Don’t be fooled by their second-place position—these teams are much closer to seventh-place Rensselaer than Cornell. But each member of this trio has the luxury of controlling its own destiny—sweep next weekend and you’re home for the first round of the playoffs.

That might be a tall order for the Crimson, though, who has swept a Princeton-Yale weekend on the road only once since the 1993-94 season. Harvard owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with Dartmouth, but Clarkson has had the Crimson’s number this season, taking three of four possible points. The Big Green and Golden Knights tied in their only matchup so far this season, so Dartmouth’s visit to Clarkson next Saturday night looms large.

5. BROWN (14-11-2, 10-8-2)

COLGATE (13-15-2, 10-8-2) (tie)

What a difference a year makes. Both of these teams missed the playoffs last season, but have already clinched tournament berths this year and both have a good chance of earning home ice in the first round.

Brown might be the hottest team in the league right now. The Bears have won six straight games—including back-to-back shutout victories at St. Lawrence and Clarkson—and have surrendered more than two goals only once since Jan. 12.

The main reason for Brown’s recent success has been sophomore goaltender Yann Danis, who leads the ECAC with a microscopic 1.33 goals-against average and is a bona fide candidate for Player of the Year. Defense and goaltending often prevail in the playoffs, which certainly bodes well for Brown.

7. RENSSELAER (15-11-4, 9-8-3)

The Engineers round out the tier of teams competing for home ice advantage. RPI certainly has firepower with the league’s top two scorers in Matt Murley and Marc Cavosie. Rensselaer has really been coming on as of late with a 6-1-1 record over its past eight games. It might be tough for the Engineers to move up much in the standings, though, with visits from Cornell and Colgate on the docket for next weekend.

8. PRINCETON (9-16-2, 8-10-2)

9. UNION (12-12-6, 7-10-3)

The Tigers might be peaking at the right time, as they have lost only once in their past five games. The Skating Dutchmen, though, are going in the opposite direction. After going an impressive 5-2-2 during January, Union finished 2-5-1 this month. However, both teams still control their own playoff fate.