For the first time in 10 years, the 1990-91 Harvard men's ice hockey team was not crowned champion of the Ivy League.

Instead, an upstart Brown team took the title.

And, make no mistake about it, Harvard hasn't forgotten.

"Coach [Ronn Tomassoni] put a picture of their team up on the wall calling them Ivy Champions," senior forward Tim Burke said. "It's kind of embarrassing to win nine years in a row and then lose to Brown."

Tonight, the Crimson will gets its first crack this season at the...get this...Ivy League Champion Brown Bruins.

Sound like revenge?

Harvard sure hopes so.

The Crimson (3-0-1, ECAC 3-0-1) will roll into Meehan Auditorium in Providence and try to teach Brown (2-2-0, 2-2-0) a lesson that it will not forget soon.

The Bears and the Crimson lock horns tonight and then again on Saturday night at Bright Center in a home-and-home series that will go a long way to shaping this year's Ivy League race.

"Brown kind of snuck up on everyone last year," junior forward Steve Flomenhoft said. "It's certainly something that has been on the forefront of our minds. The Ivy League is an important milestone."

Not only does Harvard want to take the Ivy champs to school, but the team also hopes to get back on track and claim sole possession of first place in the ECAC.

The team is coming off its first setback of the season: a 2-2 tie against an improved Yale squad.

Despite outshooting the Elis, 49-30, the Crimson offense, for the first time this season, failed to score enough to win.

"After the game, everyone was pretty frustrated," Burke said. "You shouldn't lose to an inferior team at home."

Although the team was disappointed with the tie to Yale, Burke said the team wasn't worried.