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1947–48 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season

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1947–48 Harvard Crimson
men's ice hockey season
Conference3rd Pentagonal League
Home iceBoston Arena
Record
Overall9–14–0
Conference3–4–0
Home5–1–0
Road2–9–0
Neutral2–4–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachJohn Chase
Captain(s)John Lavalle
Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey seasons
« 1946–47 1948–49 »

The 1947–48 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season was the 48th season of play for the program. The Crimson represented Harvard University and were coached by John Chase in his 4th season.

Season

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After having played just 20 games over the previous 2 seasons, Harvard was ready to finally shake off the last vestiges of World War II by putting together a 22-game slate, the most ambitious in the history of the program.[1] Before the first game could be played, however, the Crimson encountered problems. One of the team's starting defensemen, Charlie Coulter, contracted viral pneumonia and would be out until after Christmas. His partner, Lou Preston, who was talented enough to be a candidate for the US Olympic Team, was then placed on probation and would be unavailable until after the mid-year exams.[2] Without his top two blueliners, coach Chase had to rearrange the defense quickly for the team's opening games. Luckily for Harvard, Boston College was dealing with roster problems of their own while Brown was playing its first game in 9 years. This enabled the Crimson to open the year with a pair of wins.

Harvard's aspirations were diminished in after the third game when Harvard was thumped by Boston University but the team had the chance to show how good it was with a subsequent 5-game road trip that would tame them through Canada and out into the Midwest. The trip could hardly have gone worse for the Crimson as the team lost all 5 games and most by sizable margins.[3] To make matters worse, John Crocker and Bill Yetman were injured during the trip and unable to compete in the final few games.

With the season spiraling out of control, coach Chase reshuffled the lines, moving Shawn McKean to the top unit with Dave Key and Wally Sears. With Dick Greeley holding the back end with the rest of the defensive corps, the offense stepped to the fore and helped Harvard arrest its slide by scoring 28 goals over two a two-game stretch.[4] After an extended layoff, the scoring continued at a high pace in early February and nearly enabled the Crimson to reach .500.[5]

While the team's 6-game losing streak meant that it would be nearly impossible for the Crimson to earn an NCAA tournament bid, the team could still play spoiler for other hopefuls as it sought to finish out she season strong. Unfortunately, Harvard had not been able to fully resolve its defensive issues and lost three consecutive games, all while averaging 5 goals themselves.[6] After brief interlude when they defeated Williams, Harvard lost another trio of games and sat dead last in the Pentagonal League standings.

The team's final home stand in March saw the defense stiffen and hold Princeton to 2 goals. The following game, which was initially slated to be the last of the season, provided the Crimson with a 1–0 victory over Yale, the team's only shutout on the season.[7] Because the season series with the Elis was a draw, a final rubber match between the two was added and took place the following week. The game turned out to be more of a brawl than a hockey game with both teams complaining about the lack of officiating.[8] While Yale was the better team on the ice, tempers were running high all night and several fights broke out between the two teams. With just 75 seconds remaining in the match, Dave Abbott and Artie Moher got into a confrontation in front of the Yale cage. After being told to go to their respective locker rooms, the two reengaged and Abbott was hit in the mouth Moher's stick. He had to be taken to the local hospital where he received 12 stitches. In order to prevent further chaos, coach Chase pulled his players off of the ice and ended the game prematurely. While it was unclear at the time as to whether or not the game would be ruled a forfeit, eventually the final score was allowed to stand at 10–3 for Yale.[9]

Roster

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No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team
David M. Abbot Sophomore
William A. Allen II Sophomore
Bramwell B. Arnold Senior
John R. Chase Sophomore G
Coste
Charles J. Coulter Jr. Junior D
John Crocker Jr. Graduate F
Fletcher
Richard S. Greeley Junior D/F
Myles D. Huntington Sophomore F
Vincent W. Jones Jr. Graduate
Albert L. Key II Sophomore
David M. Key Jr. Junior F
John E. Lavalle (C) Graduate G
George G. Loring Sophomore
Mauran
Quincy A. S. McKean Jr. Sophomore
George R. Minot II Junior
Thomas C. Moseley Graduate
Murphy
Lewis T. Preston Sophomore (RS) D
Richardson
Walter S. Sears Graduate F
Staples
Lawrence W. Ward Sophomore
Stephen L. Washburn Junior D
Harcourt Wood Junior
William E. Yetman Junior G

[10]

