The attendance Saturday night: 3,195. It was better than many in recent times, and it felt a lot louder.

And for once, the players seemed to feed off the energy instead of feeling the pressure of the watching eyes.

"We have begun to play the hockey we've been searching for all season long," Tomassoni said. "I think we've got the excitement back. Absolutely."

"I think the important thing this weekend was we made Bright Arena our rink," captain Ben Coughlin said. "Throughout the season it really hasn't been. We haven't played as emotional as we need to play [against visitors]."

So fans of Harvard hockey have seen both the Jekyll and Hyde of Harvard at Bright Hockey Center. Who knows which one will show up?

"No doubt they'll be right back in the thick of things and end up in Lake Placid in the championship game," Clarkson coach Mark Morris said.

Contrast that with Tomassoni's "We're not as talented as people think we are" from one week ago, and one has a dilemma.

Maybe the loss to Union has finally set the team straight.

And in a building that has gotten back the magic, at least Harvard knows it can now win, even if it takes a loss to prove it.