Dartmouth Scores Twice in First, Holds on for Win Over Harvard
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Harvard women's hockey team dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 8 Dartmouth in an ECAC Hockey and Ivy League contest Tuesday evening at Bright Hockey Center. Crimson goaltender Brittany Martin made a season-high 28 saves, while her counterpart, Carli Clemis, stopped 31 shots for the Big Green.
With the loss, Harvard falls to 6-7-3 (6-4-2 ECAC Hockey, 3-2 Ivy League), and Dartmouth improves to 9-5-2 (7-3-2, 3-2-0). The Big Green capitalized on 1-of-4 power-play opportunities, while the Crimson was 0-for-2 with an extra attacker.
Harvard had a quality chance on a power play early in the first when Sarah Vaillancourt flipped the puck from the right boards towards the front of the net. Sarah Wilson skated hard down the left side and managed to backhand the puck on net, but Dartmouth's Carli Clemis made one of her 15 saves in the first period. Midway though the first frame, Wilson once again almost gave Harvard a lead when she earned a breakaway chance down the left side, but her attempt was once again pushed aside by Clemis.
Less than two minutes later, Dartmouth went ahead 1-0 on a power-play score by Jenna Cunningham from the slot at 13:19. Shannon Bowman and Sarah Newnam fed Cunningham with the puck and were each credited with assists. The Big Green tacked on another score with 2:02 remaining as Newnam earned her second assist on the play on a goal by Alyssa Boehm. Boehm hit the puck out of the air on a rebound from a Newnam shot, putting it behind Martin.
Even though Harvard trailed 2-0 at the first intermission, the team had a commanding lead in shots, 15-8, and had recorded 11 of the first 13 shots in the frame.
The Crimson almost got on the board in the opening minutes of the second when Katharine Chute skated in alone on Clemis, but the sophomore forward's shot went too high, hitting the boards behind the goal.
At 12:24, Newnam collected her third assist of the night when she moved the puck into the Crimson zone and passed it off the boards to Marley McMillan. The Dartmouth forward skated below the left circle and found a wide open Cunningham crashing through the slot. Cunningham knuckled the puck through Martin's legs to light the lamp.
With 11:30 remaining in the third, Wilson had another quality chance, as she tried to stuff the puck home after receiving a pass from the back boards. Clemis, through, stopped the attempt with her pads to preserve the shutout.
Dartmouth held the final edge in shots, 34-31, to earn a season split with Harvard.
The Crimson returns to action with a visit to Brown Friday, Jan. 9. The team then travels down to Yale for a Saturday afternoon contest at 4 p.m.
