The tumbleweeds are whirling around Bright Center and Sheriff Bill Cleary anxiously awaits the arrival of Mike Addesa, a stranger in these parts.

Addesa and his posse swaggered into Bright two weeks ago and rode back to Troy, N.Y., with a 4-0 victory. Cleary's Crimson was silenced in its own town.

Harvard now has a score to settle with RPI, when the Engineers revisit Bright tonight and tomorrow night (both games at 7:30 p.m.) for an ECAC quarterfinal series. The Crimson (18-4 ECAC, 18-8 overall) earned the top seed in the ECAC tournament by defeating St. Lawrence, 6-5, last Saturday.

The Crimson is hoping to flood RPI's engine with a high-powered skating game. The eighth-seeded Engineers (9-13, 15-15) will try to use their bulk to put the breaks on Harvard.

And because the Harvard-RPI series has turned into a great hockey rivalry, this series has all the makings of a good old-fashioned showdown.

In contrast to two weeks ago, the Crimson hopes to have a quicker draw. Harvard's senior corps knows from now on that any weekend could be its last one. Senior defenseman Don Sweeney, still bothered by an ankle injury sustained in the home game with Vermont, leads a veteran group that is used to playoff pressure.

"I won't be 100 percent, but I'll be giving 100 percent," Sweeney said. "If we don't win, we're done, I think that's on every senior's mind."

It's also on Coach Addesa's mind. Addesa's squad has only three seniors. RPI's lack of veterans is definitely a key to the series.

"I hope I could have a corps of seniors," Addesa said, "that could match up with [Harvard's]."

Consistent goaltending will be another factor in this weekend's series. RPI's Steve Duncan, whose aggressive and sometimes erratic style earned him his first career shutout against Harvard, has posted a 4.16 goals-against average and a .860 save percentage in 548 minutes of league play.

Senior John Devin has followed the leads of Crimson alumni Grant Blair and Dickie McEvoy to head the ECAC in goaltending. Devin's 2.50 g.a.a. was tops among league netminders. He also posted an impressive .907 save percentage.

But no matter how hot a goalie can get during the playoffs, if a team can't score, its chances of winning are as good as a bunch of Cornellians deciding to remain tactfully quiet during a hockey game at Lynah Rink.

Freshman Joe Juneau (9 goals, 22 assists, 31 points), the ECAC's fifth-leading scorer, leads the Engineer offense. Mo Mansi (9-15--24) and Bruce Coles (8-14--22) have helped RPI score a total of 99 league goals.

"They'll come right at us," Harvard Associate Coach Ronn Tomassoni said. "They're very aggressive. They'll crash their defense."

Captain Steve Armstrong (13-13--26) and freshman Peter Ciavaglia (9-17--26) lead the Crimson in overall scoring. As opposed to previous seasons, Harvard has balanced its scoring attack.

The showdown won't slow down. As long as both teams have their six-shooters loaded this weekend.