Sophomore forward Tyler Magura and the Crimson have a tough challenge to face this weekend in taking on No. 3 Cornell and No. 17 Colgate.

Now is the time to put it all together.

The Harvard men’s hockey team kicks off an 11-day, six-game stretch in Boston with weekend contests against No. 3 Cornell and No. 17 Colgate, and to match the perpetual ECAC powers, the Crimson (2-1-0, 2-1-0) must sift through its first three games—through a sporadic mix of precision and sloppiness, of pinpoint execution and absolute inability to convert.

En route to its early record, Harvard outskated Dartmouth 5-2, outfought Princeton 2-1 and just plain could not execute against Quinnipiac in a 5-2 loss. Tomorrow against the Big Red (3-1-0, 2-0-0) and Saturday versus the Raiders (5-1-1, 2-0-0) “we’re going to need our best,” as captain Peter Hafner put it.

And he’s putting it mildly.

Last year’s ECAC season ended with Cornell, the Crimson and Colgate at one-two-three, as did the conference’s postseason tournament. The squads were one-two-five in the nation for team defense, and the Big Red also boasted the best special teams—on both ends of the ice—in the country.

But officials whistled Harvard for 23 penalties last weekend, and numbers like those would all but kill the Crimson’s chances against Cornell tomorrow night.

“I think one of our strengths is our depth and the fact that four lines can all skate and make plays,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91, “but when we get into a man-up, man-down type of game, it shortens our bench and makes our best players play so much defense that it’s tough for us to go on offense.”

The Crimson was 2-for-18 on the power play and mustered only two even-strength goals last weekend against Quinnipiac and Princeton.

Against Big Red goalie David McKee—whose early 2.48 GAA and .900 save percentage stand in start contrast to the numbers of last year’s Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist season—Harvard skaters will need to follow up more shots, crowd the net, and risk bodies for rebounds.

“They’re a bunch of big boys,” said sophomore forward Tyler Magura, “and we’re going to have to really play hard.”

And for all the fan hype leading up to Friday’s Cornell game—it is, after all, The Game for Harvard hockey—Saturday’s contest against Colgate should not be lost in the shuffle.

The Raiders are averaging 4.29 goals per game, and sophomore netminder Mark Dekanich (4-1-1) is allowing an average of just 1.65.

This weekend is a golden opportunity for Harvard, should the team convert. The games will be followed by a scuffle with No. 8 Boston College at Chestnut Hill next Tuesday, then another ECAC weekend in the Bright, and then another home game against No. 14 Boston University the Tuesday after that.

“It’s a great challenge for a young group,” Donato said, “but we’re at home for a good stretch here, so we want to make sure we really play and we give it our best shot.”

The coach wouldn’t commit on a starting goalie earlier this week, but it’s a good bet he’ll go with senior John Daigneau (2-0-0), who has a GAA of 1.51.

“Goaltending is the most important part of any team’s ability to win,” Donato said, “and Johnny’s given us a chance in his two starts to win hockey games.”

To win two more this weekend, Harvard’s got to put all the pieces together.

—Staff writer Rebecca A. Seesel can be reached at seesel@fas.harvard.edu.