Yale Hockey Team Nips Crimson In 3-2 Surprise Overtime Victory

Yale's hockey team, marked by a disappointing second division finish in Ivy standings, ended its season on a bright note by upsetting Harvard, 3-2 Saturday night, in the last regular game of the season.

Harvard had beaten Yale 7-2 in a game the previous week, but there was a lack of incentive Saturday, as the Crimson had clinched second place in the league as well as second seeding in the ECAC tournament.

Yale Opens Scoring

Yale opened the scoring in the second period at 3:36 when sophomore, Terry DeMeza combined with linemates Bob Ufer and Brian Bird to beat Harvard goalie Bruce Durno. Harvard counter-attacked at 6:45 when junior George McManama took a Chris Gurry pass and rammed the puck past Yale goalie Steve Holahan. The Crimson took the lead in the third period when Dwight Ware scored on a breakaway with assists to Skip Freeman and Chip Otness.

Yale tied up the game at 2-2 with three minutes remaining in the game when Ufer scored after a scramble in front of Durno. Holahan, who made 34 stops in the game, prevented a Harvard victory when he stopped sophomore Steve Owen's breakaway in the closing minutes of the game.

The sudden death overtime, which was necessitated by the tie, ended as Ufer skated from the Yale end, and shot from 35 feet, beating Durno for the win.

Harvard finished its regular season record at 16-6-1 and will enter the first round of the ECAC tournament Tuesday night when it hosts UNH at Watson Rink.