Harvard’s Frozen Four opponents are the cream of the crop and each has strengths and weaknesses the Crimson will need to scout for its upcoming games.

ST. LAWRENCE

Following Sunday’s loss to Harvard in the ECAC final, both St. Lawrence head coach Paul Flanagan and star forward Gina Kingsbury shed tears over the fact that she will not play in this weekend’s games.  Instead, she will be with the Canadian national team.

Her impact on the team this past winter cannot be denied, whether it is her team leading 57 points or the noticeable explosive potential she adds to the first line’s Rebecca Russell and Chelsea Grills.

But even without her presence on the ice, St. Lawrence will be no rollover with the veteran leadership and skills of co-captain Rachel Barrie between the pipes for the Saints.

In this past weekend’s press conferences, Flanagan made this fact clear with only four words.

“Rachel got us here,” Flanagan said.

And with all four teams boasting tough offenses that pounce on any loose puck or rebound, Barrie will have to bring her highest level of hockey to continue St. Lawrence’s run.

Much like the Crimson and Minnesota, the Saints have really begun to gel as a team in the final stretch of this past season, with long winning streaks and impressive victories over Dartmouth, Brown and Princeton.  But on the flip side, its first round opponent, Harvard, has had its way with St. Lawrence, winning all three contests this season.

After losing the conference championship to the Crimson, there were a lot of questions remaining about how the Saints would adapt and come out in the Frozen Four.

“Where do I start?” Flanagan said.  “The main thing [we have to do is] figure out how to stop their powerplay and how to kick-start ours and get it going.”

Outside of the mental obstacle when facing Harvard without Kingsbury, the Saints would be one of the stronger teams in the Frozen Four.

MINNESOTA

The Gophers come into the tournament as the top-ranked team, but also as the unknown since the other three teams all harken from the ECAC and thus have an in-depth knowledge of each others’ styles of play.

Two weeks ago, Minnesota asserted its dominance as the best team west of the ECAC by beating a healthy and dangerous Minnesota-Duluth team for the WCHA championship.