Harvard Keeps Pace in ECAC

BY CHRISTOPHER

fter a month -long pause for winter break, Harvard’s women’s ice hockey team (6-12-3, 5-8-3 ECAC) returned to campus seeking to refocus and breathe new life into a season that has not gone its way thus far. Although the Crimson’s results in the win column were up-and-down, its performance on the ice was remarkably improved. “I think our team is pretty focused,” head coach Katey Stone said. “We had boot camp, which we call two-a-days for a couple of days when they came back, and they were locked in. We have played some good hockey and haven’t gotten all the outcomes we wanted, but we are doing a lot of things better than the first semester.”

With no classes in session, the need for the usual Friday and Saturday game schedule is upended during the winter break. For Harvard, this translated to playing six games over the course of 14 days. Thus, finding the perfect balance between recovery and practice

Tigers 11-10 in the first and 1410 in the second. Great chances generated by first-year defender Jade Arnone and sophomore defender Mia Biotti almost opened the scoring in the second, but Harvard was unable to convert its chances into goals.

APrinceton pushed the Crimson’s strong penalty kill to its breaking point in the third frame. A major penalty against sophomore forward Paige Lester and a minor infratction against sophomore defender Jenna MacDonald set up a five-on-three advantage for the Tigers. While playing with the two-skater advantage, Issy Wunder scored off a redirect to give Princeton the edge. After Wunder’s opening goal, the Tigers got a boost from the 1500 fans packed into the arena. Princeton capitalized on the momentum, as Wunder and Sarah Filler each added another goal to seal the 3-0 win.

Next, Harvard welcomed the St. Lawrence University Saints (11-15-2, 5-7-2) to the BrightLandry Hockey Center for a 10:30 am puck drop on January 10th. The Saints dominated the first period. After outshooting Princeton in the first period in their previous game, the Crimson was outshot 19-7 in the first. Along with the shot advantage, St. Lawrence led 1-0 after the first period, as Aly McLeod scored seven minutes into the game with a shot that rocketed past sophomore goaltender Alex Pellicci. For the second straight con - as the Crimson failed to convert on a third-period power play, and neither team was able to gain momentum in the overtime period, ending the game in a 2-2 tie. is essential to a team’s performance during winter break play.

Despite the Crimson failing to secure the victory, the 800 sixth graders in attendance for the second annual education day hosted by Harvard Athletics helped spur the Harvard comeback. The matchup also saw the emergence of sophomore forward Gabi Davidson Adams in the starting lineup. Davidson Adams has experienced an offensive explosion this year, as she already has six more points than her total from last season with eight games remaining in the regular season.

“It was a lot of games, but at this point in the season, you want to be playing games,” said Stone about the slate of winter break contests.“Kids know what to do. We are just trying to sharpen our tools in practice and get going on game days.”

Following the matchup against the Quinnipiac University Bobcats at Frozen Fenway on January 6th, Harvard kicked off its return from winter break on January 7th by traveling to Hobey Baker Rink on its 100th anniversary for a matchup against the Princeton University Tigers in Princeton, N.J.(910-1, 5-9-0). The Crimson’s offense came out firing on all cylinders: Harvard outshot the test, Harvard’s inability to stay out of the penalty box led to a goal. In the second period, St. Lawrence jumped out to a twogoal lead as Kristina Bahl snuck the puck past Pellicci to capitalize on Arnone’s two-minute interference penalty. However, not even a minute later, Biotti responded with a goal to cut the lead in half.

From just inside the blue line, Biotti launched a shot on goal that found its way through traffic into the back of the net. In the final minutes of the second, sophomore forward Hannah Chorske knotted the game up at two. After picking the pocket of a St. Lawrence defender, Chorske skated up the ice and beat the goaltender with a quick shot. The game remained tied the rest of the way,

“She keeps getting better and better,” Stone said. “She makes the right play at the right time, and she is good around the net. We thought it was time for her to get an opportunity there, and I think she is a very good compliment to [senior forward Anne] Bloomer and [senior forward Kristin] Della Rovere.”

