Harvard Falls to St. Lawrence
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CANTON, N.Y. - Defender Cori Bassett scored her third goal of the season and goaltender Christina Kessler made 20 saves, but the No. 4 Harvard women's hockey team fell at No. 8 St. Lawrence, 3-1, Saturday afternoon. Sarah Vaillancourt and Liza Ryabkina earned assists on Bassett's tally.
The Crimson outshot the Saints, 29-23, for the game, was 1-for-4 on the power play and killed all three extra-attacker opportunities by St. Lawrence.
In the first 20 minutes of action, Harvard (3-2-1-, 3-2-1 ECAC Hockey) was called for two infractions, but managed to kill both penalties and outshot the St. Lawrence, 12-7 in the period.
The Crimson put more pressure on in the second, but the Saints blocked consecutive shots by Vaillancourt and Bassett at 5:47. Less than a minute later, Vaillancourt fired a quick pass from the left circle to Nora Sluzas for a one-timer. Sluzas' shot missed the net, but Harvard drew a penalty for its first power play of the contest.
On the ensuing play with an extra skater, Bassett had a shot blocked from the point and two shots by Anna McDonald, including a wraparound chance, were stopped by St. Lawrence goaltender Brittony Chartier, who finished the game with 28 saves.
The game was delayed midway through the second period because of poor ice conditions, but the contest was resumed after 15 minutes. St. Lawrence grabbed the game's first goal 1:37 after play continued as Carson Duggan wristed a shot past Christina Kessler and into the net after getting a pass from Jordan Pyers.
Duggan had another chance at 16:18, but Kessler gloved her wrister from the slot. After the next faceoff, Vaillancourt skated down the left boards and moved towards the St. Lawrence net. She looked towards the goal and then passed the puck at the middle, finding Ryabkina for a one-timer, but her shot was stopped by Chartier.
Harvard continued to have an advantage in shots, 20-14, heading into the third. In the final stanza, the Crimson earned a power play at 3:43 after a St. Lawrence player was whistled for interference. Harvard managed two quick shots, one that went wide by McDonald and one by Kate Buesser which Chartier snared and covered. After a Vaillancourt shot was blocked at the left circle, St. Lawrence's Karell Emard grabbed the loose puck and skated from one end to the other on a shorthanded-breakaway attempt. Emard moved in along on Kessler, but the Crimson goaltender stood tall for the save.
St. Lawrence gave itself a cushion at 7:11 when Tara Akstull put a shot on net that got through Kessler, giving the Saints a two-goal advantage.
Harvard's Katharine Chute had a breakaway opportunity with 10 minutes left, but Chartier made a pad save with Chute's backhanded shot. The Saints skated back the other way and scored their third goal of the game on a shot by Emma Clark at 10:18.
After St. Lawrence (7-1-2, 4-0-0) was called for back-to-back penalties around the 15-minute mark, the Crimson had a 5-on-3 power play for 1:21. Shortly after the ensuing faceoff, Bassett blasted a shot from the top of the right circle to put the Crimson on the board at 15:29. Vaillancourt slid the puck across the ice from left to right to earn the primary assist, while Ryabkina was credited with a secondary assist.
The Crimson will return home to host Colgate and Cornell Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22. Both games will begin at 7 p.m. at Bright Hockey Center.
