Roth Earns All-New England Honors

With the hockey season coming to a close, it's once again time for the post-season awards and all-star teams to be named. The New England Hockey Writers Association got things started yesterday as it named the 1973-74 All-New England Collegiate Hockey Team.

Boston University and New Hampshire dominated the Division I team, each with two players named to the first squad, which is voted by the region's coaches, writers and officials. New Hampshire's Gordie Clark was the top vote-getter and the only senior selected.

Clark's teammate, sophomore Cap Raeder, was chosen as the first-team goaltender over Boston University senior and captain Ed Walsh, who was selected to the second team. Defenseman Vic Stanfield and forward Bill Burlington, both juniors, were the Terrier representatives on the squad.

Harvard's slick stick-handler and top scorer Randy Roth was the only Crimson player to be named to the first team; linemate and team co-captain Bob Goodenow made the second squad. Rounding out the first team is the Providence freshman sensation, defenseman Ron Wilson.

In addition to Walsh and Goodenow, the second team is composed of defensemen Keith Smith of Brown and Peter Brown of B.U., along with forwards Jamie Hislop of New Hampshire and Tom Fleming of Dartmouth. Walsh, Goodenow and Smith are seniors, while the other three are sophomores.

For most of the all-stars, the season is over. But the Crimson and the Terrier representatives move on to the NCAA tournament Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

B.U. will take on Minnesota on Thursday night at 7:30 in the Boston Garden, and Harvard meets the top-ranked team in the country, Michigan Tech, on Friday evening. The two winners then slug it out on Saturday night at 7:30, while the losers play a consolation game at 2 p.m. that afternoon.

Michigan Tech earned the NCAA playoff spot by defeating Michigan State last weekend in a two-game series, in which the winner is decided by the total goals scored in the two contests. Tech outpointed State 12-10 in goals, after a 6-2 romp on Sunday.

Minnesota struggled with Denver, last year's NCAA runnerup, and came up with a 5-4 edge in goal scoring. The squads tied Saturday, 3-3, and the Golden Gophers eked out a 2-1 win over the Pioneers on Sunday.

Playing in the NCAAs will be no new experience for any of the schools. B.U. has made nine trips to the event, Minnesota has participated seven times, and Harvard and Michigan Tech have rated six appearances each.

Harvard and Minnesota never have won the national championship, while B.U. took back-to-back wins in 1971 and '72. The Terriers belted Minnesota, 4-2 for the '71 title. Michigan Tech nabbed the crown in 1962 and in 1965, when the Huskies clobbered Boston College, 8-2, behind the goaltending of Tony Esposito.