The varsity hockey team blew open a close game with Dartmouth with two goals in the first minute of the third period and went on to a 9-4 victory Saturday night.

The Crimson, overconfident and looking ahead to Wednesday's crucial clash with B.U., played a sloppy first period, while the Big Green got brilliant goaltending from sophomore Peter Proulx and scrappy hockey from its sophomore-laden squad for a 2-1 first-period lead.

Although Harvard came back with five second-period goals. Dartmouth kept it close on goals by captain Ken Davidson and Mike Turner, who had scored the first two Big Green goals.

Harvard started the second period skating hard, and captain Joe Cavanagh rifled home a snapshot at 0:17 and set up a Dan DeMicheie score at 0:55 for an 8-4 bulge. Good checking and defense kept the Crimson out of trouble the rest of the game.

Penalties

The contest was marked by numerous Dartmouth penalties. Four of Harvard's goals came on power plays, but the Crimson missed many other opportunities, including two two-man advantages. Flaring tempers throughout the game produced two outright fights and a hard-hitting contest.

Cavanagh collected two goals and three assists to bring his season total to 12 points. His linemates DeMichele and Cooch Owen produced four and three points respectively, while each member of the junior line-Tom Paul, Lief Rosenberger, and Bob Havern-scored a goal and two assists.

Sophomore David Hynes scored on a breakaway, and Bob McManama had a goal and an assist.

Balanced Scoring

The balanced scoring in Saturday's game demonstrated that this year's team-unlike last year's-has three equally dangerous lines. The Crimson balance wore Dartmouth out Saturday night.

In the first period, the Crimson played poor defense. did very little back checking and fore checking, and missed numerous easy opportunities to score. Proulx stuffed a Cavanagh breakaway, stopped a Hynes-and-McManama two-on-one and came up with some sensational saves. Meanwhile, goalie Bruce Durno was keeping the Crimson in the game.

The second period was brighter for the Crimson, as it played much better defense. The Big Green only managed scores on a two-man advantage and on a fluke breakaway.

Dartmouth, which demonstrated a much-improved team over last year's squad, relies heavily on the sophomores, who posted an 18-3 record last year-and two losses were to Harvard, Seven of the 16 regulars are sophomores.

Harvard will face its first challengers in the next eight days when it meets B.U., Brown and B.C., all of which should be difficult opponents.