Harvard has been creating many scoring chances, but the players have missed open nets or have been stymied by hot goaltenders such as Rensselaer's Neil Little, who stopped 45 of 48 shots last Saturday in the Crimson's 4-3 loss.

"Teams have been gunning at us, trying to knock Harvard off its high ranking [currently number 10 in the nation]," senior defender Derek Maguire says. "We have to play tight defense and rush the net."

And maybe even more importantly, the Crimson has to play a smart game and not take so many retaliation penalties, which crimp its offense.

Junior Steve Martins, who leads the team with 16 points, has also amassed a team-high 20 penalty minutes, while captain Sean McCann, who is a key defensive and power play force, is second on the team with 16 minutes of sin bin time.

"We have to show some more discipline," Tomassoni says. "It's a matter of being tougher mentally."

The Crimson certainly shouldn't lack motivation for tonight's game. A win tonight would give Harvard sole possession of first place in the ECAC going into the new year, as co-leader Brown is idle this weekend.

And the opponent is Yale.

"Anytime you play Yale in any sport it is such an emotional tilt," Tomassoni says. "We just need to play three consistent periods of hockey."