To have given Harvard a chance of beating the Boston College hockey team at the start of the season would have been like picking the Yankees for sixth place last spring -- nice to dream of, but you can't be serious.

B.C. had All-American John Cuniff, last year high scorer in the ECAC; Phil Dyer, Jim Mullen, and John Moylen, who such racked up more points last year than Harvard's top two returning scorers combined; and goalie Pat Murphy, all back from the squad that made it to the CAA finals.

On top of that, B.C. coach "Snooks" Kelley had Paul "The Shot" Hurley and her graduates of a freshman team that had crushed the Harvard freshmen, 6 to 2.

Yet the supposedly invincible Bronx Bombers really did bomb out, and it wasn't so surprising in retrospect. And there would be just as little mystery tonight in McHugh Forum, where the Crimson really could beat the pollsters' pick for number one in the East.

The explanation lies in the injuries B.C. has sustained. Cuniff, Dyer, and Moylen are all hurt, along with defensemen Woodie Johnson and Tom Lufkin.

Without their stars, the Eagles have been losing, and losing big: 9 to 2 to B.U. last month, and 5 to 0 to Clarkson and 9 to 3 to St. Lawrence, both last weekend.

Meanwhile, under Coach Cooney Weiland's incessant shuffling, the Harvard skaters have been maturing into a solid club that has been losing to B.C.'s conquerors, but by narrower, two-goal margins.

Resounding Win

And after Saturday's resounding 9-5 win over New Hampshire the Crimson stands in an improbable position over B.C. in the Eastern Conference standings, with a 4-5-1 record against ECAC teams opposed to the Eagles' 4-6-0 mark.

B.C. is riding a three-game losing streak, inaugurated by Northeastern, but all three losses were suffered away from McHugh Forum, which regularly contains 4000 vocal B.C. partisans. Playing in the Eagles' nest makes Harvard the underdog in what could otherwise be listed an even match.

Against New Hampshire Saturday the latent scoring punch of the sophomore second line broke loose, as wings Bob Fredo and Don Grimble scored twice and center Jack Garrity tallied once. If Welland can produce a potent third line from Eric Rosenberger, Pete Miller, Jorge Gonzalez, and his converted defensemen, Kevin Burke and Bobby Clark, to go with the consistently productive front trio, then the Harvard offense will keep up with anyone.

The problem tonight will be containment. Goalie Bill Fitzsimmons has let in some real fluke scores in recent games, and tonight, unlike last Saturday, every goal will be vital.

The defense pairs will be Bob Carr, rapidly progressing into Harvard's top defenseman, with Tag Demment, who shoots and hits as hard as anyone wearing Crimson, and Ben Smith with senior Gordie Price.

Of these four, three are sophomores and three were forwards last year, reasons why each game has seen defensive lapses and why Harvard has held only two opponents to under three goals.

Fighting Eagles

Harvard will not be able to enlarge this list against an Eagle team that will be fighting hard to regain the winning path before a friendly crowd. But Harvard won't be held down either and will upset the aerie with the big game the Crimson's followers have been looking for for the last month.

The game will be televised live on Channel 38 and will be broadcast by WHRB.