With four games left in the regular season, the Harvard women's hockey team actually looks better in the national picture than it does in the ECAC.

The Crimson (16-4-3, 13-4-3 ECAC) moved up to No. 2 in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll this week. After falling to No. 5 Dartmouth for the second time this season two weekends ago, Harvard won its second-straight Beanpot title by beating No. 7 Northeastern in overtime, 4-3, then upset No. 1 Brown in Providence last Saturday, 2-1.

The Crimson now trails the first-place Bears by four points in the ECAC standings. Despite winning both games last week, however, Harvard fell to fourth place in the conference, one point behind No. 4 New Hampshire, which the Crimson will host Saturday night in Bright Hockey Center at 7 p.m.

Six teams are within eight points of Brown in the conference standings. The ECAC regular-season champion gets an automatic bid to the four-team American Women's College Hockey Alliance national championship tournament.

If the regular-season champ does not win the ECAC Tournament, the postseason winner will receive another automatic bid. With all the upsets that have taken place already this season, however, winning in the playoffs is no guarantee to any team.

In addition, another automatic bid will go to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Tournament champion, which will likely be either No. 3 Minnesota (26-5-1, 19-2-1 WCHA) or No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth (21-3-3, 19-1-2). The Gophers and the Bulldogs are expected to face each other in the WCHA championship game in Bloomington, Minn., on Mar. 4.

That means there could only be one at-large bid available, with many teams for the selection committee to choose from. One of those teams could be the loser of the WCHA championship game, although it's unlikely that two teams from the west will make the final four.

In the ECAC, the six teams contending for the regular-season title all have a shot at an automatic or at-large bid.