Hockey
Speaking of frustration, you have come to the right department here. If you have tears, prepare to shed, them now. It is my melancholy duty to report that the hockey team had its worst year in many moons, and certainly its least successful season in the phenomenally successful tenure of Coach Eddie Jeremiah. The team had an overall record of a mere 4 victories against 16 defeats, and the Pentagonal League final standing showed the Green snugly in last place, with 8 defeats and o victories. This depressing situation had arisen from one fact, simple in theory but complicated in practice—namely, no scoring punch. Time and again, the Green would hold the opposition (largely through the superhuman efforts of goalie Dick McMahon) to two or three goals, only to be unable to produce more than one or two themselves. In the eight League games, for example, the team scored 11 goals in all. A couple of boys named Riley could have scored that many by themselves in one night. With the exception of a few games when the defense fell apart, the team was good in this respect. But there was nobody who could consistently put the puck away.
The class of 1952 is a strong athletic class and contributed a large contingent to the hockey team, as well as to the basketball team, as noted above. Among the men who have played their last game for Dartmouth are Whitey Dunlap, Hank Waters, Joe Scully, Ted Haskell, and Gene Teevens in the front lines; Captain John Grocutt and Howie Smith at defense; and Dick McMahon at goalie. This just about wipes out the starting unit, with the exception of sophomore Irv Sherwood at the other defense post. As we have noted periodically, there are several talented sophomores in this aggregation, but most of them appear to be at least a year away. So Coach Jeremiah, like Coach Julian, will have his work cut out for him next year.
Dartmouth Varsity 9, Dartmouth Alumni6. In a contest that is by way of becoming a Dartmouth institution, the old grads came back to town for one evening at the close of the regular season and brought with them memories of happier days in the not-too-distant past. With such operatives as the immortal Riley line (brothers Jack, Billy, and Joe), Ralph Warburton, Bruce Cunliffe, Bruce Mather, Dick Rondeau, Walt Crowley, and an old gentleman named Jeremiah who played defense (and played it so zealously that he got a penalty) —with such operatives once more on the ice, I say, the eyes of Coach Jeremiah must have misted over at the remembrance of things past.
The only oversight on the part of this overpowering aggregation of erstwhile greats was that they neglected to bring a goalie with them. The logical candidate for this honor was Dandy Dick Desmond who was, unfortunately, out of the country with the United States Olympic Team. He was accompanied on this junket by Arnie Oss and Cliff Harrison, to give Dartmouth three leading operatives on the team that was runner-up to Canada in the final standings. To return to the Alumni team, however, the only goalie they could muster was Earl Seeley, who was last seen on the local ice in 1939, when he graduated from college. It is no reflection on Earl to suggest that, in view of the fact that he had not been on skates for more years than he cares to think about, he was something less than adequate in this role. So the varsity had its own brief hour of glory, winning over the old-timers, 9 to 6.
DARTMOUTH HOCKEY STARS OF YESTERYEAR who assembled in Hanover on March 8 for the annual benefit game with the varsity team included (I to r): front row-Bob Merriam '48 Mike Thayer 46, Earl Seeley '39, Bob Amirault '49, Jim Gregg '50, John Krol '43; second row-Bill Riley 46 Joe Riley 49, Eddie Jeremiah '30, Jack Riley '44, Danny Sullivan '40, Spif Kerivan '50, Walt Crowley 50; back row Tom Warner '50, Ralph Warburton '47, Bruce Mather '47, Paul Guibord 36, George Pulliam 45, Soup Campbell '41, Dick Rondeau '44, and Bob Gray '50.
