Both Nielsen and Swenson racked up credentials of the highest order during their high school careers; both were finalists for the "Mr. Hockey" award, Minnesota's answer to Hobey Baker, and Swenson last year led the entire state in scoring.

"It's always been a hockey hotbed," Tomassoni says, "and it's great to get in there every once in a while and get your program that exposure."

Times are tough these days for the former home of St. Louis Blues' sharpshooter Brett Hull; Minnesota-Duluth is but 1-8-2 in its last 11, and the defending WCHA regular-season champions now find themselves at the bottom of the standings with an overall record of 4-9-3.

But the fans still regularly pack the 5,664-seat Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. And the Bulldogs split two earlier games with ECAC power St. Lawrence, so Harvard must be on its guard.

"It'll be a little like playing up in Canton or Potsdam," Tomassoni says, referring to the similar smalltown atmosphere surrounding St. Lawrence and fellow ECAC rival Clarkson in the frozen north of upstate New York. "But our kids like playing in front of enthusiastic crowds like that, whether at home or on the road--these are the kinds of games they live to play."

And well they should. For if you were to take the pulse of American amateur hockey, you'd have to reach out to the state of Minnesota--and as guys like Tomassoni, Swenson, and Nielsen know, it's something the Crimson will have to experience to understand.

Darren M. Kilfara is a Crimson staff writer.