Harvard’s Donato living a deja vu moment

WHAT TO WATCH

It’s been nearly three decades since Ted Donato had his shining moment as a college hockey player, leading Harvard to the Beanpot title and the school’s lone national championship.

If the moment at hand seems a bit like deja vu to him, it should.

Now in his 13th season as head coach of the Crimson, Donato has guided the team to the Beanpot crown (its first since 1993), the ECAC championship and a spot in the Frozen Four after victories over Providence (its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1994) and Air Force in the East Regional.

Oh, and there’s a sophomore named Donato in the Harvard lineup — son Ryan, who’s tied for the team lead in goals (21) with Tyler Moy.

“I’m very proud and very excited for our players,” said Donato,

WHY NOT US?

Four of the past six winners have been first-time champions, including Minnesota-Duluth’s title in 2011. Before that, there had not been a breakthrough winner since Maine in 1993. Notre Dame has a chance to add to the list and hass recent history leaning on its side — two of the four champions since 2013 were No. 4 seeds. “You’ve got the bright lights and the big buildings and you don’t know how your team is going to respond to that,” said Irish coach Jeff Jackson, who won two national championships in the 1990s at Lake Superior State. “You just hope that you’ve prepared them for being in that moment.”

THE BIG THREE

Denver, Harvard and Minnesota-Duluth have been at the top of the rankings all season, with the Fighting Irish on the cusp of the top 10.

MVP of the 1989 Frozen Four. “It’s very difficult to get here. These guys have answered every challenge thus far.”

Harvard (28-5-2) kicks off the Frozen Four against MinnesotaDuluth Minnesota-Duluth is 6-0-0 in neutral-site games and has seven short-handed goals and five overtime goals. Harvard also is 6-0-0 at neutral sites and 19-0 when leading after two periods, while Denver is 1-1-0 on neutral ice and Notre Dame 3-1-0.

DRAFT PICKS GALORE

Every roster of the 16 teams that made the NCAA Tournament had at least one NHL prospect, including eight first-round draft picks. Among those in the Frozen Four are: Denver C Henrik Borgstrom (Florida Panthers) and D Blake Hillman (Chicago Blackhawks); Harvard D Adam Fox (Calgary Flames) and C Ryan Donato (Boston Bruins); Minnesota-Duluth LW Riley Tufte (Dallas Stars) and D Carson Soucy (Minnesota Wild); and Notre Dame F Anders Bjork (Boston Bruins) and F Jake Evans (Montreal Canadiens). Harvard goalie Merrick Madsen was a sixth-round pick of the Flyers in the 2013 draft.

(27-6-7) on Thursday night at the United Center in Chicago. The nightcap pits top-seeded Denver (31-7-4) against Notre Dame (23-11-5). The winners play for the title on Saturday night.