"We like to play in front of a packed house. Sometimes over the years we have played better on the road because they have so many fans there," said Higdon, who has endured four seasons of raw fish being thrown at him when playing in Ithaca. "It would be great to have support like that or even just to have fans there for us."

What those fans would see is a team rich in talent with players who never say die. The Crimson disposed of No. 6 Boston College and then took No. 2 Boston University to overtime in the Beanpot Tournament. That's just one example, and there are many more.

Two years ago, after battling a barrage of injuries which left fewer than 10 players healthy, the Crimson went on a nine-game losing streak to end the regular season. Everyone expected them to fall in the quarterfinals, but that year the Crimson beat the odds, and only in the ECAC championship game were they finally ousted.

This season, seven freshmen have added a fire under the Crimson and the team is playing its best hockey in recent memory.

The players know it. The four seniors feel it more than anyone.

Almost every other ECAC team has a tradition of staying on the ice until the opposing team leaves. Only then, clustered in the center-ice circle, do the players turn to their fans and raise their sticks in salute.

This weekend marks perhaps the last time on their home ice for McCarthy, Higdon, Hyland and Sproule.

And after four years of battling the critics while rebuilding a once great hockey program, wouldn't it be nice for them to raise their sticks to a crowd of supporters?

It would be a first, but at least then the dreams of four long years ago would finally come to fruition.