Katey Stone grew up around sports. She had no choice.

Her father was an athletic director for 35 years. Her two brothers and sister played, and then coached for teams.

And while it's no surprise that Stone would follow suit, it may come a surprise to most that she is coaching the nation's top Division I team.

ON THE ZAMBONI

GAME OF THE WEEK   NORTH DAKOTA AT MINNESOTA Fri., Sat., 8:05 p.m. ET The Fighting Sioux haven't lost since Nov. 8, but a pair of overtime draws vs. Colorado College kept North Dakota from passing the Tigers for the WCHA lead. So, heading into this weekend's series vs. third-place Minnesota, second-place UND is taking no chances. Coach Dean Blais plans to break up freshman center Zach Parise and sophomore winger Brandon Bochenski, hoping to spread the scoring wealth to two lines instead of one. Parise, who is second on the team with 13 goals and 25 assists, will likely center a line with Kevin Spiewak and James Massen. Bochenski, who leads the team with 26 goals and 14 assists, will play on a line with David Lundbohm at center and Jason Notermann on the opposite wing. But will Parise's holiday stint on the U.S. national junior team keep the freshman phenom out of sync? The crowd at Mariucci Arena will soon find out. GET THEM WHILE YOU CAN! Just when you thought you couldn't get a handle on Michigan coach Red Berenson. The first 1,000 fans that show at Yost Ice Arena for Friday's CCHA showdown vs. Western Michigan will receive a Berenson Bobblead Doll. After the first 1,000 are handed out, another 1,000 will be available for purchase inside the arena for $15 each. If you're willing to spend a few more bucks, you can buy an autographed doll. All proceeds from the sales will benefit the Michigan Hockey Endowed Scholarship Fund. Watch out eBay ... Gates open at 6 p.m. ET! ON WORLDLY STAGE Young crop compete at World Junior Championship Collegiate hockey was set aside for some over the holidays. The United States national junior team headed to Nova Scotia for the IIHF World Junior Championship from Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Of the 22-member team, 17 of those play for U.S. colleges. Nine of those players also won a gold medal last May with the U.S. national under-18 team at the World Under-18 Championship in Slovakia. Among the 17 were Parise, Yale's Chris Higgins, Michigan's Eric Nystrom, Providence's Bob Goepfert and Ohio State's Ryan Kesler. The Americans finished fourth, while Russia rallied to beat Canada for the gold medal. Finland won the bronze.

Meet Katey Stone, head coach of Harvard women's ice hockey.

"I don't take myself too seriously," said Stone, who is entering her ninth season at Harvard. "I come to work and it's fun. That's how the kids play. That's how we coach them.

"Women aren't making $1 million playing this game, and in a way, that's a good thing. They are still able to play in the purest form."

Whether it's that, or her coaching style, Stone's program is on course for a national title. After taking over the No. 1 ranking in both the USCHO.com and the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine polls during the week of Dec. 2, the Crimson (12-1-0, 5-0-0 in ECAC) have continued their roll.

Harvard's only loss came on the road vs. Minnesota, a 4-3 tilt on Nov. 17 that came a day after a 2-1 victory over defending champion Minnesota-Duluth. In the nine games since the "imperfection," the Crimson have outscored their opponents 54-5 with the only one-goal differentials coming against conference rival Brown and Hockey East leaders Providence.

The key reasons: This season doesn't fall on an Olympic year, enabling Stone to field all of her experienced players all the time.

Stone considered last season a success after Harvard posted a 18-11-2 season without the aid of American defenseman Angela Ruggiero and Canadian forward Jennifer Botterill, who each missed the season to play for their respective national teams in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

But the pair has returned, and Botterill (19 goals, 26 assists) and Ruggiero (12, 23) are the team's top two scorers, respectively, and are a huge reason for Harvard's overwhelming offensive power.

The addition of freshman U.S. Olympian forward Julie Chu, who is third in scoring with 29 points, has also continued the Crimson's tradition of recruiting talent while also providing those athletes the option of representing their country.

"They know they will be supported," Stone said. "I wouldn't say it's always easy (as a coach), but you sacrifice a lot to get a lot more down the road. In the big picture, it's worth it."

Last season, Harvard was out of the big picture after losing to Dartmouth 4-2 in the ECAC Tournament semifinals. In 2001, Harvard beat Dartmouth in the third-place game of the inaugural Women's Frozen Four.

Harvard's last national title came during the 1998-99 season, when the game was known as the AWCHA women's championship. That Crimson lineup had three Olympic-caliber players return just like this year's roster, which returned all but two players from 2001-02.

"I said last year that we had the best group of kids," Stone said. "But this year, this is the most talented team Harvard has fielded, and it's playing in a sport which is at its most competitive peak."

And so is Harvard, and its coach, Katey Stone.

Joy Russo is a staff editor at ESPN.com. She can be reached at joy.e.russo@espn3.com.