And, as Banfield can attest, the Harvard blue liners will have their hands full with the Big Green rush, which produces 5.08 goals per game, good for tops in the nation.

“In the top two lines they have really talented players,” Banfield said. “We have to limit the number of quality chances they get. They can shoot from the perimeter all day because we have good goalies. but we have to limit their second and third chances.”

If the Crimson does prevail, and then finds its way past a hapless Catamounts squad the next afternoon, it will see its post-season path cleared considerably.

Earning the top seed means the difference between having to meet probable third seed St. Lawrence and the eventual fourth seed (most likely Princeton or Yale) in the ECAC semifinals. The gulf in talent between the top three and the rest of the field is measurable, so Harvard would benefit greatly from avoiding the Saints and Big Green until the final.

With another quality win, as a conquest of Dartmouth would surely be, the Crimson would be all but a lock for a bid into the NCAA Frozen Eight in late March.

—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.