It's not going to be easy. In fact, it will be an uphill battle for the Crimson hockey squad this season as it faces one of the toughest schedules in a long while.

The highlights of the 1973-74 hockey line-up include: 15 away games (not including the annual Beanpot Tournament) and only seven contests in the friendly surroundings of Watson Rink; back-to-back games in the snowy snakepits of St. Lawrence and Clarkson December 7 and 8 and at Colgate and Cornell February 15 and 16; a Christmas tournament December 26-28 against St. Louis, North Dakota and Minnesota followed a day later with a game against Notre Dame; and four games December 2-8 against very respectable opponents...need I go on?

About the only bright spot in the schedule are games against Princeton and possibly Yale, which the Crimson downed, 6-1, in a pre-season scrimmage last Sunday night.

Coach William Cleary has his work cut out for him. He has to mold a disciplined, well-conditioned unit if he hopes to overcome the had luck-of-the-draw as far as opponents are concerned. Working against him, however, is a lack of experience, especially in the defensive corps.

Lost to graduation are defensemen Kevin Hampe, Bob Muse and Doug Elliott as well as starting goaltender Joey Bertagna. Of the top defensive pairings, only co-captain Mark Noonan is back. His leadership, experience and talent will have to go a long way in stabilizing the defense.

The big question for this year's team is goaltending. At the end of last season it appeared that Bertagna's backup, senior Steve Perry, had the position sewn up. But it now appears that sophomores Jim Murray and John Aiken have the inside track on the job.

Perry, despite being a letter winner last season, saw little action in the nets and thus has only a slight edge in experience over both Murray and Aiken. Cleary may choose to go with youth in the goal this year looking to develop seasoned netminding for the next two campaigns.

Despite the loss of the "Locals," the offense again looks to be potent this season. Clearly has seven returning forwards and six-up from the freshman ranks with which to work out for lines. This year, more than ever, it appears that a solid fourth line will be a necessity if Harvard is to have a successful record.

The overall picture is not as bright as it was last year at this time when the Crimson ranked in the top five nationally and finished with a fantastic 17-4-1 record. In the early rankings this month Harvard just barely made the top ten. The predictions have not been great, but then look at what the scribes said about the Harvard football team in early September.