Harvard and Boston College renew their hockey rivalry tonight at 8:15 at B.C.'s McHugh Forum. The top two Boston area squads both look to be in top shape for their first meeting of the year.

A Harvard logician might figure that the Crimson should murder the Eagles by some 11 goals. After all, Harvard whipped Toronto 4-1 during the recent Boston Garden Hockey Festival, while Toronto smashed B.C. by 9-1.

Not so, a B.C. fan would reply. Star goalie Tom Apprille had a bad fever during the loss to Toronto, so the 9-1 score doesn't prove anything. Besides, the Eagles won by 10-2 over an Army team which clobbered Harvard, 5-1, so B.C. should win by 12 goals, not lose by 11.

In other words, anything can happen tonight. Harvard has settled down to win its last four games after beginning the season erratically, and now has an 8-2 record. The Crimson will be trying to take up where it left off in the final game last season, when Gene Kinasewich's hat trick led them to a 4-3 overtime win over B.C. in the championship game of the E.C.A.C. Tournament.

The Eagles return to Boston from upstate New York, where they beat St. Lawrence, 6-5, and lost to powerful Clarkson by only one goal,4-3. Apprille has yielded 38 goals while B.C. has been compiling its 9-3 record, but 18 of those came in two "off nights."

There is nothing the Eagles would rather do than avenge their loss to Harvard in the E.C.A.C. Championship last year. And even if Apprille and his teammates have only an average night tonight, they stand a good chance of doing just that.