Icemen Begin Crucial ECAC Weekend at Bright

Before travelling on last weekend's Yale-Princeton road trip, Captain Kevin Sneddon called the two games the most important contests of the year of the Harvard men's hockey team.

But for any team in the thick of a conference race, every weekend in the most important of the year.

That logic would make this weekend's home game against Cornell and Colgate the biggest games so far.

Sounds about right.

Following two ties and a loss in its last three outings, Harvard (11-4-5 overall, 10-1-5 ECAC) will try to rebound this weekend when it faces the Big Red (10-8-2, 8-6-2) tonight and the Red Raiders (10-13-1, 7-9-0) tomorrow at Bright Center in two cruial ECAC match-ups.

The Crimson will undoubtedly need a big weekend in order to keep a share of the ECAC lead. Entering this weekend of ECAC action. Harvard is tied for the lead with St. Lawrence, with Yale and Clarkson a scant two points behind.

The Fatigue Factor

To keep part of first place, the Crimson will have to shake off the effects its grueling past two weeks.

"We wouldn't use fatigue as an excuse," freshman forward Ben Coughlin said. "It shouldn't be much of a factor, though, considering we had Tuesday off and skated easy Wednesday."

No Weekend Cakewalk

Harvard will be the favorite to win in both contest, but don't look for any easy games this weekend.

Earlier this year, a rebuilding Cornell squad gave Harvard its first nonwin on the road when the Big Red gained a 2-2 tie against the Crimson in the wilds of Ithaca, New York.

Colgate took Harvard to the brink earlier this year. The Red Raiders fought hard, forcing the game into overtime, only to fall 5-4 to Harvard.

"These are key games," senior defenseman Rich DeFreitas said. "We need to prove that we can beat anyone at home."

These match-ups gain added incentive when one considers who St. Lawrence skates against this weekend. The Saints are out to demolish the ECAC cellar-dwellers Rensselaer and Union.

"We need to increase our physical game and our defense around center ice, something we failed to do against BU," sophomore defenseman Derek Maguire said.