Harvard Strikes Three Times on Special Teams, Shuts Down Colgate

Photo by DSPics.com

Box Score

Cambridge, MA - Sarah Wilson scored two goals, and Anna McDonald added a short-handed tally, as No. 3 Harvard (13-1-0, 11-0-0 ECAC) downed Colgate, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon at Bright Hockey Center. Jenny Brine also contributed a power play score for the Crimson, who scored three second period goals against the Raiders.

Crimson goaltender Christina Kessler recorded her fifth shutout of the season, as Harvard won its 11th straight conference game to open the season and the 13th consecutive at home.

Neither team could find its rhythm in the opening stanza, as Harvard and Colgate mustered only four shots apiece. However, in the second period, the Crimson exploded with three goals in slightly more than six minutes to take a commanding 3-0 lead.

At 12:10, the Crimson scored its lone even-strength tally of the afternoon, as Anna McDonald fed Wilson for her first goal. Jenny Brine extended the Harvard advantage to 2-0 at 16:22, as she scored on a power-play opportunity from the right side of the goal with assists from Kati Vaughn and Kathryn Farni. Brine, Caitlin Cahow and Sarah Vaillancourt share the Crimson lead with five power-play scores.

Wilson capitalized on another Harvard power play at 18:45 on an unassisted play, as she found a loose puck on the doorstep and scored from the left side of the net. Wilson now has six goals this year, tied for third on the Crimson with Cahow.

Harvard out shot Colgate, 14-3, in the second period, and earned three power play chances.

Katharine Chute was called for tripping at 2:28 of the third, and after the ensuing faceoff, McDonald intercepted a pass and skated hard down the left side of the ice. McDonald protected the puck and fired a shot past Colgate's Lisa Plenderleith for Harvard's first short-handed goal of the season.

Harvard almost added a fifth goal, but a breakaway chance by Vaillancourt was stopped by Plenderleith. Plenderleith concluded the game with 23 saves, while Kessler had 13 stops in net for the Crimson. Kessler lowered her goals against average to 1.08, second in the nation, and is also second in save percentage (.946). Harvard now has six shutouts this year, and have held opponents under two goals in 13 of its 14 games.

Harvard was 2 for 5 on the power play, while Colgate (7-9-2, 4-3-1 ECAC) was 0 for 4. The Crimson leads the country on the power play, having converted 23 of 80 opportunities (.287). Harvard was won 13 straight regular season conference games, dating back to Feb. 16, 2007.

Halfway through its conference games, Harvard has 22 points to lead the ECAC by six points with 11 contests remaining.

The Crimson concludes its three-game home stand on Tuesday, Jan. 8, when the team hosts Boston College at 7 p.m.