Harvard and Clarkson will both be trying to establish themselves as the East's top team, while Yale and Bowdoin will attempt to win at least one game, in the ECAC Christmas Tournament Monday and Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

Clarkson will probably make Bowdoin forget about the bright lights and seek the more comfortable confines of Division II hockey rinks in the opening game of the first round.

Barring an unlikely Bowdoin upset. Harvard and Clarkson will have a chance to fight it out in the championship game while Yale tries to avoid yet another loss as the Polar Bears lick their wounds in the consolation game.

Well-stocked with Canadians and led by All-American goalie Bruce Bullock. Clarkson is clearly the Crimson's toughest competition, The Golden Knights have beaten U.N.H. 3-2 and St. Lawrence twice en route to an 8-0-1 record thus far this season Their one tie came with Cornell's conqueror, R.P.I., 3-3 in overtime.

Bowdoin is hoping to prove itself in big college competition with and upset over Clarkson. The Polar Bears went 19-3 with an entirely American team last year in Division II and beat four out of the five Division I teams they played. They are 5-1 this year, with a 7-4 loss to U.N.H.

Yale is rather weak. The Bulldogs lost to Colgate, 6-3. B. C., 6-3, Penn, 8-4., and a totally demoralized, uninspired Cornell team. 5-3. Their sole victory came over an even worse team. Northeastern, and then by a single goal, 2-1. The Elis will be lucky to escape the Ivy League cellar. although they are fortunate in having Princeton as a challenger for the honor.

Harvard will have Joe Cavanagh back in the lineup, and he'll be seeking to make up for the points he missed scoring while seeing limited action in the Brown and B. C. games. The Elis will undoubtedly accommodate him, but the going will be rougher against a Clarkson team that may have the tightest defense in the East.

The Crimson will have another shot at the Golden Knights when Harvard takes its annual road trip into the snake pits of northern New York to play Clarkson and St, Lawrence at the end of Christmas vacation.