The Clarkson defense is also strong, led by senior Carlee Eusepi. Eusepi was second in the conference in plus/minus during the regular season, and fellow defenseman Tegan Schroeder was tied with Selina for fourth in that category.

In net will be junior goalie Lauren Dahm, whose .937 save percentage was fourth-best in the conference during the regular season. Both Eusepi and Dahm joined Selina on the all-ECAC second team.

Against this stalwart defense, the Crimson will have a hard time replicating the 4.5 goals per game that it averaged versus Princeton last weekend.

“The Clarkson defense is very good, so it’s going to be almost a logic game trying to figure out how to beat them,” Buesser said. “One of the things we have to do is continue to forecheck their defense. The more pressure we have down there, the more time we have in their zone, the better our chances are.”

Buesser leads a Harvard attack that also features Dempsey, junior forward Liza Ryabkina–who had three goals last weekend–and senior forward Randi Griffin.

Crimson coach Katey Stone, who broke the NCAA Division I wins coaching record last weekend, has let her offense know that aggressive play is the best way to achieve success.

“Coach refers to the battles right in front of the net as the ‘mud areas’,” Dempsey explained. “This past weekend we were really just sacrificing and getting in the mud to get the job done...We were hungry, so we were just going at them, and I think that will be the same this weekend.”

If Stone's advice is true, for Harvard to pull out a victory on Friday night and win the ECAC Tournament Sunday, Dempsey and her teammates should be ready to get down and dirty.