The Dutchmen may prove to remain a tough opponent, as their top offensive players—senior forward Kelly Zajac, junior forward Jeremy Welsh, and sophomore forward Daniel Carr—are all returning for another season.

The following day, Boston University, ranked in the preseason top 15, travels to Bright Hockey Center to face Harvard.

The Crimson hosts an Ivy League showdown a few weeks later, as Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth come to town at the end of January.

Coming off a season in which they were briefly ranked No. 1 in the nation, the Bulldogs return without some of its offensive leaders, including forwards Denny Kearney and Broc Little.

But junior forward Brian O’Neill—its top goal scorer—and sophomore forward Andrew Miller, are both back, and Yale remains a top ECAC contender yet again.

Like the Bulldogs, Harvard has a pool of talented players in the class of 2011. Seven icemen graduated, including both goaltenders that received significant playing time last year and two of the team’s top scorers.

“Losing two of the senior goalies … is tough,” Donato said. “We don’t have the experience that we’ve had, but we feel like ultimately [the talent we’ve acquired] … will be a strength for us over the course of time.”

The rest of the team remains optimistic as well.

“We lost some key guys, but I think our core group is still here,” Killorn said. “I think we’re going to build off of what we did last season.”

The Crimson kicks off what are always the biggest non-league games of the year on Feb. 6 at the Beanpot.

The squad faces off against Boston University in the tournament’s first round.

Harvard will be looking to end a 19-year drought, the longest in school history.

As the season draws to a close, Harvard meets the Bulldogs and the Bears once again on the road before concluding the season against Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Feb. 24 and 25.

But instead of cruising through these final games while struggling at the season’s start—like the team did last year—the Crimson believes it has the tools to become a constant threat in the league.

“We’re most excited to see how this team does,” captain Ryan Grimshaw said. “We’re excited to see how we mesh together.”