Elizabeth Ganzenmuller '99, senior forward on the top-ranked Harvard women's hockey team: "We didn't know coming into this season what it would be like. We knew that we had talent, but we didn't know if we would be able to put it all together." Above photo by Jet Photography, below by Tim Morse.

Senior Elizabeth Ganzenmuller's role on the top-ranked Harvard women's hockey team is perhaps as understated as her demeanor.

With a soft and at times barely audible voice, the senior forward talks of her team's unparalleled 21-1 record and its national championship hopes come March. But interlaced with each word is a sense of humility which tells the story of a player who has seen her team transformed from a 12-man roster to arguably the best team in the nation.

"It's like playing on two different teams," said Ganzenmuller, comparing the 1998-99, Olympic-laden Crimson team to the one of two years ago. "Before you had to make sure that you weren't hurt because there was nobody else to play. Now, you're fighting for every shift you get -- and I like that better."

Ganzenmuller, perhaps more than anyone on Harvard's 25- player roster, has indeed bounced from one end of the spectrum to the other during her hockey career. In addition to being a two-time league All-Star in softball at Choate Rosemary Hall, the Sea Cliff, N.Y., native led the ice hockey team to a 19-1-1 record and the Western New England Championship her senior year. Although her skills and experience at Choate allowed for a relatively easy physical transition to the collegiate level, Ganzenmuller was not prepared for the abrupt switch from league champion to cellar dweller.

Following a first-year campaign in which Harvard posted a 9-17-1 record, Ganzenmuller entered her sophomore season with trepidation. With only 12 players on the team, fear of injury and questions surrounding the program's precarious future pervaded the locker room, but the players still managed to post a respectable 10-18-1 record. More importantly, however, that season marked a turning point for the program.

"Their resiliency during that period really toughened them up and made them realize that they could play against anybody," said head coach Katey Stone. "We got some great efforts even though the record doesn't depict that. They just knew that they were going to look left, look right and they were the ones who were going to get it done. It was that type of mentality."

The recent evolution of the women's hockey team into a national contender and the influx of Olympic talent such as senior captain A.J. Mleczko and freshmen Jennifer Botterill and Angela Ruggiero have also brought about a mass of changing roles for the upperclassmen. Players like Ganzenmuller, who once shouldered the bulk of minutes throughout the season, now battle each day in practice for precious playing time.

"We didn't know coming into this season what it would be like. We knew that we had talent, but we didn't know if we would be able to put it all together," explains Ganzenmuller. "I think that playing with A.J., Botts, and Rugger on the team has brought the team to a completely different level. Not just in games, but every day in practice everyone has had to step up their level of play to keep up with them."

Not a potent goal scorer by nature, Ganzenmuller is a master of the intangible. She attacks each contest with a deep respect and understanding for both the game of hockey as well as her own strengths and weaknesses. The 5-foot-6-inch Ganzenmuller is also best known for her tenacious forecheck and has been a mainstay on the Crimson's checking line as her contributions are not quickly explained by pure statistics.

"I work hard and I know that I am not a goal scorer; it has never been my role," interjects Ganzenmuller quietly. "If my line or I can forecheck well and keep the other team in their defensive zone, then the next line can come out and finish the job. . . . What I lack in talent, I try to make up for in knowing where I am supposed to be and what I have to do on the ice."

Regardless of whether the team holds a sub-.500 record or is ranked first in the nation, Ganzenmuller is still the first Crimson player in the offensive zone, stick outstretched and ready to harass opposing players moving up the ice.

"Elizabeth has been a solid contributor to our program since she arrived as a freshman," Stone said. "She sees the game tremendously well and is a savvy playmaker. One of Ganz's most important qualities is that she plays her position so well. She reads coverages well and knows where to be on the ice. She has been committed to this program from the day she came to Harvard, and that is the kind of example that she will leave for her younger teammates to follow."

Before she begins to plan life without Harvard hockey, however, Ganzenmuller has unfinished business on the ice. With weeks remaining in her collegiate career, she has the unique opportunity of seeing her team through a remarkable four-year transformation which could be capped off sweetly with a national championship.

"Everybody goes back to sophomore year. Even the freshmen from that year knew what it was like and we never stopped trying to get better," said Ganzenmuller. "This year we are just continuing to want to be the best. We know that we can beat any team, but I don't think we take any wins for granted because we spent so much time on the other side of it. After having to go through that sophomore season, the seniors are especially excited this year because it's the end of our careers and it all seems to be coming together."