Minnesota Becomes No. 1 in Hockey

Minnesota has displaced Harvard as the number one college hockey team in the nation in the latest NCAA poll. The gophers sport a 21-9 record. However, the poll was taken before Harvard's Monday night 9-0 Beanpot victory over Northeastern, and it's a good bet that the victory could propel the Crimson back into the number one spot. The win upped Harvard's record to 14-2. Michigan Tech (20-8) is third in the poll, and Boston University (15-3-1) is fourth. Harvard, of course, is still the number one ECAC team with a perfect 12-0 mark.

Boston University was Unimpressive in its win over Boston College. It seems that tight forechecking, which the Eagles employed, and which Harvard employed in its 7-2 win earlier in the year against the Terriers, totally disrupts the B.U. passing game to the point where it is non-existent. The Terriers' defense was shoddy throughout the contest even with the return of Peter Brown, as the B.U. defensemen had difficulty getting the puck out of their zone, making many sloppy passes that Eagle forwards swooped in to intercept.

The big ace-in-the-hole for Harvard, however, is the goaltending. The Crimson's Brian Petrovik is far superior to the Terriers' Brian Durocher, as Crimson fans saw in the first B.U. Harvard contest. In a tight game, Petro could mean the difference between victory or defeat.

PUCKING AROUND--Jim McMahon, by virtue of his hat trick, and Jim Thomas with his pair, in Monday's game, share the team lead in goals with 13...Dave Bell picked up three assists against N.U.