During the semifinal game, Eagle goaltender Scott Clemmensen set the mark for most career saves in the NCAAs with 322. That figure was one save more than Harvard goalie Grant Blair '86.

In fact, neither Blair nor Clemmensen were particularly great college goaltenders. The record was as much a tribute to how many games each goalie played over their four years in college. B.C. made the Frozen Four each of the past four seasons. Harvard made the finals twice from 1983-86.

It has been said, in fact, that talent-wise, the 1985-86 Crimson squad was the school's best ever, but a few mishaps by Blair allowed the Spartans to skate away with the championship by a score of 6-5.

When Harvard won the national championship in 1989, it did not have the random great season, it had a great program. The title was the culmination of a decade of excellence.

The Crimson was a feared national opponent and Bright Hockey Center was a place people trembled to enter.

Unfortunately, Ronn Tomassoni could not continue the winning tradition once Billy Cleary '56 moved up from coach to Athletic Director. After the 1993-94 team lost to Lake Superior St in the NCAA semifinals, Harvard plummeted. The Crimson had not had a season above .500 until this year, the second season of the Mark Mazzoleni era and the final one for Cleary.

The turmoil of the past few years has made all of Harvard's success seem distant. How could the meek Crimson, a school that even this year lost at Union, ever have competed with the Michigans and Minnesotas of the world?