After two tough road losses last weekend, Yale this weekend will play its first home games of the semester.

The Elis (7-11-0, 3-8-0 ECAC) will host Cornell (9-8-2, 5-5-2) on Friday night at Ingalls Rink, before turning their sights on Colgate (12-9-2, 6-4-2) Saturday afternoon.

“Both Cornell and Colgate are good teams, and we’ll need to bring our best possible effort in order to come away with two positive results,” forward Crysti Howser ’09 said.

Cornell is coming off a strong weekend, having defeated both Union and Rensselaer. And last November the Big Red topped the Bulldogs, 3-0.

Before the loss, Yale had won 10 straight against Cornell. This weekend presents the Elis with the chance not only to revamp their winning streak over the Big Red but also to kick-start the second half of their season.

“You cannot run before you can walk,” head coach Hilary Witt said. “We need to take it one game at a time. We can’t win two games on Friday night. We need to concentrate on the one game we are playing.”

On Saturday afternoon the Bulldogs will be back on the ice against the Raiders. In their last matchup, goaltender Jackee Snikeris ’11 had 39 saves, but Colgate came away with the victory, 4-2. Yale’s goals came from defenseman Helen Resor ’09 and Howser, who leads the Bulldogs with 19 points on the season.

But for the Elis, these games are more than just an opportunity to put two tallies in the win column. Currently sitting in 10th place in the ECAC with 11 regular season games remaining, the Bulldogs are just six points away from the eighth and final playoff spot.

“We certainly realize the position we are in, but we need to take one game at a time,” captain and forward Sarah Tittman ’09 said. “Every game is extremely important from here on out.”