Harvard will look to several skaters to crack the Cornell defense. Sophomore Dominic Moore leads the balanced attack with 14 goals and 27 assists this season.

The Crimson's offense has been bolstered by the resurgence of Steve Moore, who bounced back from a disappointing senior season with five points in last weekend's seep of Yale, while playing stifling defense on star Bulldog center Jeff Hamilton.

One of the few Harvard players who's played in Lake Placid, Steve Moore should also provide the Crimson with much-needed senior leadership.

"You're not going to win the tournament with freshmen and sophomores," Mazzoleni said. "Your older kids have to step their game up, and Steve Moore played his best two games of his career last weekend."

Although Cornell has shut down the Crimson this season, allowing only three goals in two games, Harvard may find an advantage in Lake Placid's Olympic-size rink.

The larger ice sheet figures to help Harvard outmaneuver the Red defense, which is not known for its swiftness. The Crimson, on the other hand, prides itself on its speed and skating ability.

"That added 15 feet is a lot of room, and we're going to try to do a lot of things to take advantage of it," Mazzoleni said.

Although a bigger surface figures to be an advantage on paper, the Crimson has not faired well in larger rinks this year. Harvard lost all four games on Olympic-size ice, although three of those losses were to ranked teams.