Standings

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1947–48 NCAA Independent ice hockey standings
Intercollegiate Overall
GP W L T Pct. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Army 16 11 4 1 .719 78 39 16 11 4 1 78 39
Bemidji State 5 0 5 0 .000 13 36 10 2 8 0 37 63
Boston College 19 14 5 0 .737 126 60 19 14 5 0 126 60
Boston University 24 20 4 0 .833 179 86 24 20 4 0 179 86
Bowdoin 9 4 5 0 .444 45 68 11 6 5 0 56 73
Brown 14 5 9 0 .357 61 91 14 5 9 0 61 91
California 10 2 8 0 .200 45 62 17 5 12 0 87 89
Clarkson 12 5 6 1 .458 67 39 17 10 6 1 96 54
Colby 8 2 6 0 .250 28 41 8 2 6 0 28 41
Colgate 10 7 3 0 .700 54 34 13 10 3 0 83 45
Colorado College 14 9 5 0 .643 84 73 27 19 8 0 207 120
Cornell 4 0 4 0 .000 3 43 4 0 4 0 3 43
Dartmouth 23 21 2 0 .913 156 76 24 21 3 0 156 81
Fort Devens State 13 3 10 0 .231 33 74 – – – – – –
Georgetown 3 2 1 0 .667 12 11 7 5 2 0 37 21
Hamilton – – – – – – – 14 7 7 0 – –
Harvard 22 9 13 0 .409 131 131 23 9 14 0 135 140
Lehigh 8 0 8 0 .000 8 95 10 0 10 0 12 108
Massachusetts 2 0 2 0 .000 1 23 3 0 3 0 3 30
Michigan 18 16 2 0 .889 105 53 23 20 2 1 141 63
Michigan Tech 19 7 12 0 .368 87 96 20 8 12 0 91 97
Middlebury 14 8 5 1 .607 111 68 16 10 5 1 127 74
Minnesota 16 9 7 0 .563 78 73 21 9 12 0 100 105
Minnesota–Duluth 6 3 3 0 .500 21 24 9 6 3 0 36 28
MIT 19 8 11 0 .421 93 114 19 8 11 0 93 114
New Hampshire 13 4 9 0 .308 58 67 13 4 9 0 58 67
North Dakota 10 6 4 0 .600 51 46 16 11 5 0 103 68
North Dakota Agricultural 5 3 2 0 .600 27 28 6 4 2 0 37 29
Northeastern 19 10 9 0 .526 135 119 19 10 9 0 135 119
Norwich 9 3 6 0 .333 38 58 13 6 7 0 56 70
Princeton 18 8 10 0 .444 65 72 21 10 11 0 79 79
St. Cloud State 12 10 2 0 .833 55 35 16 12 4 0 73 55
St. Lawrence 9 6 3 0 .667 65 27 13 8 4 1 95 50
Suffolk – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Tufts 4 3 1 0 .750 17 15 4 3 1 0 17 15
Union 9 1 8 0 .111 7 86 9 1 8 0 7 86
Williams 11 3 6 2 .364 37 47 13 4 7 2 – –
Yale 16 5 10 1 .344 60 69 20 8 11 1 89 85
1947–48 Pentagonal League standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Dartmouth † 7 7 0 0 1.000 49 20 24 21 3 0 156 81
Army 4 2 2 0 .500 12 17 16 11 4 1 78 39
Harvard 7 3 4 0 .429 31 33 23 9 14 0 135 140
Princeton 7 2 5 0 .286 23 31 21 10 11 0 79 79
Yale 7 2 5 0 .286 20 32 20 8 11 1 89 85
† indicates conference champion

Schedule and results

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Date Opponent Site Result Record
Regular Season
December 3 vs. Boston College* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 4–3  1–0–0
December 4 at Brown* Rhode Island Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island W 10–5 OT 2–0–0
December 10 vs. Boston University* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts L 2–8  2–1–0
December 19 at McGill* Montreal, Quebec L 4–9  2–2–0
December 29 at Colorado College* Broadmoor Ice Palace • Colorado Springs, Colorado L 6–13  2–3–0
December 30 at Colorado College* Broadmoor Ice Palace • Colorado Springs, Colorado L 3–10  2–4–0
January 2 at Minnesota* Minneapolis Arena • Minneapolis, Minnesota L 6–8  2–5–0
January 3 at Minnesota* Saint Paul Auditorium • Saint Paul, Minnesota L 2–7  2–6–0
January 7 vs. Northeastern* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 11–4  3–6–0
January 14 Brown* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 17–3  4–6–0
February 3 vs. Northeastern* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts L 7–8  4–7–0
February 4 Fort Devens State* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 17–2  5–7–0
February 7 Army Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 7–1  6–7–0 (1–0–0)
February 11 vs. Boston University* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts L 6–10  6–8–0
February 14 at Princeton Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey L 4–8  6–9–0 (1–1–0)
February 18 Dartmouth Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts L 5–10  6–10–0 (1–2–0)
February 21 at Williams* Cole Field House Rink • Williamstown, Massachusetts W 5–1  7–10–0
February 25 vs. Boston College* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts L 1–6  7–11–0
February 28 at Dartmouth Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire L 5–8  7–12–0 (1–3–0)
March 3 St. Nicholas Hockey Club* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts (Exhibition) W 4–3 
March 6 at Yale New Haven Arena • New Haven, Connecticut L 3–4  7–13–0 (1–4–0)
March 10 Princeton Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 6–2  8–13–0 (2–4–0)
March 13 Yale Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 1–0  9–13–0 (3–4–0)
March 17 at Yale* New Haven Arena • New Haven, Connecticut L 3–10 †  9–14–0
*Non-conference game.

† Match ended with 75 seconds remaining in the game due to a brawl.
[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Year-By-Year Results" (PDF). Harvard Crimson. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  2. ^ "Powerful Quintet, Weakened Skaters Face Techmen, B.C." The Harvard Crimson. December 3, 1947. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "Hockey, Basketball Have Blue Christmas As Crimson Vacation Campaigns Backfire". The Harvard Crimson. January 5, 1948. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "Crimson Romps over Husky Six, 11-3". The Harvard Crimson. January 8, 1948. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  5. ^ "Crimson Skaters Pillage Rough Fort Devens, 17-2". The Harvard Crimson. February 5, 1948. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "B.U. Tramples Crimson Sextet, 10-6". The Harvard Crimson. February 12, 1948. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  7. ^ "Harvard Outskates Yale Sextet, 1-0, Necessitating Playoff On Wednesday". Yale Daily News. March 15, 1948. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  8. ^ "Chase Stops Game in Hockey Brawl". The Harvard Crimson. March 18, 1948. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  9. ^ "Yale-Harvard Hockey Game Halted With Two Minutes Left To Play Elis Take 10-3 Triumph; Crimson Coach Refuses To Conclude Contest". Yale Daily News. March 18, 1948. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  10. ^ "Letterwinners" (PDF). Harvard Crimson. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  11. ^ "Harvard Men's Hockey year-By-year results" (PDF). Harvard Crimson. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
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