Former University of Miami of Ohio coach Mark Mazzoleni was officially introduced as the new head coach of the Harvard men's hockey team at a press conference on Wednesday, becoming only the fourth head coach to lead the Crimson in fifty years.

Standing in front of a mural that depicts Harvard's greatest athletic triumphs, Mazzoleni--who will fill the spot left empty by the resignation of head coach Ronn Tommassoni last May--spoke to a crowd that included some of the greatest players to skate in a Crimson jersey.

"Our goal is to return Harvard to the top of the ECAC, the Ivy League and to the top of college hockey," Mazzoleni said. "I want to shoot for a national championship. All the components you need already exist here."

But, he added, academics will always remain top priority for Harvard's program.

"You never sacrifice the integrity of the program or a player's academics to achieve that goal," he said.

A 1980 graduate of Michigan State, Mazzoleni, 43, accumulated a five-season record of 85-83-20 at Miami. As head coach at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, he guided the Pointers to three consecutive NCAA Division 3 titles and compiled a six-season 138-52-10 record. Mazzoleni also spent three years as an assistant coach under Doug Woog at the University of Minnesota.

Mazzoleni said he was offered the post by Athletic Director William J. Clearly Jr. '56 on July 14 and accepted the position after two days of negotiations. The official announcement came last Sunday.

But Mazzoleni said it didn't take a lot to convince him.

"It was very easy to accept the job," said Mazzoleni, who follows Ralph "Cooney" Weiland, Cleary and Tomassoni in the position. "Harvard embodies everything I believe college hockey should embody," he said.

The three other reported finalists for the position--Bill Beaney of Middlebury, Joseph A. Marsh of St. Lawrence and Timothy B. Taylor '63--all withdrew from the search before the formal announcement.

Mazzoleni said his coaching philosophy, which he credits to his years at Minnesota, will remain the same at Harvard.

"I remember being wide-eyed at the speed the players possessed" at Minnesota, Mazzoleni said. "I like to play an up-tempo game, not dump-and-chase. Pressure both when you have and don't have the puck."

Mazzoleni said Harvard's team is well-suited to his style.

"This is a team that can skate," Mazzoleni said of the Crimson.

"I believe in disciplined hockey," he added, pointing out that his teams usu- ally finished lowest in the league for penalty minutes taken.

Mazzoleni also said he would try to facilitate creativity on the ice.

"The players want to learn how things are done. [But] once they're on the ice, I don't control them."

According to current Crimson captain Trevor G. Allman '00, Mazzoleni's strategy will gel with Harvard's players.

"We're pleased and excited," Allman said. "We have a really offensive team and I think it will work well with [Mazzoleni's] open style."

Allman and the nine other senior players will return this fall to a Harvard squad that has not had a winning season since its 1994 NCAA tournament appearance.

"I think change is always positive," Allman said. "It's a new beginning for everyone. A lot of people have said this and that about our team, and now it's up to us to go out and win some games."

"It's their team," Mazzoleni added of the players. "They are the ones who have agonized these past few years."

Mazzoleni has not yet decided who to name as assistant coaches for the team. He plans to meet this Sunday with players, trainers and other support staff.

"Right now I need to assess the present," he said. "My feeling is that there have been many positives over the past few years--it hasn't been all negatives. It's now my job to figure out what those positives are."

About thirty administrators, alumni and former players attended Wednesday's press conference to welcome the new coach, including Hobey Baker winner B. Lane MacDonald '88-'89, who captained the 1989 NCAA championship team, and NHL player Ted E. Drury, class of 1993.

A native of Green Bay, Wisc., Mazzoleni and his wife Karen have four children: Paul, 16, Ann, 10, Tom, 7 and Mike, 5