First and foremost, this is our first chance to welcome back our national champion women's hockey squad--a team that was perhaps the most dominant Harvard has ever fielded in any sport.

This year, junior winger Tammy Shewchuk will attempt fill the skates of A.J. Mleczko '99, the Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey. The Crimson stand an excellent chance of keeping the title in Cambridge

If nothing else, these players deserve to hear the cheers of their fellow students whenever they take the ice at Bright Hockey Center.

While the women look to continue their Golden Age, this will be our first glimpse at a new era in men's hockey.

After five straight losing seasons, Harvard has a new head coach, Mark Mazzoleni. Just the fifth man to hold the hockey reins, Mazzoleni promises to return the Crimson to its former glory as a top team in the nation.

The Crimson certainly have some guns with the return of junior center Steve Moore and winger Chris Bala, both second round NHL draft picks. If new recruit Brett Nowak had declared himself eligible for the draft, Central Scouting projected he would have joined those two snipers as a second round selection.

Tonight is also the first time the freshmen take the ice in their full Harvard uniforms. And Trevor Allman, Sally Maloney, and Kim McNamana will take their first laps with the captains' 'C' on their jersey.