In the middle of his inaugural season with the Boston Bruins back in 1992, Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 suited up for the United States men’s ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics in France. Serving as an assistant on the coaching staff that made the decision to select the former forward was Blais.

Since calling it quits on his playing career, which included four years at the University of Minnesota and a few more with the Chicago Blackhawks’ developmental team, Blais has spent nearly all of his time coaching. The skipper has coached at the high school, college, and international levels, highlighted by his experience with the U.S. Olympic team and two national championships as North Dakota’s head coach in 1997 and 2000.

Blais has coached Omaha since 2009, carrying the Mavericks to two NCAA tournament appearances over his tenure (2011, 2015). After his first trip to the Big Dance proved unsuccessful—a 3-2 loss to Michigan in St. Louis—Blais will look to secure his first tournament win with the Mavericks against an opponent he knows very well.

“[Donato] was a real tough competitor, and I think his teams are a reflection of his personality,” Blais said. “He was definitely one of the top players that I ever coached.”

Donato, meanwhile, will be searching for his first win in the national tournament in his 11 seasons coaching the Crimson. Donato-coached teams lost in the first rounds of the 2005 and 2006 tournaments.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for [Blais]—first and foremost as a person; second, for his ability to coach and develop hockey players,” Donato said. “But [I] can’t say I’m rooting very hard for him tomorrow night.”

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com.