 14-2 loss at Cornell behind them, but they skated hard all the way in a fierce, stick-slashing style that threw the Crimson off-stride until the final period.

Harvard carried a 3-2 lead into the third period on two goals by Jack Turco and one by Pete Mueller. Although Bobby Bauer tallied the final period's only marker, Harvard outshot the Hanoverians 26-6. Tharinger, a second-string senior who had made but 53 saves all season, wound up with 50 Wednesday, including a good number on point-blank shots.

No Field Day

Harvard came out expecting a field day against a team that had yielded 68 goals in losing nine of its last ten games, including a 7-2 decision to Harvard at Hanover and a 4-3 defeat by pathetic Penn.

Mueller got the ball off to a rolling start after only 1:44 of play. Linemates Kent Parrot and Ron Mark gave-and-go-down the ice and left the puck in front of the crease. Mueller's initial shot was blocked by Tharinger, but the junior wing slid in the rebound.

Then Dartmouth, to everyone's surprise, joined the scoring act. Five seconds after the evening's first penalty was called on Crimson defenseman Chris Gurry, Tom Coffman tipped in Tom Long's shot from the blue line.

Turco's unassisted goal at 9:29 moved Harvard back in front, but broken sticks characterized the remainder of the frame.

Dartmouth's sophomore standout Kent Nyberg, who played on the Indians' one strong line with Coffman and Rusty Martin, tied the score at 2-2, 96 seconds into the second period. But Turco, Harvard's leading goal-getter, restored the lead at 5:05 on a play set up by defenseman Ben Smith.

Turco, George McManama, and Dwight Ware turned on Harvard's scrambling pressure in the third period, but Thrainger responded with sprawling, magnetic stops all over the crease.

Harvard's only success was co-authored by Bauer and Chris Gurry. The sophomore defenseman broke up a rush out of the Dartmouth zone by the Indian first line and fed Bauer in the middle. The junior winger faked his way artfully to the edge of the crease before lifting the puck over Tharinger.

Everyone got into the shooting match thereafter, but came off the ice shaking their heads.

Harvard goalie Bill Diercks, for his part, was called on to make six good saves each period, as his defense--minus sore-shouldered Terry Flaman--didn't have its best game.

The Crimson will end the regular season with away-and-home weekend games against Yale, with an Ivy-title-deciding contest at Cornell sandwiched in between.

The win raised Harvard's record to 13-8 for the season, strengthening the Crimson's hold on fourth place in the ECAC standings. Harvad is 6-1 in the Ivy League.