But at RPI, the main obstacle for the Crimson to be wary of is goaltender Neil Little--named MVP of the Dexter classic last weekend and ECAC Player of the Week for his 83-save performance in two games.

"Neil is our big guy," Powers said. "Any team that's going to win a lot of games has got to have a good goaltender. The talent on the ice is too close, you need a goaltender you can be extra confident in. We're glad we have Neil as I'm sure you're happy to have Israel and Tracy."

Fortunately, Harvard has its own phenomenal goaltending tandem taking care of the net for the Crimson. Sophomores Aaron Israel and Tripp Tracy have performed well this year for Harvard with Israel riding the top of the ECAC with a .900 save percentage and a 2.27 goals-against-average.

Despite being the hot goaltender at the moment, Israel will get the start against Union and Tracy will face RPI. While it should be Tracy's turn to start next in the rotation, last year Tracy tended to be the big-game goalie for the Crimson and Tomassoni is clearly hoping for a big-game performance.

"Both are outstanding goalies," Tomassoni said. "We have confidence with both in net. We have a good chance to win whichever we start with."

With its league-leading 4-1-1 record within the ECAC, Harvard still has a tough road ahead. Before the Crimson plays its next home game, it will make trips to Minnesota-Duluth (December 15 and 16) and also to Portland, Me., to face second-ranked Maine on January 3.

The team will not return to the Bright Hockey Center until January 7 for a game against St. Lawrence.

So this weekend is especially crucial.

"This weekend we want to take both teams," captain Sean McCann said. "We especially want to win at RPI: They're a strong team and have a high national ranking. So we want to do well and show we can play up there with anyone."