To make matters worse, injuries to key performers—senior Todd Schulte and sophomore goaltender Robbie Burmeister—have forced Russell to attempt to extract more minutes from his core group, depriving them of rest and depleting their energy.

“[Last year], we had a deeper team and were able to balance the load,” Offsay said. “We’re relying on some of our guys to play the whole game. When guys are playing four full games on the weekend and then these practices, it just adds up.”

The news is not all bad. After a flurry of games to start the season, the schedule the remainder of the way is significantly relaxed, with just three games scheduled before the Northern Championships kick off on October 31.

But for the present, the team does not plan on relaxing its training schedule. If games are not scheduled, the squad plans on continuing its rigorous work-outs, while using the weekends to take a break.

“We’re going to continue training for the next few weeks and then start to back off a bit at the end of the month,” Offsay said. “We can take the weekends a little bit lighter, rest and relax.”

And as the team moves closer to its second tournament test, it should finally return to full strength, with Burmeister and Schulte slated to return in the next few weeks.

“I’m optimistic that as we get rested, which will coincide with the return of those guys who are injured, we’ll be playing a lot better,” Offsay said.

Knowing that the season comes down to the Northerns and then Easterns in terms of defining success, no one seems too worried by the poor performance thus far.

“Obviously we’re down when we lose this much,” freshman Michael Garcia said. “But we’re all trying to stay positive. I think most of us—even if we’re losing—we’re putting it behind us.”

And with that mentality, the squad should have a fair shot at turning the tables on Brown if they meet again come November.

“We’ve all been making a deal out of being so tired, but a lot of these games earlier in the season aren’t as important,” Offsay said. “It’s not like in football where you have to go out and win every game or you have no chance. We’re training with an eye towards something at the end.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu