And that only makes sense. His inexperience aside, Crothers has plenty to offer. A true athlete, the 6’2 Crothers can dunk a basketball. His father, Bill, is a former Olympic runner who won a silver medal in the 800 meters in 1964.

Mazzoleni, himself a former goaltender while at Michigan State, believes theat type of agility serves Crothers well in goal.

“Will has the best vertical jump on the team,” Mazzoleni said. “He’s very explosive. That’s a tremendous asset for a goaltender. Goaltending is a game of transition.”

While he knows he has a lot of work to do, Crothers believes he and his defensemen are making progress.

“We’re definitely improving on our communication with each other,” he says.

And don’t underestimate the steadying presence of Capouch, who plays nearly half of every Harvard game. Crothers has already learned a good rule of thumb for when he’s out on the ice—when in doubt, consult the captain.

“Whenever I have any questions about what I’m supposed to do, he’s a good

person to ask,” Crothers says of Capouch. “He lets me know when I’m not doing something the way he wants it done.”

In Crothers’ first test of the season, the results were a bit of a mixed bag. The Bears aren’t quite the pushover they once were, and on that particular night, they got the better of Harvard, 4-2. Crothers made 21 stops.

It was a decent first effort and one that Crothers can improve on. On Sunday night against Dartmouth, he did. Save for two power-play Dartmouth goals, Crothers (26 saves) largely succeeded in frustrating the Big Green attack.

The lesson taken from the weekend split was this—Crothers, and Harvard, are young; but they will keep getting better.

It is, you should remember, a long season. And while the Harvard hockey legions may have visions of regular season titles and NCAA tournament bids dancing through their heads, the even-keeled Crothers has a much more basic goal in mind.

“If I can look myself in the eye and say I did my best, I’ll be happy,” he says.