Icemen Host Princeton In Watson Rink Finale

Boston College wasn't the only squad that was pleased by the ECAC playoff seedings that were released Monday; oddly enough, a team that was eliminated from consideration by mid-January also found them quite enjoyable.

Because new that Harvard has been seeded fifth, and not fourth as the Crimson had hoped, it will have no incentive other than pride to win tonight's hockey game against Princeton. And this, of course is what the Tigers have been hoping for all along.

Last Saturday, the same Princeton squad that had wallowed in the Ivy League cellar all winter won its third straight contest, 5-2 at Dartmouth. For the first time since early January, the Tigers stood a decent chance of moving past slumping Yale and Pennsylvania.

Harvard, furthermore, has no real reason or need to consider either tonight's contest or Saturday's rematch with Yale as "must" games. The ECAC seeding committee implied that the fifth-place seed was definite, and that regardless of the results of he Crimson's last two games, it will remain so.

So the stage is clearly set for an upset. Last month, at Princeton's cavernous Baker Rink, the Tigers remained within two goals of Harvard until the final two minutes of play, even though their goal-tender. Middy Tilghman, was experiencing a rather shaky game. Conceivably, Princeton could do as well tonight, especially in view of the fact that the squad has jelled considerably since that time.

But Harvard, too, has put things back together since early February. The first Princeton game came in the middle of a slump that included losses to Penn and Boston University, and an unimpressive overtime triumph over Northeastern. It wasn't until a week later that Crimson coach Cooney Weiland shifted All-American center Joe Cavanagh to defense, and Harvard's coordination consequently regained its previous quality.

S?? a Tiger victory tonight seems slightly more unlikely than it was a month ago, although Princeton obviously has more to gain this time. Four weeks ago, all a victory over Harvard would have meant was a little more help in staying above the bottom of the League.

But tonight, assuming Dartmouth loses at Cornell, a Princeton triumph means a fourth-place finish-the first-division berth Tiger supporters had given up on months ago.