"It's where we want to be," Mazzoleni said. "But we have to give a better effort this weekend than we did last weekend."

Yet Harvard has not solidified home ice for the playoffs just yet. Sweeping this past weekend would have effectively given the Crimson a first-round seed in its own barn, a feat this team hasn't accomplished since it earned home ice against Colgate four years ago.

If the Crimson wants to secure its playoff berth and possibly steal third place from the Big Red, it needs to drop both Yale and Princeton in its last regular season homestand. Although the Elis and the Tigers have been rather inconsistent all season, both teams are battling for playoff spots and are coming off excellent weekends.

Yale picked up four points over Vermont and Dartmouth, while Princeton stole three from the Catamounts and the Big Green. Harvard is going to need to replicate its recent performance against the Saints to ensure a pair of victories.

"There's no question--that's gotta be two wins this weekend," Pettit said. "We're in the position where we can't worry about what everyone else is doing. We need to concentrate on what we're doing. We need to win these two games, otherwise we're shooting for home ice."