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Coming into this season, the No. 9/9 Harvard men’s hockey team’s offense had the look of one that could make a push towards a national championship. Returning all three members of a potent first line that combined for 61 goals last season—as well as adding freshman forward Ryan Donato to the mix—the Crimson attack looked poised to challenge the nation’s best defenses.

There was, however, one caveat to these national title aspirations: whether Harvard’s defense could bolster up enough to allow for a legitimate run through ECAC play.

As Harvard (13-7-3, 9-4-3 ECAC) readies for a weekend home slate against Rensselaer (14-10-6, 6-4-6) and Union (10-10-8, 3-8-5), the defense has almost certainly held up its half of the bargain.

Even after losing former defensemen Patrick McNally and Max Everson and goaltender Steve Michalek to graduation, the defense has not dropped off from its performance last season. The unit is still middle of the pack in the conference but has actually dropped its goals-per-game-allowed total from 2.34 to 2.09 in league play--all this despite an overall increase in scoring in ECAC games.

Some of the credit goes to sophomore goaltender Merrick Madsen as well.

“Merrick has done a great job on the back end,” junior defenseman Clay Anderson said. “I think we just came in from the beginning of the year and worked hard. We knew we could score goals at a high rate and it was a question if we could keep them out of the net. And I think so far we’ve done a decent job.”

A big part of the defense’s success this year lies with senior defenseman Desmond Bergin and Anderson. The two upperclassmen lead a relatively young unit, with both players posting above six in the plus-minus category during conference play.

Senior Brayden Jaw’s return from injury after the overtime loss against No. 1/1 Quinnipiac helped strengthen the defense’s core. The team allowed an average of 3.75 goals per game in his absence over the first half of January.

The defense will look to keep RPI in a scoring slump this Friday. The team has only scored two goals in its last three games—all of which were losing efforts. But the Engineers boast junior forward Riley Bourbonnais, who has 13 goals on the entire season, good for sixth in the ECAC.

The Crimson offense may face a stiff challenge of its own going up against netminder Jason Kasdorf. The senior has played in 79 games over his career and boasts a .934 save percentage on the season.

“I think [we need to be] better in the neutral zone, being better on the forecheck,” junior Tyler Moy said. “Those are a lot of things we’ve been trying to apply in practice this week.”

Despite the team’s three-game winless skid, RPI still sits in fourth place in the conference standings, which would guarantee the team a first-round bye in the ECAC Tournament.

The same cannot be said about Union, however, as the team inhabits ninth place in the standings. The team has failed to find its stride ever since the New Year, having won only one game since January 3rd. But in a league where second place and seventh place are separated by four points, no team is easily defeated.

“These are two big games,” Anderson said. “We’re really looking forward to two exciting home games and hopefully get four points.”

The Dutchmen are less than two season removed from a NCAA National Championship, but they have quickly fallen through the ranks of the conference. Union does not rank in the top five in either goals per game or goals allowed per contest. Sophomores Spencer Foo and and Ryan Scarfo are the two bright spots on the Dutchmen offense, both having notched 12 thus far on the year.

With only three weekends left, the Crimson is tied for second in the league with Yale; only three points separate the squad from losing its grasp on a first-round bye.

“We know where we stand as of right now,” Anderson said. “We definitely an eye on the standings.”

–Staff writer Kurt T. Bullard can be reached at kurt.bullard@thecrimson.com.