It seems we all grew up on the adage that a dog is a man's best friend.

But what about a Husky? Does it count? And is a dog a woman's best friend? Could a Husky be a woman's best friend, too?

How's this: yes, and in this case, no.

For these aren't your run-of-the-mill Huskies. These are some big, mean, aggressive Huskies adorned in black and red. Put some sticks in their hands and together they're the Northeastern women's hockey team.

And these Huskies don't make very good friends, either. Just ask the Harvard women's ice hockey squad.

"They really think they're something," says Crimson Co-Captain Alex Light foot. "They really make me mad," she adds, stomping her feet.

Relations don't figure to get much better about 8:30 p.m. tonight. For that's when the Huskies will put on the pads and strap on the helmets and go after the Harvard icewomen. At stake is the 1983 women's Beanpot championship and the bragging rights as Boston's best women's hockey team.

And when the two squads face-off tonight at Bright Center, revenge will be on the minds of both. The Huskies will be looking to get back the pot they won in 1979 and 1980. Last year, the Crimson upset Northeastern in a five-overtime decision, 3-2. Meanwhile, the icewomen will try to average the 7-2 shellacking the Huskies gave them earlier this year.

The Huskies, who knocked off a strong Boston University squad, 11-1, in the Beanpot's first round, have clearly emerged as the favorite. Holding an impressive 15-3 record, Northeastern is currently riding a seven-game winning streak that includes a recent victory over women's hockey powerhouse Princeton.

Size Disadvantage

On the other side, the Crimson, 12-0 victors over Boston College in the 'Pot's first round, holds an 8-6 record that includes four shutout victories in its last five games. But the icewomen will find themselves at a size disadvantage against the aggressive Huskies, who play more like a men's hockey team than a women's.

But the Harvard squad-recently troubled by injuries to forwards Diane Hurley and Liz Ward-hopes to be able to handle the Huskies. "They're much more physical than we are," says Hurley who, like Ward expects to play tonight. "But we're really up for them and we're going to do the same thing we did to them last year-upset them."

To topple the Huskies, the Crimson will need a fully recovered Hurley and Ward, an aggressive checking game and a superb performance from netminder Cheryl Tate, last year's tournament MVP.

"It's really the highlight of the season," Tate says. "It's true they've already beaten us, but that's what happened last year. They beat us in the regular season, 5-1, and then we came back and won in the Beanpot. With a strong performance from everyone, I really think we can do it again."

Crimson Coach John Dooley remains quietly optimistic. "It's certainly not going to be easy," he says. "We're going to have to play as well as we can to just be in the game."

But if the Beanpot isn't enough incentive for the icewomen, the Huskies are. The Harvard squad members didn't like Northeastern's attitude at the recent Beanpot dinner.

"They were pretty cocky at the dinner," says Kathy Carroll, the Crimson's top scoring threat. "They think there's going to come out and mop us up, I can tell you this-they've got another thing coming. We're ready."