In its 1988-89 championship season, the men's hockey team lost three games all season, one of them a 3-1 defeat at Yale.

Ten years later, the Crimson (1-3-0, 0-3-0 ECAC) has already dropped three in as many ECAC games and will return to the Yale Whale this Saturday desperately needing what even its great title team could not secure--a win.

Harvard begins it first multiple-game road trip of the season this weekend, traveling down to Princeton (2-1-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) on Friday and then Yale (2-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) on Saturday--yes, the Crimson will be at New Haven on the day of The Game.

Harvard will try to get its season on tracked after an abysmal start, including last week's embarrassing 7-2 and 6-3 home losses against Cornell and Colgate, respectively.

"We have gotten off to a rocky start," said Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni. "Each week gives us a chance for a brand new start."

However, Princeton and Yale will be difficult teams to rebound against. The Tigers are currently playing magnificent hockey, sweeping St. Lawrence and Clarkson on the road last weekend.

The Bulldogs dropped both its games last week to the Saints and Golden Knights but are the defending regular season ECAC champions.

"We are playing two very good teams," Tomassoni said. "But on any given night, any team can beat anybody. We just have to work hard."

The primary focus for Harvard this weekend will be tightening up its defense. Breakdowns and a lack of hustle led the Crimson to allow a total of 13 goals against Colgate and Cornell last week.

Too often, the forwards have not recovered to play defense. The defensemen are not checking the opposition tightly enough. And when the Crimson do recover the puck, it has failed to consistently clear the zone.

Additionally, it lost senior defensemen Ben Storey last week to mononucleosis.

"We need to tighten up on defense," Tomassoni said. "We've made some bad miscues. At least the mistakes we're making are correctable."

Both Princeton and Yale will severely test this defense. The Tigers boast one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation, led by its fearsome top unit, "The Orange Line." This line--seniors Jeff Halpern, Scott Bertoli, and Syl Apps who replaced recently graduated Casson Masters--has scored all but two of Princeton's goals this year and last season combined for over 120 points.

Halpern, a Hobey Baker candidate, notched three goals and an assist last weekend against St. Lawrence and Clarkson and finished last year with 53 points.

After defending against the Orange Line, the Crimson will have to battle the Bulldogs, led by junior Jeff Hamilton. Hamilton had a breakthrough season last year, earning 20 goals and 27 assists.