PROVIDENCE, R.I.—If you couldn’t make it to the first game of the Harvard men’s hockey season here on Saturday night, don’t worry.

You didn’t miss much.

The Crimson lost to Brown, 4-0, in a game that was eerily similar to last year’s season opener, when the upstart Bears came to Bright Hockey Center and surprised Harvard, 4-2.

This time, though, there was no “upstart” or “surprise” about it. The Crimson knew exactly what to expect after four hard-fought battles between the two teams last year.

Harvard had the scouting report on Brown—quick, workmanlike forwards, a steady defense and spectacular goaltender.

But planning is one thing. Execution is another.

“It didn’t look like we had energy tonight,” said Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni. “It looked like we had heavy legs.”

In all, it was a disappointing effort for the Crimson, a team that played mature, opportunistic hockey under intense pressure during its run to the NCAA tournament last spring.

“We’re the defending ECAC champions,” said Harvard captain Dominic Moore. “Our intensity has to go up. We were beat to a lot of loose pucks tonight.”

That said, give credit to the Bears. They were the better team on Saturday, helped, of course, by Yann Danis, an All-American last season who reasserted his place among the elite goaltenders in college hockey with a 30-save shutout.

“He showed why he’s such an excellent goaltender,” Mazzoleni said. “He brought his ‘A’ game. He lived up to his billing.”

So did the Brown defense, which forced Harvard to take off-angle shots all night and swiped away the few rebounds Danis surrendered.

Meanwhile, Harvard goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris didn’t have the consistency that characterized his play down the stretch last season. He made 20 saves but coughed up rebounds on many of them.

Grumet-Morris also appeared to have clear lines of sight on goals scored by Paul Esdale and Scott Ford.

“Dov didn’t play one of his better games,” Mazzoleni said.