“He put the butterfly style on the map,” Danis said. “I went to his school for two years, back in 1997 and 1998.”

And sure enough, his career began to take off and, before long, the Bears took notice.

“Quebec’s obviously got a reputation for developing some of the better players in the NHL,” Grillo said. “The style up there’s pretty offensive and the goalies have to be good.”

And of course, Danis more than fit the bill.

After one season riding the pine, Danis finally got his chance sophomore year.

“That game at Harvard put my name out there,” Danis said. “But earlier that year, when we beat St. Cloud—I think at the time they were ranked No. 1 in the country, we got on a roll, and I started playing every game.”

Turning in 26 saves against the Huskies, Danis was off and running, with success against the Crimson not far behind.

“I don’t know why,” Danis said. “Obviously Harvard’s got a good team, they’ve got good players.”

Though already at a high talent level—Danis’ save percentage was second in the country during his sophomore season—doing “a good job with your rebounds” has been a primary concern of the past three seasons.

“And that’s something I’ve worked on a lot here at brown with our goalie coach,” Danis said. “Part of my success here at Brown is being square to the puck and always facing the puck.”

Once again, it was time for someone to stand up and notice. But this time it wasn’t Brown.

It was the Canadiens.

Offering Danis a contract following his stellar junior season, the Bears’ bulwark had all that he’d striven for since his youth within his grasp.

And he turned it down.

“I can’t say I didn’t think about it,” Danis said. “But I knew we were going to have a fairly good team this year. And that if I come back and have another good season the offers are going to be there at the season.”

And for anyone who thinks that hasn’t been a huge boost to his team’s spirits, think again.

“You know you’re in every game,” Grillo said. “You know you’ve got the best goalie.”

So now all that stands between Harvard and a trip to the ECAC semifinals is a tall Canadian with a slight build and a soft, lightly-accented voice. Not too much to be worried about there. Not too much for Brown to be worried about at all.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.