The late, great "Badger" Bob Johnson always said that "Every day is a great day for hockey."

On the professional side, the former Wisconsin and NHL coach must be looking down from above with disappointment about the NHL lockout, but no such work stoppage will ever hit the NCAA. And tonight sees the start of the Harvard men's hockey season, which means that many great days of hockey are in store for the near future.

The quest for the Crimson's fourth consecutive ECAC championship and second overall national title starts with a 7 p.m. contest against Brown at the Meehan Auditorium in Providence, R.I.

Three years ago, the Crimson fell in overtime to Rensselaer in the first round of the ECAC tournament.

Two years ago, Harvard fell to Northern Michigan in double-over-time in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

And just this past March 31, the Crimson ended its season on an over-time goal for the third consecutive year, when it fell to eventual NCAA champion Lake Superior State in the national semifinal game.

Just going by progressions, one should think that Harvard will at least reach the NCAA championship game this year (might it end before overtime?). And given the talent level of this year's squad, predicting such a season doesn't ask for a big stretch of one's imagination.

"The experience the players gained [from the last few campaigns] is invaluable," Head Coach Ronn Tomassoni says. "The further you go in the playoffs, the hungrier you get."

Forward (to) March!

The biggest strength of this year's squad comes in the form of its offense. Although the team lost two of its three top scorers from last season, Chris Baird '94 and Brian Farrell '94, a solid core of forwards remains.

Senior Steve Martins is the top offensive player on the team and is already a Hobey Baker candidate. Martins's blazing speed and crafty moves accounted for many of the 25 goals and 35 assists he racked up last year, numbers which helped him earn the ECAC Player of the Year award.

Martins will center the team's front line, with classmates Perry Cohagan and Cory Gustafson on his left and right wings.

"I don't really feel much pressure," Martins says about his switch from the second line to the first. "We are really deep. Our offense is a threat now, as it always has been."

The second line will be centered by junior Brad Konik, who is returning to the Crimson after taking last year off to recuperate from an injured knee.

Sophomore Joe Craigen, who had a solid freshman year playing on the fourth line (in addition to filling in on the other three lines when injuries hit), will play to Konik's left, while speedy junior forward Tom Holmes will play right wing.