Of all the teams in the American Women's College Hockey Association final four, No. 4 seed Brown arguably has the best shot to beat No. 1 seed Harvard.

After all, on Nov. 15, the Bears (20-5-4, 19-4-3 ECAC) beat the Crimson (31-1-0, 24-1-1) 4-2 in Providence. That loss remains the only smudge on Harvard's record.

But since that Sunday, the Crimson has run off 28 straight wins, including a 6-2 victory over the Bears at Bright Hockey Center on Feb. 13. Harvard plays Brown for the third time this season in the semifinals of the AWCHA National Championship tonight at 6 p.m. Boston time. WHRB will broadcast the game, as well as Harvard's game on Saturday, on 95.3 FM and on the Internet at www.broadcast.com.

Brown has a lot going for it. Its goalie, junior Ali Brewer, is second in the nation to Minnesota's Erica Killewald in goals against average at 1.19 and in save percentage at .944. Brewer was also one of the finalists for the Kazmaier Award, given to the best women's hockey player in the country, along with Harvard co-captain A.J. Mleczko and UNH senior defenseman Nicki Luongo.

Brown's other star player, sophomore defenseman Tara Mounsey, played with Mleczko and Harvard freshman defenseman Angela Ruggiero last year for the U.S. Olympic Team and was named to the ECAC First Team. Thanks in large part to Brewer and Mounsey, the Bears have the best scoring defense in the nation, allowing only 1.21 goals per contest.

But no matter how Brown tries to pump itself up and no matter how much praise Harvard heaps on it, the top-seeded Crimson is the clear favorite to win not only the semifinals tonight but also the national championship tomorrow at Minnesota's Mariucci Arena.

"Even though Brown's the only team that's beaten us this year, when we're playing well and passing, we shouldn't have any problem," Mleczko said. "There are three other great teams, but we've proven that we have a lot of depth and stamina."

Harvard appears to have exorcised any demons that arose after its loss to Brown in the fourth game of the season. Last week's win over No. 2 seed UNH (22-6-5, 19-4-3) was its closest game since the loss, but Harvard may be at its most confident.

"I think it helped us because it showed we can pull together as a team when things aren't going exactly as planned," Ruggiero said. "It's really been a testament to our team that we've won four games [and lost none] in overtime."

Brown may be the only team with a defense strong enough to withstand Harvard's offensive juggernaut.

"I don't know if I can teach the team all of Mounsey's strategies, but she is strong on the puck, doesn't let up on defense and is very physical," Ruggiero said. "Hopefully on offense, we can pull one of their players away."

One of Brown's defensive strengths is preventing the second chance. In Harvard's 5-4 overtime win in the ECAC championship game last Sunday, Mleczko's game-winner came on a third try against UNH junior netminder Alicia Roberts.

"They're really strong in front of the net and force you to shoot from the outside," said Ruggiero, one of Harvard's four ECAC First Teamers. "They clear rebounds right away, or Brewer jumps right on them."

Harvard players are quick to praise Brewer, who Mleczko said is "phenomenal when she's on."

But the Crimson leads the nation in scoring average at 6.47 goals per game, and every skater on the Harvard power-play unit has outscored Brown's team leader this season.