The Big Red skates into Bright with the ECAC's ninth-best offense (3.17 goals a game) and seventh-best defense (2.15 goals a game). Senior goaltender Alanna Hayes is ninth in the conference with a .904 save percentage and 10th with a 3.12 GAA.

The Cornell offense is led by junior forward Colette Bredin (16 g, 10 a), who is 42nd in the conference in scoring, and the playmaker is senior forward Morag McPherson (7, 15). Sophomore Danielle Bilodeau (9, 13) is tied for eighth in scoring amongst ECAC defensemen.

But the Crimson is more concerned about its own defense rather than the Big Red offense. Harvard's defense allows 1.62 goals a game--third-lowest in the ECAC--but has given up 2.33 goals per contest since the Cornell game.

"Defense is the main component we have focused on all week," Dunn said. "Defensive zone lapses have cost us in recent games. Goals will come for us, but we need to work on our defensive zone coverage. We have to communicate and move on the breakout instead of just standing still."

That defense will be without the services of all-everything freshman Angela Ruggiero (18, 33), a Kazmaier Award nominee and the highest-scoring defenseman in the nation. Ruggiero is playing in the World Championships for the United States National Team in Finland, and classmate Jen Botterill (32, 41)--who leads all freshmen in the country in scoring--is playing for the Canadian National Team.

Neither rookie played in Harvard's regular season finale, a 9-3 blowout at 13th-place Yale. Botterill also missed the two previous games, against Boston College and at No. 8 Princeton, but Ruggiero provided the game-winning goal to lift the Crimson over the Tigers in overtime, 5-4.

Harvard Coach Katey Stone adjusted the defensive lines in New Haven to compensate for Ruggiero's absence. She matched junior defenseman Courtney Smith--who usually skates alongside Ruggiero--with classmate Christie MacKinnon and paired Asano--usually MacKinnon's linemate--with sophomore Julie Rando.