The biggest question mark for the Crimson is at goal, where Harvard will have to replace Oli Jonas, last year’s ECAC goaltender of the year. In his only year as a starter, and playing behind a young defense, Jonas single-handedly kept Harvard in games throughout the season and was by far the team’s most valuable player.

Sophomore Will Crothers, with only 80 minutes of game experience, and freshman Dov Grumet-Morris will compete for the chance to succeed Jonas.

Forwards

Harvard’s front lines are easily the strength of the team, and they will be looked on to carry the squad through what should be some rough defensive play early on as players gain experience.

Despite losing two of its leading scorers to graduation, Steve Moore and Chris Bala, the Crimson forwards are almost certainly the most talented in the ECAC, and they have the speed and quickness to compete athletically against the best teams in the nation.

Still, the group lacks experience, with only one senior in the rotation.

“We’re still young,” Kolarik said. “It’s going to be a challenge for us to come out with the intensity that upperclassmen bring every night.”

The only significant technical weakness for Harvard’s forwards is on defense. The Crimson sometimes struggled on backchecking—the transition from offense to defense—last year, allowing the opposition to more easily set up its offense.

“If our forwards get back and pick up players on the backcheck, it allows our defensemen to step up and make plays early on,” Smith said.

At the core, the Harvard attack is junior forward Dom Moore (15-28—43), the team’s leader in both goals and assists last year. The younger brother of last year’s captain Steve ’01, Moore’s creativity and skating ability are excellent, and he is also skilled at scoring close to net. The forward is a preseason favorite for ECAC player of the year.

“Dom will make a run for first-team all ECAC, first-team All-American in the east, and even Hobey Baker finalist [college hockey’s Heismann],” Mazzoleni said.

“I try to watch Dom religiously when he’s on the ice,” Kolarik said. “He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever played with.

Moore spent the summer working on his biggest weakness—his tendency to get pushed around down low against bigger, stronger players. Mazzoleni said the forward added several pounds of muscle to improve against physical defense.

“He came back into camp in unbelievable shape,” Mazzoleni said. “Now when someone leans on him, he’s going to have the strength to play through that man.”

Moore’s biggest challenge might be filling in the shoes of his older brother. Steve Moore excelled at marking the opposing team’s star forward, a job which will fall to the smaller Dom this year.