Judgment day comes four months early for the Harvard women’s hockey team, who face No. 2 Minnesota and No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth this weekend in Minnesota.

The non-conference contests will have implications in terms of overall rankings, but more than that, they provide the No. 3 Crimson (2-0-0) with the opportunity to be judged—by the league, by their foes and by the players themselves.

“We want them to be at their best,” said captain and defenseman Jamie Hagerman. “That way, we can say that we beat the best.”

If Minnesota (9-0-1) and Duluth (9-0-1) are at their best this weekend, the Crimson will have its hands full.

Like the Crimson, both clubs feature several Olympian additions to already stacked lineups.

New to the Minnesota lineup are a pair of freshman forwards, U.S. Olympic silver medalists Krissy Wendell and Natalie Darwitz. Senior Winny Brodt, a one-time U.S. national team member, returns on defense.

“Our team is very different from last year’s,” said Minnesota coach Laura Holldorson. “We have more offensive firepower. Last year we worked hard, were very blue-collar and we overachieved. This year, we have more talent, but we have to apply the same work ethic.”

That work ethic was on display last season in Minnesota’s lone meeting with Harvard. Down 2-0 after a pair goals by then-Crimson freshman Nicole Corriero, the Golden Gophers exploded with three goals in the last four minutes to earn a 3-2 victory.

In that game, Harvard limited Minnesota to 21 shots. For the Crimson to succeed this year, it will have to be able to contain the new Minnesota forwards.

“[Their top players] can generate a lot of offense,” Hagerman said. “But they can’t stay out there the whole game. We have a deeper squad than they do.”

In addition to the national team members, local talents Ashley Albrecht, Krista Jonson, Allie Sanchez and Chelsea Brodt (Winny’s sister) were recruited to shore up the defense. In all, 13 of 20 Golden Gophers are from Minnesota.

On Saturday, hours north of Minneapolis/St-Paul, defending NCAA champion Duluth features several players not as close to home.

Fourteen of 22 Bulldogs are internationals, including seven Canadians, three Finns, two Swedes, a Russian and a Swiss. Six Duluth players are Olympians.

“They have a lot of highly skilled players,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone. “[But] we are faster than they are. They have big strong kids, but they’re not quite as quick.”

Both Stone and Hagerman emphasized the importance of shooting the puck. Last year, Harvard managed only 22 shots against both Minnesota and Duluth.