SPORTS BRIEFS: Struggling out of the gate, Harvard heads to BU to face a tough non-conference foe

It’s never easy to play a high-ranked opponent. But it’s even more difficult when you have to travel to a hostile rink with a 2-6 record.

The Harvard men’s hockey team will go downtown to take on No. 11 Boston University tonight at Agganis Arena, hoping to get back on a winning track.

That’s also what Harvard (1-6 ECAC) had hoped when it routed then-No. 3 Boston College on Nov. 7. But the Crimson promptly dropped three of the next four.

“At this point, a win—period—would help,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91, adding, “We just have to be able to be more headstrong.”

The Terriers (3-2-4, 3-2-3 Hockey East), however, will present no easy task. The perennial Hockey East powerhouse has always given Harvard trouble—including a 5-3 defeat in the teams’ most recent meeting.

Signs are that Terriers coach Jack Parker is not taking the Crimson lightly. He was spotted watching Harvard this weekend.

—KARAN LODHA