Northeast Regional preview: Friday, March 29, 3 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN, No. 1 Massachusetts vs. No. 4 Harvard SNHU Arena, Manchester, N.H.

MASSACHUSETTS

Season record: 28-9-0 (18-6-0 HEA, 1st)

Playoffs to this point: defeated New Hampshire (5-4 (2OT), 6-0), lost to Boston College (3-0)

Top players: Defenseman Cale Makar (15-31–46); Forwards Jacob Pritchard (16-29–45), Mitchell Chaffee (17-24–41), John Leonard (13-23–36)

Top goalies: Matt Murray (20-5-0, 2.11 GAA, .919), Filip Lindberg (8-3-0, 1.67 GAA, .932)

Why they will advance to Buffalo: UMass is as talented as any team in the country, led by arguably college hockey’s top player, defenseman Cale Makar. The Minutemen can boast the nation’s No. 3 offense, No. 2 power play, No. 9 defense, and No. 4 penalty kill. They have it all.

Why they will not advance to Buffalo: They have it all… except experience. The big stage was not kind to them in the Hockey East semifinals, so the onus is on them to shine in the limelight like theu shined all season.

Experience can’t be conjured out of nothing. UMass found that out the hard way in its first trip to the Hockey East semifinals in 12 years. The Minutemen had been the class of the league all season long, but fell 3-0 to a Boston College club well-accustomed to the big stage and the TD Garden in particular.

“It was definitely a factor that we didn’t want to discuss all week with the kids,” coach Greg Carvel says. “We didn’t want to give them an excuse.

“But for our kids, this was a big stage that they’re not used to. It was a big opportunity for our program. Honestly, [it was] one of the poorer games we played this year. We were a little eyes-wide-open, and guys weren’t our usual selves.”

So if the league semifinals produced lights too bright for the inexperienced Minutemen, how are they going to turn it around on the even brighter, bigger stage of the NCAA tournament?

“We all feel pretty badly that we let a great opportunity slide by,” Carvel says. “I can’t imagine we’ll let that happen twice in a row. Hopefully, we learned a lot.

“The quick turnaround from the lessons that we learned [will help]. It’s not like a year later where we’re going to be on a big stage again; it’s the next weekend. So lessons learned will be quickly reapplied on Friday afternoon.”

In Harvard, the Minutemen will be playing a mirror image of themselves. The teams rank first and second in the nation in power play, and are also among the top overall offenses, led by elite defensemen.

It’s in the defensive end where UMass holds the advantage, both overall (ninth vs. 19th) and especially on the penalty kill (fourth vs. a shocking 49th).

“Both teams rely on defense to create a lot of offense,” Carvel says. “Both teams have offensive threats up front that can score. Both teams have strong power plays.

“It’s the team that’s going to defend better that’s probably going to find a way to win. So that’s what we’ll focus on, continuing doing what we do offensively, but making sure we’re as good as we can be defensively.”

HARVARD

Season record: 19-10-3 (13-7-2, fourth in ECAC Hockey)

Playoffs to this point: Beat Dartmouth in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals, lost to Clarkson in the semifinals

Top players: D Adam Fox (9-39-48); D Reilly Walsh (12-19-31); F Casey Dornbach (7-22-29); F Lewis Zerter-Gossage (18-6-24)

Top goalie: Michael Lackey (14-7-3, 2.31 GAA, .918)

Why they will advance to Buffalo: The Crimson have the nation’s top power play and a group of talented defenseman that pose a challenging matchup to any team.

Why they will not advance to Buffalo: Youth. As talented as they are, the Crimson’s lineup is filled with underclassmen.

Harvard is making its fourth NCAA tournament appearance in the last five years, but it’s a new experience for much of this year’s team.

Only 11 players from this year’s roster saw action in 2017 when the Crimson made it to the Frozen Four in Chicago.

But it’s been contributions from Harvard’s underclassmen that have given the Crimson the chance to reach Buffalo this season.

“When you have two freshmen and a sophomore down the middle as center ice men that is such an important position that you have to get a lot of improvement throughout the year to get to this point,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said, referring to sophomore Jack Badini and freshmen Baker Shore and Jack Drury. “Our freshmen have been integral to our success.”

Senior co-captain Michael Floodstrand is one of the holdovers from the Frozen Four team and is now in the position of helping prepare his younger teammates for the experience.

“I think in years past, you’re always looking at the older guys for guidance,” Floodstrand said. “And now you’re just kind of relying on everything that you’ve learned in the past. I think it’s even more special as well. It’s your last time to go into it, so there’s a little more desperation as well.”

Senior goalie Michael Lackey has also been an important part of the Crimson’s success. After seeing little playing time his first three years, in part to due to injuries, Lackey helped Harvard to a second-half hot streak before getting hurt on Feb. 16 against Clarkson.

Junior Cameron Gornet took over until Lackey made his return Friday in the conference semifinals. However, Lackey was pulled in the second period after allowing three goals on 22 shots against Clarkson.

Harvard’s Adam Fox and Massachusetts’ Cale Makar are two of the top defensemen in college hockey and have a chance to be Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalists. Both also help drive the country’s top two power play units, as the Crimson have a fraction of percentage point lead over the Minutemen for the top spot.

“I think it’s great,” Donato said. “Whether you’re a Fox guy or a Makar guy you enjoy the fact that the two most dynamic offensive defensemen in college hockey this year are facing off against one another.”

Fox and Makar aren’t the only dynamic defensemen who will take the ice Friday in Manchester. Sophomore Reilly Welsh and freshman Jack Rathbone give Harvard plenty of offense from the blueline, while junior John Marino is a steady presence as well.

Despite playing less than 100 miles from each other, this is the first time the Crimson and Minutemen will play each other since a 4-4 tie in Amherst on Dec. 2, 2011.

Donato said he had a feeling that Harvard would be playing Massachusetts in the opening game of the tournament. And while he’s familiar with Minutemen coach Greg Carvel, who was the head coach at St. Lawrence for four seasons, he’s more concerned with focusing on what the Crimson need to do in order to win.

“We have a healthy amount of respect for them, but ultimately we have to play to the identity that we feel gives us the best chance at success,” Donato said.