Hockey
In their five games to date Coach Eddie Jeremiah's hockey squad has done surprisingly well considering their late start, lack of practice and other handicaps occasioned by having to rely on natural ice. The Big Green opened the season on January 7 by defeating Norwich 4-2, but three days later it went down to a 5-0 setback at the hands of a fast-skating Harvard sextet. Against Bowdoin and Middlebury, the Indians found little opposition, winning these games by scores of 9-0 and 9-2 respectively, but in the most recent contest with Yale, the Indians could not keep a two-goal lead and finally succumbed 4-2. The high scorer for Dartmouth to date is John Titus, who has scored five goals from his wing position on the first line. Sophomore Chet Gale, a wing on the second line, shares second honors with another sophomore, defenseman Dana Hennigar. both with four goals; while wingman Dick Leary and defenseman Irv Sherwood have scored twice each. Six other players have one goal apiece.
At present Coach Jeremiah has Seaver Peters centering the first line with John Titus and Dick Leary at wings. On the second line William "Whitey" Hamilton teams up with John Towle and Chet Gale at the wings, while the third line has sophomore Ed Heydt at center with Dan McCarthy and Captain Bruce Haertl on the wings. Owen Cote, a utility forward, fits into any of these lines. On defense, Irv Sherwood and Dana Hennigar get the first nod, while Sterling Klinck, Bob Price and Dave Thielscher spell them from time to time. As far as the goalie spot goes, Jeremiah has had a hard time deciding between Fred Hitt, Dave Conlan and Gordie Russell. During the first few games he alternated the three from period to period, but lately Gordie Russell has come out ahead and Jerry may go with him for the rest of the season.
Of all the contests played to date, probably the most recent one with Yale is a better yardstick to the Dartmouth team and their chances in the Pentagonal League than any other, and I would like to report briefly on this contest.
Despite a three-day layoff from practice because of warm weather and poor ice, the Big Green hockey team opened the first period against Yale as though they were going to win by 20 goals. Fast skating coupled with high spirits and good team play kept Dartmouth inside the Yale blue line most of the first stanza and only some fine saves by the Eli goalie kept the score down. Then at the 11-minute mark. John Titus swept past the Yale defenseman and scored unassisted to give Dartmouth its first goal of the evening. A few minutes later, as the second period got under way, Dick Leary took a pass from Titus and blasted home Dartmouth's second goal from 25 feet out. But midway in this period the complexion of the game began to change. Yale, seemingly undaunted by the score, kept pressing the attack against a Dartmouth team which appeared to be weakening. Now the Blue was keeping Dartmouth within its own zone and time and again Goalie Gordie Russell had to save the day. Then seconds before the end of the second period wingman Dan Luftkin scored for Yale on a pass from John Scully.
The third period once again saw the Indians on the defensive as Yale surged back down ice time and again until finally defenseman Charlie Culotta blasted a shot from the blue line which went through the legs of two players and bounded off the skates of a Dartmouth defender into the nets for the goal that tied the game. Four minutes later Captain Larry Noble took a pass from Scully and scored to send Yale into the lead. With 45 seconds remaining in the game and a face-off in the Yale zone, Eddie Jeremiah pulled the Dartmouth goalie out and put six forwards up in hopes of getting back into the game. But the Bulldogs took the face off and Walt
Kilrea slipped past the Dartmouth defenders to score an easy goal from 40 feet out. This was a heart-breaker for the Big Green to lose, but the showing of Jerry's team so far has been encouraging and once they catch up with the other teams in the loop as far as conditioning and skating goes, then the Big Green will provide some potent opposition and may yet make a close race of the Pentagonal Hockey League.
A BIG UPSET: Art Patterson (5), who was top scorer for the Green in the 67-61 victory over Holy Cross at Hanover, shown sinking a field goal toward his 17-point total for the evening.
