Harvard knows pretty well what Canadians can do on the ice from its experience against Cornell, B.U., Clarkson, and now R.P.I.; but tonight the Crimson basketball team will see what they can do on the hardwoods. To uncover north-of-the-border basketball. Harvard will be the visiting foreigner in the Bluenose Classic at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Tonight's opponent is Dalhousie College, and if everything goes well today, the Crimson will play the winner of a clash between Acadia and St. Mary's in the finals Saturday night. American teams have fared very well in this tournament in the past, and two years ago M.I.T. was victorious.

These Canadian teams are generally comparable to New England small-college teams, and if Harvard hopes to have any success in the Ivy League schedule that begins next weekend it should pick up some victories now.

Working against the Crimson is the loss of its top scorer and third leading rebounder, Barth Royer. The junior forward, who has averaged 13.4 points in Harvard's first seven games, twisted a knee while working out in Ohio last week.

Coach, Floyd Wilson will have trouble replacing Royer, who could be out of action for as long as a month. Tonight he will probably try Bob Johnson in the corner to see if the junior guard can compensate for his 6-2 height with his shooting and agility.

Chris Gallagher, who leads the team with 85 rebounds, and Bob Kanuth, who scored 21 points against M.I.T. December 20, will round out the front court. Harvard won the school-closing, tilt with the Engineers, 68-60, to bring its record to 3-4 going into the tournament.