With the temporary demise of Cornell hockey, a new powerhouse is beginning to flex its muscles in the East. And that team, the Vermont Catamounts, will be at Watson Rink tonight (7:30 p.m. starting time) looking to pull a major upset and knock Harvard from its unbeaten ECAC petch.

"We are in awe of no one," Cat coach Jim Cross said yesterday. "We've played some of the best squads around specifically Wisconsin and B.U., and played them well. The game at Watson will be a tough test, but it should be a good one."

Vermont has stormed to third place in the current ECAC rankings on the strength of a 10-3 showing against league competition. Fueling the Cat express is an awesome first line of talented stickhandlers, comprised of team scoring leader Tim O'Connell along with linemates Roger Mallette and Bill Koch.

O'Connell has been "tearing up college hockey" according to Cross, bombarding the opposition with 29 goals and 24 assists (53 points) in just 23 games, for a 2.30 points per game average. The senior has done an impressive job against the toughest teams in Division One, racking up hat tricks against Cornell, Boston University and St. Lawrence.

The line's scoring is rounded out by Mallette's 11 goals and 25 assists for 36 points and Koch's 17-19--36. In total, the Vermont first line has accounted for 57 goals, or better than two scores per contest.

First Year Line

Backing up the O'Connell line group of three freshmen of developing ability. Andy Halford (8-14--22) is joined by Bill Rever (12-8--20) and Randy Koch (9-6--15) on the first year line.

Sophomore Tom McNamara, with a 3.28 goals against average in FCAC play, does the netminding for the Cats. The goalie has been particularly impressive in his last two outings, stopping both St. Lawrence and Northeastern on just one goal each. "His average is high because of some wild games earlier in the season," Cross said. "But you can't fault him for his recent outings."

With Harvard's 12-0 ECAC and 14-2 overall record on the line, Crimson coach Bill Cleary will probably send sophomore sensation Brian Petrovek into the nets once again tonight. Petrovek is coming off a shutout against Northeastern on Monday night, the first whitewash for a Crimson goalie since February of 1972. The victory lowered Petrovek's goals against average to a miniscule 2.18 per game, to go along with a 903 save percentage.

On offense, Harvard has the most devastating balance in the East, with 15 men scoring in double figures. Senior captain Randy Roth leads the parade with 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points, followed by Jim McMahon (13-10--23 and Kevin Carr 16-17--23).