The Crimson’s balanced scoring will also prevent Dartmouth from focusing on just one line.

“We have four very effective lines,” Mazzoleni said. “The fourth line plays its role, and we have three lines that can score against anyone.”

NCAA What?

Asked whether he kept track of Harvard’s chances for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, Moore replied that he did not.

“No, I really don’t follow that,” Moore said. “All we control is our next game, and that’s where we are focused, but I’m sure it’s something the coaches keep a very close eye on and are aware of.”

If Mazzoleni is thinking about his team’s chances for an at-large bid, however, it is not something he’s going to admit.

“To be honest, I haven’t talked about the NCAA tournament once,” Mazzoleni said.

His focus is elsewhere right now.

“We are the defending ECAC champions,” Mazzoleni said. “We’re going in to defend our championship. We aren’t digging our heels in. We’re going in to win.”

After losing to Cornell twice during the regular season and seeing the Big Red climb to second in the national rankings, Mazzoleni understands Harvard is an underdog.

“I know there aren’t many people who are giving us any chance of winning this,” Mazzoleni said. “But they forget that we won the championship last year.”

They may also forget that the Crimson won the ECAC title after Brown was favored to sweep Harvard out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals a year ago.

Past upsets should give confidence to both Dartmouth and Brown in the tournament, but don’t expect the Crimson to underestimate the Big Green in semifinal matchup after sweeping the season series with 5-2 and 4-1 wins.

“Dartmouth is a very, very good hockey team,” Mazzoleni said. “One reason we played well against them was the tremendous amount of respect we have for them. If we don’t play our best, they are capable of beating us. The coaches prepare the same way for every game, but it maybe catches the attention of the players, and they are more intense because we respect our opponent.”

Flying Below The Radar