All week Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni has led his hockey team through some of the most spirited practices of its season.

This is to be expected, considering Harvard (8-11-2, 3-9-2) is clinging to the 10th and final playoff position by a point with eight games remaining and in the midst of a mini-slump--losing both Beanpot games and tying doormat Union 1-1.

However, the Crimson have more to combat this weekend than just Yale (9-10-2), Princeton (16-7-1, 9-4-1), and the collective memory of an abysmal start--once again the injury bug has taken a bite.

Harvard hosts Yale tonight at Bright Hockey Center and Princeton on Saturday in its final home games until the last weekend of the year. The Crimson will most likely be without the services of sophomore forward Steve Moore as they take on the fifth and third place teams in the conference.

"We have been upbeat and going good all week," sophomore forward Harry Schwefel said. "We just need to focus on delivering two good games and getting wins."

Harvard's offense took a huge hit against Union, when Moore, last year's leading scorer, left the game in the second period with a hip pointer.

His potential absence takes a big chunk out of the second scoring line.

"Anytime you lose a player of that caliber it hurts," Tomassoni said after Moore's initial injury. "We just have to hope he comes back real soon."

If Moore sits out this weekend, fellow sophomore Harry Schwefel will move up and center the second line. Schwefel's play has improved lately and he appears to have already developed a chemistry with his new linemate, sophomore Chris Bala.

Bala and Schwefel were paired together in the Beanpot consolation and the two combined for Harvard's fourth goal in a 6-4 loss. Bala broke down the defense, skating through the Boston College zone, and dropped a pass to Schwefel who rung it up.

"Harry's been one of our best forwards as of late," Tomassoni said. "I don't expect any change in Bala's game whatsoever."

The second major concern lies with senior forward Rob Millar. Millar, the team's current top scorer, did not practice this week. He has been plagued with a viral infection, initially feared to be mononucleosis. It will be a game-time decision whether Millar will dress tonight, and Tomassoni did not speculate an outcome.

Even if Millar plays, it is unlikely he will be at 100 percent, which could slow down the productivity of Harvard's best line of late--paired with Adams and freshman Jeff Stonehouse.

Stonehouse has especially grown comfortable centering between the two seniors. He has a two-game goal-scoring streak and his play has grown much more polished.

"Stonehouse has started to see the net a lot better," Tomassoni said. "And he's had a much better release."