Flash back to the final game of Harvard’s 2003-2004 season—the first game of the NCAA tournament. The Crimson enjoys a 4-1 lead over the University of Maine after two periods. A win is just 20 minutes away.

But the Black Bears come out of the locker room with a vengeance, scoring four goals in the final frame. Maine goes on to the national title game, where it loses to Denver, and the Crimson travels back to Cambridge with thoughts of what might have been.

Flash forward to the present. After another loss in the first round last season, Harvard has now fallen in four straight first rounds. On the one hand, the Crimson can find comfort in the fact that few teams are so consistently good. On the other hand, this is not a trend that players or coaches would like to see continue.

On Saturday, the Crimson plays another game in Albany’s Pepsi Arena. Last weekend on that ice, Harvard defeated league foes Dartmouth and Cornell in back-to-back games for the Crimson’s third ECAC Championship in five years. Harvard scored 16 goals in those games and allowed only three, and the Crimson (21-11-2) has won 20 games for back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1992-1993 and 1993-1994.

The team has also played more games at the Pepsi Arena over the past four seasons than anywhere except its home rink.

“I think it’s nice in the fact that we’re comfortable in the surroundings and know our way around a little bit in Albany,” coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “Having just played there, I think it’s an advantage in our mindset, but I also realize that when you get out on the ice, playing the best hockey is really all that matters.”

A key area for both teams heading into this weekend will be the power play. Five of the Crimson’s six goals against Cornell came with the man advantage, and the Big Red had previously killed 26 consecutive chances.

Moreover, Harvard has scored at least two power-play goals in three straight games.

Meanwhile, the Bears (26-11-2) enter their eighth straight tournament appearance and boast the best penalty kill in the country (89.7 percent).

“Maine has really good special teams,” junior defenseman Dylan Reese said. “[They have] one of best power plays in the country as well as penalty kill, and so we need to keep capitalizing on the power play, which has been solid the last few weekends. If we keep that up, we’ll be successful.”

And of course, the Harvard defense must keep an eye on the Bears’ offensive leader, captain Greg Moore, a Hobey Baker finalist who has tallied a team-leading 26 goals and 16 assists for a total of 42 points.

Moore will look to poke holes in Harvard goaltender John Daigneau, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the ECAC finals and sports a .915 save percentage.

Meanwhile, the Crimson offense boasts a balance attack led by junior Kevin Du (team-leading 33 points) and senior Dan Murphy (team-leading 18 goals). They will lead Harvard against freshman goalie Ben Bishop—who has started 27 games and accumulated a 19-7-2 record and a .907 save percentage—and assistant captain Steve Mullin, a defenseman who has played in 98 straight games.

The winner of the Maine-Harvard game will move on to face the winner of top-seeded Michigan State and the fourth seed University of New Hampshire for a spot in the Frozen Four, held in Milwaukee, Wisc.

“We’re really excited,” Reese said. “Maine got us real good [my] freshman year, so the game’s extra special for us against Maine, and I feel like we have the best team that we’ve had since I’ve been here. And we’re riding so much confidence right now, so it would be great to get through Maine and get a chance against Michigan State.”

—Staff writer Julie R. S. Fogarty can be reached at fogarty2@fas.harvard.edu.