Two months ago, the suggestion that Harvard would be skating for its life against Penn would have produced a derisive laugh from a loyal section 18 fan.

Tonight, section 18 and the rest of Watson Rink will be begging for a victory. Top-rated Harvard is sitting in the broken pieces of its 11-4-1 record and wondering what happened. Penn, once the pleasant breather, is flying on an eight-game winning streak.

"I'm sure Penn will come up here thinking that they will beat us," Harvard's captain Joe Cavanagh said yesterday. The Quakers have a good chance of realizing their expectations. After barely losing to the Crimson. 6-5, last January, Penn has turned a 4-7 record into a 12-7 record, routing a highly rated U.N.H. team, 7-2, and tripping Brown, 4-1, three days after the Bruins had upset Harvard.

Harvard will revert to its old lineups to meet Penn's threat. With defense-man Kevin Hampe apparently healthy again, Cavanagh will be free to return to center, and the lines will shape up as they were before the Dartmouth game.

Harvard will not completely return to its conservative forechecking system, however. Cavanagh feels that the first line is better suited to the conservative forecheck, but he said that the second line will probably go with aggressive forechecking.

Penn will undoubtedly be forechecking as hard as it can. The Quakers are coached by a man who holds the ECAC record for penalties, and his teams are known for their rough, tenacious play.

Penn's greatest asset is its high-scoring first line of Tim Cutter, Sam Gellard, and Tom Davis. The nifty trio scored more goals than any line in the East last year, and all three have totaled over thirty points thus far this season.