Streaking Along Route ECAC

The Crimson ventured into the jungles of upstate New York last weekend for the first real tests of its young hockey season.

Colgate sported a nifty 8-1 record, and Cornell--last year's ECAC Champion--always plays tough at home. The cynics felt certain one of these matches would end Harvard's six-game winning streak.

But Harvard left them red-faced again, as the Crimson pounded the Red Raiders, 5-2, and completed the sweep with a 6-3 destruction of the Big Red.

The victories gave Harvard an 8-0 record and a solid hold on first place in the ECAC. St. Lawrence, which had been the conference's other undefeated team, suffered two losses over the weekend, to Brown and Yale, and fell to third place in the ECAC with a 4-2 record. The Bulldogs are in second place with a 5-1 mark.

Against Cornell, the Crimson faced All-America forward Joe Nieuwendyk, and one Harvard observer was favorably impressed.

"He's an unselfish hockey player," Harvard Coach Bill Cleary said. "He attracts the puck and that's the sign of a good hockey player. He's got good balance and good reach. He's smart. I have nothing but admiration for a good hockey player. I don't care if he scores a hundred goals against us, I'm still going to admire him."

For all his talent, however, Nieuwendyk recorded only a single assist against the Crimson.

Visions of Greatness This is the team's best start since 1936-'37, when the Crimson started the season with a 13-0 mark and finished at 15-1.

In case you're dreaming of greater glories for this squad, there have been seven undefeated teams in Harvard's 86 seasons of hockey. The Crimson even went four straight years--1902 to 1906--without dropping a contest, although it played an average of only five games a season in that span.

The 1908-'09 team was the most recent team to emerge unscathed, ending with an 8-0 ledger.

Perhaps the most impressive statistic regarding the Crimson's recent success on the ice is that Harvard has scored the first goal in each of its last 16 games, a string which dates back to the March 7 victory over Colgate in the ECAC quarter-finals.

That is an astounding total for a hockey team. It's impressive for any team, actually.

The 1962-'63 Crimson--which finished with a 21-3-2 record--compiled the best winning percentage of any post-World War II Harvard hockey team and tallied first in only 15 of its 26 contests.

The 1972 Miami Dolphins football team, the only post-war major professional squad to finish a season undefeated, generously allowed their opponents to score first in four of 17 games.

Left Wing on a Tear A major reason for Harvard's success has been the sterling play of Lane MacDonald. The first-line left wing picked up four more goals and an assist in the two games, to increase his lead in the ECAC scoring race. With 19 on the year, MacDonald leads Princeton's John Messuri by four points, and teammate Tim Barakett by five.

On the Road Again The Crimson's off to Providence tonight for the year's final matchup against Brown. After falling to the Crimson, 5-2, in the season opener, the Bruins have gone 2-3 in the ECAC, and are 4-5 overall.

For the first in seven games, John Devin--who injured his knee in warm-ups three weeks ago--will start in net for the Crimson.