Historically speaking, the trip to North Country to faceoff against St. Lawrence and Clarkson is usually one of the most dreaded road trips for the Harvard men's hockey team.

Or is it? Maybe not this year.

With the Saints (2-5-2, 1-1-1 ECAC) and the Golden Knights (4-3-2, 1-1-1 ECAC) only mere shadows of their former greatness, the No. 13 Crimson (4-2-1, 3-1-1 ECAC) has a prime opportunity to knock off the perennial ECAC powerhouses, a feat the squad has not accomplished since the 1993-94 season.

Tied for seventh in the conference, neither St. Lawrence nor Clarkson have had any luck climbing the rankings, while Harvard is in the driver's seat for first place just behind a reinvigorated Vermont squad.

Despite a tough 3-2 overtime loss to cross-town rival No. 4 Boston College last Saturday, the Crimson can take solace in the fact that its gritty and aggressive performance launched the team into the national spotlight for the first time this season, surpassing Ivy nemesis No. 15 Yale in the process.

"A win over B.U. any time is huge, and despite our loss to B.C., we proved we are right up there," sophomore center Dominic Moore said. "It was a huge confidence builder, and we're looking to keep rolling."

Senior goaltender Oliver Jonas has been the key to Harvard's recent success. Jonas, whose consistent effort between the pipes has often kept the Crimson afloat in close games, turned in another stellar performance in the loss to the Eagles. He notched a career-high 44 saves on the night and currently boasts a .941 save percentage.

However, Harvard's blueliners have to be careful not to slow down during the third period--six of the 10 goals-against the Crimson in ECAC play have come in the final stanza.