If you have a friend at Cornell, odds are good that you have heard from him this week. Approximately five hundred optimistic Big Red fans who purchased tickets to the hockey nationals several months ago are now trying to unload their $16 investment.

"Our fraternity bought up a whole pack of tickets cause we knew we'd be in the nationals," one Cornell student said. "But Cornell got fucked over in the ECAC's, so we started running around the Garden to the Harvard, Clarkson, and B. U. sections. Clarkson wanted to take most of them, but then they got fucked over too."

At least three Cornell fraternities are now worrying about blocks of 25 or 30 tickets.

The buyer's market at Ithaca was caused by Cornell's experiences with ticket sales last year. With the 1970 finals at Lake Placid, N. Y., approximately 500 Big Red followers ordered tournament tickets in early February. Most of them were surprised with telegrams a month later, that stated that the tournament games were sold out. As a result. this year ticket sales in Ithaca were heavy way back in November.

Speculators were hurt more by Clarkson's loss on Saturday than by the Big Red's defeat in the consolation game. "I made plans to dump my tickets on Clarkson and felt okay at the Garden." one Cornell student said. "But when I heard about B. U. going. I knew I was back in the market again."

One fraternity member reported calling 16 friends in Ithaca. "It's hard to talk someone here into seeing three shitty teams and Denver," he said.

To complete the irony of the situation, Syracuse's auditorium is much larger than the Lake Placid rink so without nearby Cornell or Clarkson in the tournament, it is very unlikely that the games will be sold out.