Over the past seven seasons, Harvard has just two wins in 14 visits to Clarkson and St. Lawrence. In a span of a little over 24 hours this weekend, the Crimson doubled that total.

And it is not just the Crimson that have trouble winning in the North Country and at Cheel Arena in particular. Through 11 seasons at Cheel, Clarkson has a 133-41-14 record (.741 winning percentage) and an even more incredible 20-2 record in the playoffs.

The Golden Knights have also finished the regular season among the top two in the ECAC for eight of the past nine seasons. If the Crimson hopes to be mentioned in the same breath as Clarkson, St. Lawrence and Cornell, these are the types of games Harvard needs to win.

It should also silence some of the skeptics who came out after Harvard’s season opening 4-0 loss to Brown, which is quickly fading into a distant memory.

With its quickly rising prominence around the league and in the nation, however, each successive road trip promises to become that much harder.

When looking at the Crimson’s November schedule during the preseason, there were three games that quickly jumped to mind as early bellwethers: Brown, Clarkson and Cornell.

These were the three teams that Harvard eliminated in the ECAC tournament last year, and the Crimson had road games scheduled at each of these schools during the first four weeks of the season.

With Brown and Clarkson now in the past, Harvard’s attention must now turn to Cornell, whom the Crimson ousted in the ECAC finals with a 4-3 double overtime win.

The Big Red and their rabid fans will be looking for revenge, and the Crimson will face a similarly hostile environment.

But if you think Harvard is worried, think again. Mazzoleni relishes the rivalry and intensity that was displayed on the ice last Saturday.

“When you play certain teams in big games, there’s a natural competitive rivalry,” Mazzoleni said. “You create the hostility that is good and healthy and you saw it with Clarkson.”

Expect the bull’s eye to be on the Crimson’s chests again Friday at Cornell, and expect Harvard to once again meet the challenge head on.

In case you are curious about the last time Harvard beat Clarkson in back-to-back games, just make a visit to Bright and take a look at the rafters.

The national championship banner from the 1988-89 season should answer your question.

—Staff writer Timothy Jackson can be reached at jackson2@fas.harvard.edu.