Judging by the current ECAC standings, this weekend should be a breeze for the Harvard men's hockey team.

Tied for second place with St. Lawrence and Cornell, the Crimson (4-3-0, 4-2-0 ECAC) should not feel threatened by Rensselaer (RPI) or Union, who share a three-way tie for eighth place with Dartmouth.

The standings, however, are deceiving.

Despite its low placing in the ECAC, RPI (9-3-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) is ranked No. 8 in the country according to the US College Hockey Online poll, and has downed such Hockey East giants as Boston University and New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, Union (3-8-0, 2-2-0)--who was expected to once again be the bottom feeder of the ECAC--has surprised everyone by defeating reigning league champion Clarkson and first place Colgate earlier this year.

Harvard, who hopes to reverse its two-game losing streak this weekend, is going to have to revert back to Coach Mark Mazzoleni's initial strategy of smart, simple hockey if it expects to emerge from New York with a pair of victories.

Losses to cross-town rival BU and traveling partner Brown last week besmirched the Crimson's record. Both games revealed a lapse in Harvard's game, allowing both opponents to capitalize on breakdowns.

"It's really tough to pinpoint what was wrong last week and I don't want to make any excuses," junior defenseman Tim Stay said. "We played some bad games but we're fired up now."