Freshmen Trio Leads Harvard Past Quinnipiac

Box score

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Three freshmen notched goals to help the Harvard women's ice hockey team come from behind to take their 2007-08 season opener, 3-2, over Quinnipiac.

Kate Buesser, Liza Ryabkina and Katharine Chute all notched goals in their first collegiate games, with Chute netting the game-winner midway through the third period.

"We made the game harder than in needed to be today," says head coach Katey Stone, "but we got ourselves going in the third period and that helped us."

The Crimson was presented with an early opportunity when an interference penalty on the Bobcats gave Harvard a power play just 19 seconds into the game. After junior Sarah Wilson was denied from point-blank range, Buesser capitalized on a rebound from just outside of the crease to put the Crimson up early.

Halfway through the first period, junior Sarah Vaillancourt nearly notched her first point of the season, but a streaking Caitlin Cahow lifted Vaillancourt's pass just high of the crossbar.

Two quick penalties on the home team gave Quinnipiac a two-player advantage that they did not waste. With just under four minutes to play in the first, junior Trudy Reyns blasted a head-on shot that beat Christina Kessler glove side to tie the score ,1-1.

Harvard was almost able to head into the first break up by one, but a two-on-one opportunity ended with Buesser shooting high of the net.

Penalties plagued the Crimson throughout the second stanza, and back-to-back roughing and elbowing penalties on Vaillancourt gave the Bobcats a four-on-three power play nine minutes in. The guests were quick to capitalize as Reyns fed Janine Duffy on the right point, and Duffy bested Kessler to the top corner.

The Bobcat power plays continued through the back half of the period, but Kessler held her line to keep the deficit at one.

"Our defense is one of our strong points," notes Stone, "but we took some tough penalties and early in the season when you're still working on your penalty kill, you don't want to test it that much."

With 1:48 to go in the second, freshman Liza Ryabkina picked off a pass on the right boards near center ice and sliced towards the opposing net, backhanding a shot low right past Bobcat goalie Jamie Miller to tie the score, 2-2, at the end of two periods.

Harvard turned up the heat to start the third, but could not get the puck past Miller until a power play where Vaillancourt wristed a shot off the right post and freshman Katharine Chute stuffed the rebound home with 10:47 left to play. The Crimson found the post two more times in the final seven minutes, but was unable to net an insurance goal.

Harvard was able to pin the Bobcats in their own end for the final minutes of the game, sealing the 3-2 win.

The Harvard women take the ice again tomorrow afternoon as they face off against Princeton at 4:00 p.m. at Bright Hockey Center.