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M. Hockey Battles for Home Ice

Cornell and Harvard Tied for Third Entering Final Weekend of Regular Season

With only one homestand left to play in the regular season, the Harvard men's hockey team has one last chance to snag home-ice for the first round of the ECAC playoffs.

Sound familiar?

Last season, the Crimson (12-14-1, 11-8-1 ECAC) found itself in a similar position. Its final two games determined where Harvard would play the conference quarterfinals.

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Unfortunately for Harvard, a 2-0 loss to Rennselaer on last year's Senior Night sent the Crimson on the road to Lynah Rink, where Harvard fell to Cornell in two games.

The situation is not as dire this year. In fact, the Crimson has earned itself a third place slot in the league, meaning that Harvard must win only one of its games this weekend to ensure home ice.

"Home ice is everything," said Harvard Coach Mark Mazzoleni. "Teams have a consistency at home that they don't have on the road. A team would have to come in and beat us two out of three games at home, which is tough."

But in order to avoid a dreaded post-season road trip, a feat Harvard has not accomplished since the 1997-98 season, the Crimson must topple either Yale or Princeton this weekend at Bright Hockey Center.

A sweep over the Elis (14-13-0, 10-10-0 ECAC) and the Tigers (9-14-4, 8-9-3 ECAC) at the end of last season allowed the Crimson to pull within striking distance of home ice, but Harvard cannot expect either squad to fall so easily this time around.

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