The varsity hockey team, recently ranked fourth in the East, lost some prestige last night. The loss came in the form of an upset 4-3 defeat by Boston University after 32 seconds of sudden death overtime at the Garden.

Middlebury, a small college with a powerful hockey team, will face the Crimson this afternoon in its third game of the season at the Watson Rink. WHRB will broadcast the game, starting at 2:55.

For those who want an explanation for the defeat, an exact one will be elusive. Perhaps the Terriers, forechecking and backchecking all night with surprising abandon, were far better conditioned than the Crimson. Perhaps the varsity's inability to get in position for accurate shots at the goal, or the alert goaltending of B.U.'s Ralph Vite, was the deciding factor.

None of these really explain the bare fact that the favored Crimson was never ahead. The score was tied 2-2 at the end of the first period, and most observers expected the varsity to pull ahead permanently early in the second. The period was instead a bogged-down affair with play alternately concentrated in each team's defensive zone.

John Carruthers got around the Crimson defense and put B.U. in the lead, 3 to 2, at 15:24. Two minutes later Bob Owen backhanded Bob McVey's pass from 20 feet out into the lower right corner to tie the score for the third and last time.

Game Reaches Overtime

After a scoreless third stanza, in which the Terriers backchecked furiously and seemed content with a tie, the game went into sudden death overtime. Almost immediately Forbes Keith got a breakaway in the B.U. zone and, racing to the Crimson blue line, shot a tricky bouncer into Charlie Flynn's pads. For a second the rebound stopped dead six feet in front of the poised Flynn. Terrier captain Jack Murphy got around the defense and slapped in the loose puck for the deciding goal.

Coach Cooney Welland effectively used a third line of Joe Crehore, John Hamlen, and Dave Holmes or Albie Wells throughout the game. Holmes scored the first varsity goal on Crehore's rebound at 9:41 at 9:41 of the first period.

The freshman hockey team scored its second straight victory of the season in the preliminary game by defeating B.U. 8 to 4.

Four first period goals by Bill Collins, Dick Fisher, Billy DeFord, and Dick McLaughlin gave the Yardlings a commanding lead which they never lost.