Depending on the decision of the tournament committee, which will meet by telephone hook-up sometime Sunday, Harvard may have already secured itself a spot in the eight-team NCAA bracket. Four ECAC teams will be selected, but not necessary the four--Clarkson. New Hampshire, Northeastern and Harvard--that play at the Garden Friday. Three times, the committee has decided that a team which lost in the quarterfinal round deserved a shot at the championship, and all three times that team--Boston University twice and Wisconsin (last year)--has gone on to win the national title. It is conceivable, if the Crimson loses big Friday night, that the committee would decide another team--perhaps Providence--should go. If Harvard beats Clarkson, of course, it will clinch a spot...Nine times since 1962, the Crimson has reached the semifinals, including the last three times it made the playoffs, in '74, '75 and '76. The icemen are now 18-14 in playoff games, including two shutouts for and none against...The Harvard crowd, although certainly the loudest and best in Bright Center's history, was well-behaved, saving its ice-barrage for after the game, when victory was in hand. "Hey, there super," Bill Cleary said. "To me that is support. What they've done for us is just great. Those spectators are worth at least one or two goals a game. "Two, in this case...Mark Fusco suffered a large gash on his chin which had to be stitched up between the second and third periods...Mitch Olson smashed into the B.C. goalpost and banged his hip late in the first period. He returned to the game in the second stanza and played tough "D" for the rest of the way.
PLAYOFF TICKETS
The hockey players and season ticket holders will have first crack this morning at the 1200 tickets for each of the playoff nights at the Garden allotted to the Harvard ticket office. After that, there should be 800-900 left for students, probably starting in the afternoon. You should call the ticket office at 9 a.m. for information. Also, there are plenty of tickets available at the Garden. There are no student discounts.
ECAC Playoff Results
Harvard 2, Boston College 0
Clarkson 7, Colgate 4
Northeastern 4, St. Lawrence 3
New Hampshire 4, Providence 2
Friday Night's Games at the Boston Garden
Northeastern (2) vs. New Hampshire (3), 6:15 p.m.
Clarkson (1) vs. Harvard (4) 9:00 p.m.
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