After the Harvard men’s hockey team failed to make the NCAA Tournament last spring, I posed three questions that the Crimson needed to answer to make a return to the Dance this season.

The first question looked to the net, where Justin Tobe ’07 and then-freshman Kyle Richter both held the starting job for parts of the season. Though Richter showed much promise, his consistency left something to be desired. Could he become a rock for Harvard and give the team 20 wins?

The sophomore netminder has erased that question from everyone’s mind this season, posting three shutouts en route to a 6-3-2 start. Other than a four-goal blip last Tuesday against Rensselaer, Richter has been outstanding, posting some of the best numbers in the nation. His save percentage (.952) is still unmatched by any other backstop, and his goals-against average (1.43) is good enough for third in the country.

While 20 wins may be a stretch with only 18 regular-season games remaining, a good postseason run for the Crimson might allow Richter to reach that benchmark.

Another question looked to the skaters in front of Richter. With only one member of the incoming senior class of blueliners having played more than half of Harvard’s games last season, it was unclear who would lead the Crimson defense.

But bolstered by Richter’s consistency, Harvard has clamped down on its opposing offenses, allowing two goals or fewer in nine of its 11 games. Senior David MacDonald was elected one of the Crimson’s captains and has started every game, matching up against the nation’s top attackers alongside junior Brian McCafferty. Junior Jack Christian has shown incredible maturity, cutting down on his penalty minutes and mentoring freshman Chris Huxley while contributing offensively as well.

Though the defensive unit remains young, it hasn’t shown signs of its inexperience. Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 seems as comfortable sending out younger players like sophomores Chad Morin and Alex Biega against his opponent’s top line as he does when his veterans take the ice. And thus far, the blueliners, both young and old, have been up to the task.

Despite these successes, it’s the one yet unanswered question that continues to haunt the Crimson: who will be Harvard’s go-to scorer?

The lack of a dominant offensive presence was painfully obvious during the Crimson’s 2-2 tie with Vermont on Saturday night. With the game on the line, there was no single player that Harvard could count on to be a difference-maker.

Gone are the days when the likes of Kevin Du ’07, Tom Cavanagh ’05, and Dominic Moore ’03 thrilled crowds with late, flashy game-winning goals. Instead, a Crimson team that relies on balanced contributions—defensemen scored eight of Harvard’s first 16 goals this season—suddenly finds itself without a player who it can look to when it needs that crucial tally.

Freshman forward Michael Biega leads the team with four goals scored—three of which were recorded in a tie against Yale on Nov. 28—and only three other players have lit the lamp at least three times. On the other hand, first-place Clarkson has four players with five goals or more.

Certainly, teams have done well without a dominant goalscorer. No Crimson skater has recorded more than 20 goals since Moore racked up 24 in the 2002-03 season, and yet Harvard still made the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons.

But this Crimson team needs a spark. Richter’s excellent goaltending has allowed Harvard to succeed in low-scoring games, but the offense needs to be ready to step up when the netminder has a bad night.

“It’s frustrating, because we can’t expect to win hockey games by scoring one or two goals all the time,” Donato said after the tie against Vermont.

While the Crimson may find its way into later rounds of the ECAC playoffs with its current level of play, a truly deep postseason run seems nearly impossible without a forward establishing himself as a late-game difference-maker.

Who will be lurking around the net for a one-timer on a third-period power play? Who will pull the trigger on a crucial 2-on-1? Who will penetrate a packed-in defense that seems content just to hold on during overtime?

Harvard couldn’t find these answers against the Catamounts on Saturday night. But if the Crimson wants to be a team that will once again make it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it better resolve the goalscorer dilemma.

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.