Clarkson Six Surprises Crimson With 7-4 Upset

The 1972-73 Harvard hockey season ended last night. For the first time in the history of the ECAC tournament the number seven seed knocked off the number two seed in a quarterfinal round. It was the Golden Knights of Clarkson who charged into the record books last night as the squad convincingly beat the Crimson, 7-4.

Harvard was supposed to have Clarkson's number, having beaten the Golden Knights four of five times in ECAC competition. But last night it seemed the operator kept cutting in with "Sorry, wrong number."

Plenty of Hustle

Harvard was flat, coming into the game with three consecutive victories over weak opponents. Clarkson was psyched for a win, and the team deserves a lot of credit for good forechecking and plenty of hustle.

The Crimson fell behind early in the contest on goals by Brian Mason and Russ Audycki in the first period. Mason's goal at 7:47 came on a slap shot from just inside the point that caught Joe Bertagna unprepared.

Bob Goodenow and Bob McManama put the Crimson back into the contest in the opening minutes of the second period, but the tie was short-lived. Clarkson came back with two more to give the squad a 4-2 lead after two period.

Goodenow's tally came on a nice play that saw him spin around with the puck and slide it across the ice past Clarkson goalie Carl Piehl. McManama's score came with Harvard a man down at 5:08. It looked as though that would be the lift the team needed.

But Clarkson never said die and poured in three more in the third period to win going away. Dan O'Driscoll, John Paterson and Audycki capped the Golden Knight scoring. Dave Gauthier made it look almost respectable by scoring two goals within 40 seconds late in the game, bringing the score to its final figures, 7-4.

Gauthier's first goal came on a perfect pass from Ted Thorndike in front of the crease, and the second goal snuck between Piehl's legs at 16:42.

Clarkson's Piehl had 30 saves in net, while Bertagna had 24 and Steve Perry, who played the first half of the third period, had five.

Seniors Bill Corkery, Bob McManama, Joe Bertagna, captain Hampe, Bob Muse, Doug Elliott, Harry Reynolds, Larry Desmond and Jay Riley suited up for their last game at Harvard. McManama led all scores with 51 points while Corkery finished second with 50. Elliott ended up as the top penalty getter, totaling 70 minutes in the box for the season and 202 minutes in career penalties.

It was a disappointing finish to an otherwise great season. Harvard made a lot of mental errors and couldn't get off enought good shots on Piehl. As one fan put it after the game ended, "They skated like Guatemalans out there, most of whom have never seen ice before."

ECAC QUARTERFINALS

It was a night for upsets in the ECAC tournament quarterfinal round. In addition to Clarkson surprising Harvard, fifth-seeded Penn upended defending champion Boston University, 7-3, at Walter Brown Rink.

In other action, third-seeded Boston College edged New Hampshire and as expected, number one seed Cornell walked all over RPI, 9-3. Clarkson will face the Big Red in the semifinals and Penn will play B.C. Both games are Friday night at Boston Garden.