Sure, it’ll be different. No one’s denying the novelty. But make no mistake: there is more to this weekend than a familiar face on an unfamiliar bench.

Tomorrow night, the Harvard men’s hockey team hosts the Nate Leaman-led Union Dutchmen in Leaman’s first game at Bright Hockey Center since leaving Cambridge after four years on Mark Mazzoleni’s staff.

The subplots are numerous. Every Crimson player either played for or was recruited by Leaman. During his time here, Leaman’s youth—he was 30 years old when he replaced Kevin Sneddon ’92 as Union’s head coach in July—and charisma made him a very popular assistant among Harvard players. And then there’s the intriguing understudy-turned-adversary element about the Leaman-Mazzoleni matchup.

“It will seem weird having him on the other bench,” said Harvard senior captain Kenny Smith. “We all were very close with Coach Leaman, but now that makes us want to beat him all the more. I’m sure he feels the same way toward us.

“He’s a competitive person. He instilled that in us. He wouldn’t have it any other way than to have an extremely competitive game.”

The teams met once earlier this season—the Crimson’s 3-2 win at Union on Jan. 2, in which Harvard staged its largest third-period comeback in over two years—but tomorrow will mark Leaman’s first trip to the visiting side of the rink where he became a prize assistant coach and helped the Crimson to the 2002 ECAC championship.

“It’ll be different being on the opposing bench,” Leaman said earlier this week. “When you coach somewhere, you’re always going to have relationships that are special. I watch those guys on the Internet, see how they’re doing, and talk with Coach Mazz and the assistants every now and then.

“Myself and [former Harvard assistant] Ronnie [Rolston] recruited a lot of those kids, so you’re always interested in how they’re doing. You follow them because you care. But now I have my own thing going on here, and I care a whole heck of a lot about the players here.”

Leaman said he thought most of the “emotional stuff” involving his Harvard ties took place in the January game at Union.

Now, he said, “it’s more about focusing on the game itself.” That’s understandable. This is, after all, the ECAC in mid-February and the horse race that will take place over the next few weeks will make the Belmont Stakes look like a Sunday afternoon canter.

With six regular-season games remaining, two overachieving teams (Brown and Colgate) are in the top spots and three more—Rensselaer, Cornell, and Dartmouth—are tied for third with 19 points. Harvard (9-12-2 overall, 7-8-1 ECAC, 15 points) is in seventh but within earshot of a top-four finish and first round bye. Union (12-12-4 overall, 5-9-2 ECAC, 12 points) is in 10th but only two points away from a home playoff series.

All indications are that this year’s ECAC stretch run could be as tight as the 2001-2002 season, in which Harvard, in third place with 23 points, had only four more points than Union, which ended up in 11th place and out of the playoffs.

“This is no different than any other year in this league,” Leaman said. “It’s all coming down to the last couple weeks. Anybody can end up on top, and no one in this league is untouchable.”

Much like Harvard, Leaman’s Dutchmen have beaten the league’s best at times and struggled mightily at others. Union began the season 7-2-2, then went on a 12-game winless streak—from Nov. 21 until a 4-3 overtime win at Sacred Heart on Jan. 23—but has won four of its last five, including a 7-0 win at Dartmouth.

“Nate’s done a great job there,” Mazzoleni said. “They’re right around .500 overall and they’re making a run right now in conference. They weathered a very difficult time where they went through a period without winning and scoring goals, and they’ve put themselves right back into the possibility of hosting.”