ITHACA -- There is nothing fishy about it.

Without question, the Dartmouth-Harvard weekend is the one regular-season homestand the Cornell men's hockey team and fans look forward to the most. The Big Green visit Lynah Rink on Friday night, with Harvard due in town Saturday.

"It's always a bigger weekend when Dartmouth and Harvard come in, especially Harvard," Cornell junior forward Patrick Kennedy said. "It's been a rivalry for so many years now and guys are always amped up a little bit more for these types of games and they have a little bit more meaning. Every game is important, but this one especially is the biggest game of the year for us."

So with an atmosphere sure to be electric -- especially in front of a Lynah Rink crowd that has been sold-out since at least Thursday -- focus will be extremely important.

On the Cornell athletic Web site, the school reminded students of a "zero tolerance" policy against the tradition of bringing fish into Lynah Rink and throwing them onto the ice during the Harvard game.

Tickets are still available for Friday's game against Dartmouth.

"I'm expecting it to be big," said Cornell freshman defenseman Nick D'Agostino, who had the second assist on Joe Devin's overtime goal in the Big Red's season-opening 3-2 victory Oct. 30 against Niagara. "I know Cornell-Harvard is a pretty big rivalry -- even before I got here, talking to the seniors about it. Everybody knows that Cornell-Harvard is a pretty big game. It's going to be natural to have some jitters before that game but you just want to stay as calm as possible; get a couple of good first shifts to loosen up."

The Big Red got a preview of what to expect this weekend because Harvard and Dartmouth opened their seasons against each other Oct. 30 in Hanover, N.H. Harvard's Alex Killorn led a second-period charge by scoring two goals, and Louis Leblanc, making his Crimson debut after being drafted in the first round by his hometown Montreal Canadiens, had an assist and a goal in a 5-3 win.

Rob Smith, Adam Estoclet and Joe Gaudet had Dartmouth's goals, while Marshall Everson and Daniel Moriarty notched Harvard's other tallies.

"Both teams, I think, their strengths are their forwards," Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. "So we'll have to keep aware of it. Every year you never know who the most dangerous guy on the other team is until you get started. No one's produced any statistics that much yet. So you're kind of waiting to see. It's not like the end of the year when you know the guy on the other team is the leading scorer. You kind of go by reputation. But on Friday night and Saturday night you're really trying to figure out line matchups based on how the kids are playing."

Along with the addition of Leblanc, the Crimson is bolstered by the return of its top seven scorers from last season and the return of netminder Kyle Richter. Richter sat out the entire 2008-09 season after being the league's top goalie in 2007-08.

"I think we're a more dangerous offensive team or have the potential to be than the last couple of years," Harvard coach Ted Donato said. "Starting the season with someone who has a little bit more of a more book experience wise in the nets is a definite change."

While Harvard tips the scales in terms of hype, Dartmouth will bring a more seasoned group to Lynah than in years past. The Big Green has four of its top scorers back and Jody O'Neill between the pipes. O'Neill was the ECAC Hockey and Ivy League Rookie of the Year last season.

"Jody O'Neill is very underrated and one of the better goaltenders in league," Donato said. "They've got good size up front and good skill. They're tough to play against because they're so strong down low offensively. They're a group that is poised to be one of top teams in league and a team that I think is going to be around when the dust settles."

Last season, the Big Red swept the Harvard-Dartmouth weekend at home with a 2-1 win over the Crimson and a 3-1 victory over the Big Green. But when it was Cornell's turn to hit the pavement, they were swept, losing 5-4 in overtime to Dartmouth and 4-2 in Cambridge. The loss to Dartmouth in overtime came on a controversial goal from coach Bob Gaudet's son, Joe Gaudet, just 1 minute, five seconds into overtime.

"It's such a totally different team from last year to this year," Schafer said. "We'll do the things we did here last year; I believe we swept them. So we'll follow that game plan."

With Harvard coming in Saturday, Cornell goalie Ben Scrivens promised the team would do its "due diligence" not to look past Dartmouth on Friday. Still, the Harvard game always carries a little extra juice.

"Any time these two teams come in, especially Harvard, we get pumped up," Scrivens said. "Still one of my greatest memories is beating Harvard with Mike Kennedy coming down on a breakaway my freshman year. It's kind of what fuels that rivalry."