"Prior to Christmas, we learned a lot about every kid on this team," Stone said. "[Ruddock] continued to earn her position as the season went on."

Kuusisto played a major role as Harvard's backup goaltender on the 1999 team that won the national championship in Minneapolis. When Crystal Springer '00 re-injured herself in the national semifinals against Brown, Kuusisto started the national championship game against New Hampshire, which Harvard won 6-5 in overtime.

"Allison Kuusisto has done some great things for Harvard hockey," Stone said. "She will be there if we need her."

A victory tonight could potentially place Harvard in a Sunday night rematch with Dartmouth in the NCAA final. The Big Green defeated the Crimson 3-1 in the ECAC final last Sunday. Harvard will hope to repeat the accomplishments of the 1999-2000 Minnesota team, which won the national title as a third seed and avenged a conference tournament loss along the way. Among the Frozen Four field, Harvard is the only program that has ever advanced as far as the national final.

The Patty Kazmaier Award--given to the most outstanding player of women's intercollegiate ice hockey--will be handed out at a USA Hockey award dinner tomorrow evening at the Radisson Hotel Metrodome. The three remaining finalists for the award are Botterill, Shewchuk and Minnesota senior defenseman Courtney Kennedy.

"I think [the dinner] will be great." Botterill said. "A bunch of us went down last year, since it was in Boston, and they've done a great job organizing it the last couple of years."

With Botterill and Shewchuk, the Crimson has two more Kazmaier finalists than any other school in the NCAA field. In the award's short three-year history, no team with a Kazmaier winner has ever failed to reach the national championship game.