“It’s really nice to have my older sister on the same line because she can offer constructive criticism,” Margaret says. “A lot of freshmen come in not knowing anyone, and I had a built-in network...It’s interesting because I’ve played with my sister and [freshman] Hilary [Hayssen] and a lot of Minnesotan girls, but now that we’re a part of this team, everyone has different roles, and it’s an entirely different team.”

The Crimson will benefit from having seven skaters from Minnesota, a state that, according to Margaret, has good enough competition at the high-school level that she and Katharine never had to double up with a club team.

But the familiar faces extend beyond Harvard for the Chutes, as many of Katharine and Margaret’s former teammates are now playing for rival collegiate teams. According to Edmund Chute, Dartmouth’s Sally Komarek was on the same line with his daughters on the state championship team.

With the 2009-10 regular season kicking off tonight for Harvard, the Chute sisters will be ready to do what they love: play the sport they’ve played since before they can remember—together.

“We grew up with hockey and skating outside, so it’s really been a big part of our lives,” Katharine says.

While they may be playing against former teammates and with former opponents, at least they’ve got each other. And according to Stankovsky, having both Chutes is a recipe for greatness.

“That’s the magic that the two of them bring,” Stankovsky says. “Katharine is just like a racing rabbit out there—she’s quick. The neat part is Margaret will let her go do that, get herself open, and they see each other, find each other. It’s uncanny. A lot of times they don’t talk to each other, it just happens.”

—Staff writer Dixon McPhillips can be reached at fmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.