“I think we feel a lot stronger in that position than we have been in a long time,” the coach says of his goaltending.

Harvard’s hopes for an improved offense and better goaltending have given the team high expectations for its 110th season.

“We feel that we have a chance to be around at the end,” Donato says. “I think as a team, [we] want to get back to the NCAA Tournament. [We] want to get back to the ECAC final four, the ECAC championship game.”

National polls seem to indicate this is a possibility. The expanded Preseason USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll has Harvard tied for 24th in the country, and the expanded Preseason USHCO.com/CBS College Sports Division I poll ranks the Crimson 23rd.

After an exhibition tie with McGill, Harvard opens its season tonight at Dartmouth.

From then on, the Crimson will face a tough stretch on the road against ECAC rivals No. 6 Cornell and No. 9 Princeton. Although Harvard will settle into a seven-game run at home, its opponents include defending national champion No. 4 Boston University and No. 12 Boston College. The Crimson will go head-to head against non-conference challenger Minnesota before jumping into the Beanpot Tournament at TD BankNorth Garden in February.

“If we’re going to be successful,” Alex Biega says, “we’re going to have to shoot for the stars...it’s anyone’s title in any given year.”