Having already won more games this early in the season than they did all last year, the Skating Dutchmen have really begun to turn their program around.

No longer a young team, players like junior forward Jason Ralph and senior Jeff Sproat have stepped up their games and have each notched twelve points on the season. Ralph, who has also earned ECAC/CCM Player of the Week honors, played a big role in Union's upset of the Big Red earlier this season.

Having fallen to UMass-Amherst 5-1 last weekend in a non-conference match up, however, it is clear that the Skating Dutchmen are anything but consistent. Nonetheless, Union has the potential to upset the Crimson, especially if Harvard fails to improve its current manner of play.

"Union has really turned things around so far this year. They have a lot of talented new players as freshmen that have provided the spark for their offense," Moore said. "After beating Colgate, who is first in the league, we know that Union is for real. We're not taking anything for granted, but we expect to win."

The Crimson certainly does have the talent and depth to skate away with a pair of victories this weekend. Freshman winger Brett Nowak (4, 6), currently fourth in the ECAC for scoring, has a team-high 10 points and has consistently contributed to Harvard's success during both even play and special teams.

And the Moore clan is another weapon for the offense. Dominic (3, 1)--one of the top draft prospects in the nation--has pleasantly surprised Crimson fans, and his brother Steve (1, 6) is currently second on the team with seven points.

The goaltending tandem of senior J.R. Prestifilippo and junior Oliver Jonas will be in action as well. Jonas is the heavy favorite to start against RPI on Friday, and Prestifilippo will most likely see at least one game between the pipes. Prestifilippo boasts a 3-3 record in net, sporting a .924 save percentage and 2.24 GAA. Jonas made his only first goaltending appearance of the year with a 6-3 win over Vermont.

As the No. 8 ranked team in the nation, it is no surprise that many have given the Engineers the edge this weekend. But the talented Crimson can't be counted out.