That aggressive forecheck is something Harvard will have to address; in the team’s first meeting, the Golden Knights outshot the Crimson and in both meetings the Knights have matched or exceeded Harvard’s physical play.

“Both times we’ve played Clarkson, they haven’t seen our best,” Welch said. “Maybe we’ll see it, though, on Friday.”

Harvard’s best effort is something that impresses Marsh; his teams, with a more open and offensive-minded attack, have had trouble matching up with the Crimson the last two years.

“Harvard is an extremely talented team…you have to respect what that team is capable of doing,” Marsh said. “Harvard can beat you in a lot of ways—the Yale game is a perfect example. Harvard has the capability to go out there and light you up.”

The team will need some of that New Haven spark in the North Country, where momentum and playoff positioning hang on the weekend’s outcome. As Welch said, it will need to show it’s best effort, for once, for the team to be successful.

“The book isn’t closed on this yet,” Mazzoleni said. “It’s not closed yet. We’re very, very capable of doing what we need to do.”

—Staff writer Timothy M. McDonald can be reached at tmcdonald@fas.harvard.edu.