And if the Black Bears have had a sore spot this season, this could be it. In spite of Metcalf’s outstanding offensive contributions, it seems that Maine might be vulnerable in its own end to some extent.

“Their defense can be exploited,” MacDonald said. “It’s solid, but we had success down low against them using quick cutbacks, picks, and creating a lot of traffic. Forwards like Dominic Moore [can hurt them] with a lot of quick cutbacks. By moving their feet [Harvard forwards] can create chances.”

Crowder, who went 1-1-1 against Maine this year, agreed.

“Their defensive corps is one of the areas that might not be as strong as the other parts, and Harvard might have to exploit that,” he said. “One thing that scared me about Harvard [in the Beanpot] was their forwards. I really think that Harvard has good forwards and that they’re really quick. The onus of the game is going to rest on Harvard’s forwards to create chances.”

Some argue that the Crimson’s strong offensive performance last weekend was aided by the big Olympic sheet at Lake Placid.

Did it help? Absolutely. But at the same time, Harvard put 68 shots on goal against Brown in Game 2. That’s impressive, and it shows that the Crimson forwards are really learning to pick their spots and are getting used to playing with one another.

The bet here is that Harvard will be able to get “Grade A” chances against Maine. It just has to make sure that it does something with them.

Goaltending

Tell me if this sounds familiar.

The coach rotates two goalies for much of the season, then decides to go with one for the playoffs.

The playoff goaltender responds, starts playing well, and the team makes the NCAA tournament.

You might recognize this as the story of Harvard’s goaltending this season.

But would you believe that the same thing happened to the Black Bears?

Maine interim head coach Tim Whitehead platooned seniors Mike Morrison and Matt Yeats throughout the year, though Morrison saw the bulk of the action.

In fact, Morrison was named first team All-Hockey East at the end of the season. He was second in the league in wins (18), goals against average (2.17), and save percentage (.922).