The 1974-75 version of the Dartmouth hockey squad started its "third season" last weekend by facing the second and third best records in the ECAC (Vermont, 6-1, and Cornell, 8-3) and lost both games. Tonight the hapless Big Green icemen (0-6 in the ECAC) have to take on the best record in the ECAC, as well as the Ivy League, when it invades Watson Rink for a contest with Harvard (10-0 in the ECAC, 5-0 in the Ivies).

Dartmouth's so-called "third season" results from a bizarre schedule that has coach Grant Standbrook's skaters inactive for up to two weeks between games.

The "first season" started November 25 and went through December 4. During that stretch Dartmouth lost to Merrimack 1-2, Princeton 4-5, New Hampshire 1-6, and Boston University 3-14. The squad then rested until the "second season," when it split a pair in the UNH Tourney December 29, losing to Penn and drubbing St. Mary's of Nova Scotia 12-4 for the lone win of the season.

And now the Big Green is heading into its third go-around, and so far it's been as unsuccessful as the first two. Vermont bombed Dartmouth last Friday, 6-2, and Cornell edged the Green in overtime, 7-6.

The Cornell contest showing, despite the loss, was one of the team's best so far. Big Red mentor Dick Bertrand left Hanover muttering "That's a 1-7 team?" as his squad had its hands full all evening. Dartmouth held leads of 3-1, 5-4 and 6-5 before surrendering in OT.

The chief threat for Dartmouth once again this season is the versatile Tom Fleming, who also catches passes and punts for the football squad and runs track. Fleming is the leading scorer with nine goals and six assists, centering a line of Charlie Solberg and Peter Quinn. Last season Fleming led the Ivies in scoring and was voted to the first team All-Ivy squad.

In the nets, Chuck Walker (the man who came from out of the woods last year to frustrate opponents and send Dartmouth to its first ECAC post-season tourney since 1965) is gone. His understudy, Dan Ringsred, will most likely be in goal for tonight's contest.

Ringsred, a junior, has been rotating in nets with sophomore Jeff Sollows this season and both have been equally ineffective. Ringsred sports a 5.58 goals-against average, while Sollows has an average of 5.74.

But despite Dartmouth's dismal record, Billy Cleary's Crimson squad cannot take this one lightly. The Big Green has always given Harvard a tough game: it managed to dump the Crimson last season 5-4 in Watson Rink and tie a powerful Harvard squad 2-2 in Cambridge the year before.