HOCKEY

Close but no cigar has become an overworked cliche for Dartmouth's hockey team this season. There are any number of Ivy League coaches who will tell you that the Indians are skating better and playing harder than they have in recent years but the rewards have been skimpy.

With seven games remaining, and virtually all of them toughies, Grant Standbrook's skaters stand 6-11 and seem destined for a fifth-place finish in the Ivy League race. But while the Indians won't win the title, they still might have much to say about who does. The bugaboo of close losses has been softened only slightly by victories over Northeastern (11-0) and St. Lawrence (3-2), and while the wins have come outside the league, the losses have all been in Ivy action.

And they've all been close. Cornell, the defending national champ, holds two decisions over Standbrook's gang that were well-earned but not over- whelming. At Ithaca, a big second period (four goals) set up a 5-2 Cornell win. At Hanover, in the Winter Carnival game, Cornell made the most of two man-short goals and another on a power play to win, 4-1.

"We seem to play a good period and then have a period where we make mistakes," said Standbrook. "We play extremely well at times but then run into streaks of inconsistency."

Against Penn, a 5-4 victor at Davis Rink, the Indians gave up two quick garbage goals and then battled back to tie the game, 4-4, only to see victory disappear in overtime.

The romp at Northeastern was particularly amazing because it materialized without the services of Ken Davidson, the high-scoring captain, who was nursing a hip injury. Senior Dave Hill and sophomore Dana Johnson each bagged three goals and Mike Turner, who is dogging Davidson for the scoring lead, added two more scores. Peter Proulx as goalie garnered his first shutout and the Indians' power play was perfect on three tries.

St. Lawrence nearly took advantage of miscues before two goals by Turner, the decider on a power play, pulled the Indians to victory. His left wing, Johnson, had the other goal plus a pair of assists and also came up with the Dartmouth goal in the Carnival test with Cornell.

At this point, the Indians have little to show as tangible proof of improvement. Still, it's there. Davidson, who must rank with the best skaters in the Ivy League, is close to a career total of 100 points, and the sophomores are coming along, particularly Proulx and Johnson.

Despite the record, things are looking up.