WORCESTER, Mass. – Nothing needs to be said.

Cinderella wants to crash the ball but the bouncer, wearing the University of Maine hockey jersey, must keep her from slipping through the door.

Cinderella is wearing a Crimson gown.

The University of Maine’s third-seeded Black Bears, 23-10-7, are the favorites in Saturday’s noon NCAA Eastern Regional first-round game against 15-14-4 Harvard at the Worcester Centrum (Mass.).

Maine earned its fourth straight NCAA berth with a 12-3-3 finish including a 7-1-2 slate over the last 10 games. A 3-1 loss to top seed New Hampshire in their Hockey East championship game is their only recent blemish.

Harvard was a regular-season underachiever that caught fire at the right time and became the surprise entry in the tournament by winning the ECAC Tournament. The Crimson, who finished tied for third in the league after being picked to win it by the league’s coaches, posted their last three victories in overtime including a 4-3 double-overtime triumph over league regular-season titlist Cornell last Saturday.

Maine’s seniors will be playing in their ninth NCAA Tournament game and, with a win over Harvard, would be facing archrival Boston University Sunday at noon for the right to go to St. Paul, Minn., for the Frozen Four.

“We’re putting everything on the line. That’s what Maine hockey is all about,” said Bear senior captain and defenseman Peter Metcalf. “Harvard is hot. You’ve got to hand it to them. Their season was about to end but they didn’t let it end. Their goalie [freshman Dov Grumet-Morris] has been leading them and, hopefully, we’ll be able to get to him.

“We’ve got to play our game. We’ve got to make them play at a faster pace than they want to. We’ve got to get them out of their comfort zone and do some damage,” added Metcalf.

Maine junior left winger Michael Schutte said the Bears have to “handle their forecheck. They’re strong at cycling the puck. They like to keep possession down low [in the offensive zone]. Our defensemen and centermen will have to do a good job down low. We’ve got to protect our net and get to their net.”

Harvard’s coaches and players feel they have to neutralize Maine’s transition game.

“We have to take away their transition game,” said Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni. “When they go from defense to offense, they really come at you. We have to make sure when that happens, we have equal numbers coming back so we don’t get caught in numerical disadvantages. They’re very good at creating those situations and very good at finishing them.”

“They are a very highly skilled team that likes to jump into transition,” said Harvard senior defenseman and captain Peter Capouch. “So we’ll have to limit our turnovers and once we do that and get our opportunities, we’ve got to jump in and attack on offense as well.”

Sophomore right wing Tyler Kolarik said the Crimson will need to “play a tight neutral-zone trap” to try to contain Maine’s swift-skating forwards.

“And we can’t turn the puck over in the danger areas, like the blue lines. We’ve got to make sure we keep the puck moving forward. We’ve got to get it our of our zone and into their zone. We’ve got to get the puck in deep and get our offensive zone play going,” said Kolarik.

As always, goaltending will be critical. The Bears have NCAA-tested Matt Yeats, who is 11-3 in NCAA tourney play, against the rookie Grumet-Morris.

Both goalies said they will have to be alert because their opponents are aggressive in the offensive zone.

“I’ll have to be on my toes. I’ll have to be ready for anything,” said Yeats. “They’re young and skilled. They’ll cycle the puck down low and throw it to the net at all times. And they’ll have guys in front trying to get garbage goals.”

Yeats added Harvard has plenty of guys who can bury the puck.

Grumet-Morris said he expects a high-paced “run and gun” type of game.

“Maine has a lot of depth up front. They’ll take a lot of shots and make a lot of cross-ice passes. They keep you on your toes,” said Grumet-Morris, who added that the Bears have shown the ability to throw the puck on net and converge or make plays in front.

“Because of their skill, they can be a precise [passing] team,” observed Grumet-Morris. “But they also throw the puck to the net because they’re so offensive. It’s going to be one of those games where as soon as the puck comes across the red line, I’ll have to be on my toes and ready to go.

“We’ve got to play strong defense in our zone, finish our checks, hold up their men and help each other out. We’ll also need to compensate when need be and capitalize on our offensive opportunities,” added Grumet-Morris.

Yeats said he has focused on “making sure I come out and making sure I’m set for the shot” in practice this week.

“On BU’s wrap-around goal [in Maine’s 4-3 win in the Hockey East semifinals] and on New Hampshire’s second and third goals, I wasn’t quite set. I was still moving a bit when the shots came,” said Yeats.

Maine interim head coach Tim Whitehead said special teams will be a key as always and he feels his team “has to be more physical” than it was in the Hockey East semifinals and final.

“That’s when we play our best,” said Whitehead.