For Harvard women’s hockey, the year of the XXII Olympiad is a year of Olympic challenges.

The upcoming games in Sochi, Russia ,mean changes for the whole Crimson squad, as its head coach and several key players take time away from Cambridge to pursue Olympic medals.

Filling in the gaps is no easy job, and the team aspires to maintain its standard of excellence this season in spite of huge adjustments.

Under head coach Katey Stone, the women’s hockey team has been one of the winningest teams at Harvard throughout the past 18 years, collecting six regular season ECAC titles and making nine NCAA tournament appearances.

As Stone takes this year off to coach the USA women’s national team, the Crimson will be led by interim head coach, Maura Crowell, who has been an assistant coach for Harvard for the past three years.

When Crowell, who previously had spent five years at the helm of UMass Boston, found out about her new role in June, she knew that her work was cut out for her.

“Getting back into the role [of head coach] after being assistant coach is an adjustment,” Crowell said. “But it’s a good one.”

Crowell is not facing this adjustment alone. With the support system of assistant coach Hayley Moore, and new assistant coach Laura Bellamy ’13, Crowell is well-equipped to tackle the task at hand.

An additional resource for Crowell in this transitional year is junior captain Marissa Gedman, who is returning to action after suffering an Achilles’ tear last year. Her return marks the comeback of an offensive force for the Crimson, as the lefty defenseman was responsible for eight goals, including five game-winners, in her last season.

“She sets the tone right away,” Crowell said. “She works hard and takes it seriously, so everyone follows in line behind her. Marissa expects a lot out of her teammates, and they want to prove to her that they belong and can meet her standards.”

With only two seniors on this year’s squad, Harvard’s roster is one of the youngest the team has had in years. The Crimson graduated six seniors last season, and is now dominated by younger players, making Gedman’s role as captain all the more crucial to the success of the team. It’s a role she is more than ready to fulfill.

“I love the responsibility,” Gedman said. “I love leading this team.”

Besides the absence of its head coach this year, Harvard is also missing Josephine Pucci, Michelle Picard, and Lindsey Fry, three key players in the Crimson lineup that will all be competing for spots on Olympic rosters this Fall.

The absence of these valuable contributors has made it more necessary than ever for each player on the Crimson to deliver. For this reason, the coaching staff and older players are holding the newcomers to a higher standard than ever as they head into this season.

“We always tell our freshmen, ‘You’re not freshmen anymore after those first few weeks,’” Gedman said. “After that, you’ve got to be on board.”

The Crimson heads into this season ranked No. 9 in the country. Harvard’s ability to adapt to change will be put to the test from its very first game against Quinnipiac, another top-ten squad. From there on out, the competition will only get stiffer, as the Crimson takes on three more preseason top-ten teams in the following weeks.

“Whether people are expecting big things from us or not, we’re expecting big things from ourselves,” Gedman said.

In her stint as head coach, Crowell hopes to emphasize the importance of growth throughout these upcoming matches. Using each playing opportunity as a chance for the entire team to develop as a unit is a primary goal.

“I focus more on expectations than goals,” Crowell said. “I think that the steps along the way are really important in order to get there.”

The players have some goals of their own. After the disappointment of missing out on ECAC and national titles last season, the Crimson is hungry for redemption.

“It has definitely motivated everybody,” junior forward Hillary Crowe said. “And we are going to play with a chip on our shoulder.”

Rebuilding in the face of adversity seems to be the theme of this season for Harvard. From the assistant coach stepping up to take the reigns, to the captain returning stronger than ever after a debilitating injury, to the newcomers stepping up to fill the skates of some of the best players in the nation, the Crimson’s season already seems to be defined by dealing with adversity.

“You can hang your head and think it’s tough, and woe is me,” Crowell said. “But it builds character. We’ve overcome so much already, and we’ll see what else gets thrown our way... I know we can handle it.”