On the surface, this weekend’s matchup against the No. 6 Harvard women’s hockey team has to look good to the opposing Yale Bulldogs.

The Crimson (3-1-1, 2-1-1 ECAC) has lost and tied in its last two games, and last season struggled mightily at times with Yale (1-3-2, 1-1-1). Harvard’s first ECAC loss was to the Bulldogs last year and then in March, Yale brought the Crimson to the edge before falling in a 2-1 overtime contest in the ECAC semifinals.

The main reason for the Bulldogs success against the Crimson a season ago was goalie Sarah Love—who returns and will be the main focal point of Yale’s opponents all season long. Love stopped 48 saves in the early season victory against Harvard.

The Crimson, however, seem to be in the incipient phases of coalescing as a coherent force in the ECAC after a 2-2 tie against No. 1 St. Lawrence last weekend. It also made a strong comeback attempt before falling to No. 9 Clarkson—who is currently undefeated in conference play.

This weekend might give Harvard a chance to get some more ECAC victories under its belt if it does not overlook the always dangerous Yale squad. Brown (2-4-0, 1-1-0) might also offer a challenge as the Bears have dropped a disappointing loss to Colgate, but did manage to pull out a win against New Hampshire and dropped a pair of games to the two-time defending national champion Minnesota squad.

Both games will be on the road—the Crimson’s first contests away from Bright Hockey Center this season. On Friday night, Harvard faces off against Yale at 7 p.m., while the game at Brown will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday.