“I think we are a very close team with a lot of chemistry,” freshman forward Sami Reber said. “We have a lot of talent this year, and I think that will take us far.

With the combination of how close we are as a team and the talent that we have, it should be great season.”

Harvard will need this cohesion to get through one of the toughest schedules in the country.

It will face No. 3 Cornell twice in its conference slate and will face No. 2 Minnesota in a pair of Thanksgiving skates in Bright Hockey Center.

The Crimson also has three more opponents from the top 10 on its schedule.

“As far as I know, I think Cornell is always a big competitor in our league, and Dartmouth as well should be a big game,” Reber said. “Overall, we’re going to take everything one game at a time and see where it takes us. Our main goal is to win a national championship, but right now, we’re just focusing on one game at a time.”

But for some upperclassmen, playing the two-time defending ECAC champions means more than simply beating a league competitor.

“Cornell is the team we have in our crosshairs,” Hayssen said. “Every day we’re working hard, we’re working to beat Cornell, of course along with everyone else.”

But the team’s aspirations don’t end with Cornell, as the captain, the veterans, and even the freshmen hope to compete on a national level this season.

“I’d say [winning a national championship] is a goal for us,” Picard said. “It’s not impossible if we can do the little things right and come together as a team.”

“We compete hard, we battle hard,” Baumgartner added. “We’re here to outwork, outhustle, outplay every other team and so whether we’re on the road or whether we’re at home, it doesn’t really matter, we stick to our game plan. So in practices, we’re just focusing on the simple things, the little things, and that’s what’s going to get us through.”