ECAC Upset: Harvard Stuns UNH, 4-3

DURHAM, N.H.--It was the Harvard fans who scrambled onto the ice here last night to salute their hockey squad, as the rest of the SRO crowd in Snively Arena stood stunned after Harvard's 4-3 ECAC upset of the second-seeded New Hampshire squad.

As coach Billy Clearly danced from the Crimson bench to join the mob near the Harvard goal, the Wildcats could just stare and wonder what it takes to win a game in this March-mad tournament. UNH has now lost seven of eight ECAC quarterfinal contests.

So as the hockey season has ended in snowy Durham, it will be alive and well for Harvard this Friday night in Boston Garden. The seventh-seeded Crimson squad will take on number one Boston University in the semifinal round.

Left winger Dave Bell gave his teammates a rematch with the Terriers, as he steered a Kevin Carr pass behind UNH goalie Dan Magnarelli at 4:29 of the third period. Bell's goal capped a Crimson rally from a 3-2 two-period deficit.

Bill Horton scored the third goal at 3:34 on a deflection of a Jim Liston shot, the third time Harvard had to battle back from a one-goa! deficit. The Crimson squad put on a devastating performance in the final stanza, as goalie Brian Petrovek (29 saves in the game) and the inspired defensive corps held the Wildcats scoreless.

The third period was quite a contrast to the first two. Referees Frank Kelly and Bill Flynn whistled 28 of the game's 29 penalties during the first 40 minutes.

Both squads had trouble staying out the the penalty box in the first period, visiting the Snively sin bin for a total of 20 minutes. A string of three straight Crimson penalties between 10:36 and 15:47, when New Hampshire's Jamie Hislop scored the first goal on the power play, negated an early Crimson edge in territorial play.

Tim McKenna was caught for slashing at 13:32 and was followed into the box by Paul Haley at 15:03. The Harvard penalty killers held fast until McKenna returned to the ice, but Hislop tucked one behind Petrovek twenty seconds later to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

The penalties kept coming, for both sides this time. With each team skating just three men in front of their goaltenders, Rob Leckie fired a slapper from the point that deflected off of Carr's back and passed Magnarelli at 18:40 to tie the score.

Cliff Cox, who is better known around here than Gov. Meldrin Thompson, put second period. While Todd Nieland and Jim Harvie took a rest in the penalty box, Cox broke in alone on Petrovek. Petro made the initial save, but the puck managed to trickle past him for the score.

Nieland knotted the score again at 9:28 with UNH a man short. The Crimson power play converted for the first time as Nieland's shot found the far corner of the net.

Cox and Nieland then retired to the box for the second time each in the period at 14:06 and 14:44 respectively, and the Wildcats scored another. Again, Petrovek made a spectacular save on the first shot, but Bruce Crowder took his own rebound and slid it past a sprawling Petro at 15:07 to give UNH its final lead of the 1976 season. Score By Periods HARVARD  1 1 2 -- 4 UNH  1 2 0 -- 3