Only now, that’s leaving Crimson fans without a group of people to call The Bad Guys. The other three teams probably feel the same way.

Which leads us to this question: Who’s supposed to win this thing, anyway?

Mazzoleni thinks the “favorite” label belongs to Colgate, the top seed and regular season champion. “They should be,” he said. “They’ve proven it over the long haul.”

Harvard, though, seems to have finally caught up with its lofty preseason expectations. It’s safe to say a Crimson victory would not be surprising, never mind its ho-hum 16-14-3 record.

“Harvard’s the favorite, no question,” said Brown assistant coach Danny Brooks, whose team was swept by the Crimson last weekend. “They’re the best team, talent-wise.”

Only in the ECAC would that be said of a No. 6 seed.

ICE FAIR TO THE MIDLER

Good news. Bette Midler’s show was canceled Wednesday night.

No need to fire off an angry e-mail, Bette fans. That view comes from a strictly hockey perspective.

You see, she was all set to play at Pepsi Arena this week, until Mother Nature dumped a foot of snow on the Capital Region.

The Bette Set weighs upwards of 113,000 pounds—no problem for the Pepsi rafters under normal conditions—but the snow added another 76,000 pounds to the roof. That would have resulted in an excessive payload. So no Bette.

And while that’s not such a great thing for the arena’s ledger, ECAC players and coaches will reap the benefits of an ice surface that won’t be dealing with the after effects of a warm night under stage lights.

“Without her concert going on, the ice will probably be as good as it conceivably could be,” Mazzoleni said.

Last year, many observers agreed that the Pepsi ice was at least a little choppy, though Pepsi Arena general manager Bob Belber said he heard “very favorable comments” on the playing surface.

If ice conditions prove to be less-than-ideal again this weekend, Brooks expects Harvard will not feel ill effects.