After the stalemate, the Crimson traveled to Hanover, N.H. for a matchup against the Dartmouth University Big Green (6-15-0, 2-12-0). Following a scoreless first period where neither team had double digit shots, both offenses kicked into gear in the second and began to generate offensive chances.

The Big Green struck first as Lauren Messier fired a shot into the back of the net as she collided with the post. The fourth time was the charm for the Harvard power play as it capitalized on Dartmouth’s fourth penalty of the game late in the second period, as Bloomer tied the game at one by following up on a shot from Della Rovere and depositing the rebound into the net.

The script of the third period was identical to the second.

The Big Green regained the lead on a snipe by Jenna Donohue, and once again, the Crimson tied it up, with Lester finding the back of the net moments after the Dartmouth goal. After neither team could break through to end the deadlock in the rest of regulation, Harvard headed to overtime for the second straight contest. However, this time the three-on-three play would go in the Crimson’s favor. Della Rovere took a perfect pass from Davidson Adams and guided it into the goal for the game-winner.

Looking to build upon its win against Dartmouth, Harvard faced the Sacred Heart University Pioneers (13-13-1, 107-1 NEWHA) in a contest full of firsts. The matchup was the first in history between the two programs, and the game was also the christening of the Martire Family Arena on the Sacred Heart campus in Fairfield, CT.

The Pioneers opened the scoring four minutes into the match, as Delani MacKay beat Pellicci with a quick shot from the slot. However, seconds later, Lester extended her goal streak to two games on a wraparound shot from behind the goal. In response to the fastpaced first, both goalies locked in for the second and third frames, combining for 50 saves the rest of the way, and the rock-solid goaltending sent the Crimson to an extra session for the third straight game.

In overtime, Sacred Heart secured the win with a breakaway goal. The game also included another milestone, as Della Rovere moved into the NCAA lead for faceoff wins despite the loss.

The Crimson concluded its winter break play with a homestand against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers (7-18-1, 3-11-1 ECAC) and the Union College Dutchwomen (11-14-1, 4-10-1). Halfway through the first, the Engineers were the first to light the lamp as Taylor Zahirnyi skated the puck all the way up the ice from her defensive zone before lacing a shot into the net from just inside the blue line. However, after the goal, it was all Harvard. Bloomer got the Crimson on the board late in the first with a shot that was deflected high into the air before bouncing awkwardly past the goaltender. Davidson Adams extended the lead with a score after using a series of fakes to maneuver through several defenders. Junior forward Shannon Hollands scored an empty netter in the third to ice the game and put the Crimson back in the win column.

In the winter break finale against Union, Harvard scored the opening goal. The score marked Harvard’s first 1-0 lead since its November matchup with UNH. Sophomore forward Ellie Bayard gave the Crimson an early advantage with her third goal of the season. While Harvard dominated the first period, outshooting Union 15-8, the Dutchwomen roared back in the second. This time the

Crimson was on the wrong side of a 3-1 scoreline. Goals by Carmen Merlo and Emily King gave Union a 2-1 lead at the end of the second. Any hopes of a Harvard comeback faded as Riley Walsh scored an empty netter to close out the game.

As the season winds down and each game becomes more meaningful, the Crimson’s offensive focus will be finishing and converting shots into goals. Since returning, Harvard has outshot its opponents three times, matching the number from before the break. Additionally, Harvard is averaging north of 35 shots on goal per game in its post-break contests, but it has failed to score more than three goals in each of those contests.

“I think we have gotten some good ones as of late,” said Stone about the Crimson’s shot generation. “It’s just time for us to finish.”

The results over the break kept the Crimson at the middle of the ECAC table and in contention for a round one home playoff series. Harvard’s upcoming weekend series versus Cornell (12-7-2, 9-4-1) and Colgate (204-1, 10-3-0) has significant playoff implications. The Crimson currently sit in sixth place, nine points behind Cornell, which sits in 4th — the last seed to be awarded a home playoff series. Harvard will look to continue its high level of play and capitalize on its underdog status as it gears up for the final push before the ECAC playoffs.

“We need to take the mentality of being the hunter and not the hunted,” Stone said. “The pressure is on everyone else.”