The Crimson hockey team meets defending NCAA champion Boston University tonight at 8 p.m. at Walter Brown Memorial Rink in its first stiff test of the season.

Harvard won a decisive 9-3 victory ever New Hampshire last Saturday in the season opener, while the Terriers go into tonight's game with a 5-0 record.

The loss of 12 lettermen from last year's 26-4-1 team has hurt the B.U. squad. All-Americans Dan Brady and John Danby graduated last spring and All-American Bob Brown quit school to play pro hockey. Goalie Tim Regan, the first defense, and the first two lines including Dan 'Toot' Cahoon are not returning.

Ron Anderson, who was elected captain last year, will not skate tonight either. Like Brown, Anderson left school last spring to play in the pros, and Dave Wisener was later chosen to lead the team this year. "I didn't feel I owed B.U. anything." Anderson commented yesterday on his decision to leave the Terriers.

B.U. also lost coach Jack Kelley, who came from Colby College to build the Terriers into a hockey power by recruiting Canadians. Leon Abbott has taken Kelley's place behind the bench.

The top returning scorer, senior Steve Dolloff, centers the first line along with classmates Wisener and Ray Cournoyea. Dolloff has compiled 65 points in two years of varsity play, earning nine goals and 19 assists last season, when he skated on the third line.

The second and third lines boast five sophomores who have moved up from last year's 16-1 freshman squad. Bill Burlington centers the second line with Bill Bishop and freshman Bill Robbins on the wings. Newcomers Buddy Powers. Paul O'Neil and Peter McCann make up the third line.

Sophomore Vic Stanfield, the younger brother of the Boston Bruins's Fred Stanfield, starts on first defense with senior Mike LaGarde. Abbott also pairs a sophomore, Jerry Gryp, with a senior, Dave Warner, on second defense.

Ed Walsh guards the net, having earned 2-4 goals-against average last season, when he saw limited varsity action.

Harvard's lineup remains unchanged from last Saturday's game On defense, Crimson coach Bill Cleary has broken up last season's pairing of captain Kevin Hampe and Dong Elliott and instead plays Hampe with Junior Mark Noonan and Elliott with classmate Bob Muse.

The Terriers have been a high-scoring team so far this winter. They downed Brown, 6-5, in overtime earlier this season after the Bruins' starting goalie was kicked out of the game for fighting in the opening period.

A four-goal spurt in the third period enabled B.U. to take Dartmouth, 6-2, and in the next game the Terriers trounced Air Force, 10-4 B.U. has also downed Lake Superior State College, 6-5, and the University of Minnesota at Duluth, 7-2.

Cleary is confident about tonight's game although B.U. will be playing on home ice. "B.U. has a big rank, and that should be to our advantage because we're a skating team," he said