As the last leaves fall in Harvard Yard and the hint of a winter's chill creeps into Bright Hockey Center, the Harvard women's hockey team can't wait to start a new season. And that's just what 2000-01 will be at Bright--brand-new.

Gone are the expectations from the 1999-2000 season, when Harvard was the defending national champion and everyone's favorite to repeat. Gone is the sense newness present 1998-99, when four players returned to Cambridge with international experience and jelled into a 33-1 juggernaut.

What's left this season are 14 returning players and three recruits, but don't chalk this off as a rebuilding year. Coming off a 21-5-3 record in the 1999-2000 season, Harvard still has some of the best scorers in the country and was ranked No. 5 in the latest USCHO.com poll.

"We have a small quality group of people that will go to battle every game and we'll never make any excuses," said Harvard Coach Katey Stone. "It's going to be a thrill a minute because nobody's going to know what's going to happen next."

In the off-season, the Crimson was hurt in late August when Angela Ruggiero decided to join the U.S. National Team to begin training for the 2002 Olympics. Ruggiero, by far the best defenseman in the country for the past two years, won a gold medal with Team USA at Nagano in 1998.

"We all realize this is an opportunity that she is fortunate to have," said junior co-captain Jennifer Botterill of Ruggiero, her former roommate. "But she is a great friend and teammate and we would have loved to have her back."

But this makes things rough for the Harvard defense, which was thin even with Ruggiero on the roster. Without Ruggiero to handle the puck at the blueline, the Crimson has just four returning defensemen, and no rookie blueliners.

To make matters worse, Harvard's defense has not been able to practice at full strength in the preseason. That's because sophomore Jamie Hagerman (4 goals, 11 assists) and senior Julie Rando (0 g, 3 a), the team's two most experienced defenders, have been hampered with a torn ACL and a sprained MCL, respectively. Stone is not yet sure whether either of them will be able to play in the season opener against No. 6 Wisconsin November 4th.