McEvoy gave the Harvard coaching staff a scare when he went down in the third period of the Princeton game. The Crimson had no back-up goalie on the bench, and Harvard Coach Bill Cleary admitted, "I don't know what I would have done" had McEvoy not been able to finish up.
Cleary was thinking about sending for one of his freshmen goalies to come to West Point, N.Y., Saturday night for the Crimson's game against Army. But, said Cleary, "I didn't know how I'd get him up here." So the Crimson again sent McEvoy onto the ice without anyone to back him up. "I was praying nothing would happen to him," Cleary said.
"Maybe it's a blessing to see McEvoy get that kind of experience," the Crimson coach added.
Same Time Last Year: The Crimson has gotten off to a faster start in 1986 than last year's NCAA runners-up Harvard squad. After four games last season, against the same quartet of opponents of Brown, Yale, Princeton and Army, Harvard was only 3-1. The team had scored 22 goals and allowed 16.
This year's Crimson squad has scored one fewer goal, but the stingy defense has given up only eight.
A Glance at Hockey East: Sixth-ranked Maine is making its presence felt in the Hockey East conference. Earlier this month, the Black Bears twice knocked off then-nationally ranked Boston University. Friday night, they tied last year's national champion--Michigan State--3-3, in East Lansing, Mich. The third-ranked Spartans came back the following night to upend Maine, 4-0.
The contests were part of Hockey East's arrangement with the CCHA to play interlocking schedules. The experience of playing teams from other conferences should come in handy for these squads come NCAA tournament time. The ECAC teams, on the other hand, are handicapped by the fact that they play games mostly among themselves, although lack of experience didn't seem to hurt Harvard last year, or NCAA Champion RPI two seasons ago.
Blowing the Whistle: Harvard's games thus far have been penalty-fests, as the officials are making an effort to crack down on unnecessary violence. There were 17 penalties in the Princeton game, and 16 last week in the Yale contest.
A new rule this year in college hockey mandates that a skater committing a violation remain in the penalty box for the duration of his penalty, even if the other team scores a power-play goal in the meantime. He can be substituted for if the other team scores, but the player himself cannot return to the ice. It is hoped this stiffer penalty will discourage needless aggression.
THE NOTEBOOK'S NOTEBOOK: Harvard has yet to fall behind in a contest this year...Clarkson walloped Cornell 7-0, and St. Lawrence beat the Big Red, 2-1, to hand the highly-regarded squad from Ithaca, N.Y., its third loss in four league games. The Big Red had been ranked as high as seventh in the nation at one point this season...After an 8-3 victory over Colgate, St. Lawrence (4-0 ECAC) is the ECAC's only other undefeated team...Harvard scored three goals in a five minute span three times in the two contests...The polite Army crowd applauded when the Crimson took the ice Friday night...The icemen are at Dartmouth the day after Thanksgiving, and then return to Cambridge the next night to host the Big Green.