Harvard Comes Up Short Against BC in Beanpot Championship

Photo by DSPics.com

Final	1	2	3	Final
Harvard (13-8-3, 12-4-2 ECAC)	0	0	0	0
Boston College (20-7-3, 12-5-1 HEA)	0	0	1	1

Scoring Summary
3rd - 09:51	SH - Stack, Kelli (Boston College)

Harvard	Boston College
G: N/A A: N/A Sh: Liza Ryabkina - 6 Sv: Christina Kessler - 22	G: Stack, Kelli - 1 A: Thunstrom, Allie - 1 Sh: 3 Players (#2, #9, #18 - 4) Sv: Schaus, Molly - 40

TEAM STATISTICS	Harvard	Boston College
Power Plays	0 for 5	0 for 6
Shorthanded Goals	0	1
Penalties (min)	6 (12)	6 (12)
Shots on Goal	40	23
Face Offs Won	26	20

full stats

Boxscore

BOSTON - Despite a distinct advantage in shots, the Harvard women's hockey team was unable to put one in net as the Crimson fell to Boston College, 1-0, in the championship game of the 31st Women's Beanpot Tuesday at Northeastern's Matthews Arena. The contest marked the lowest scoring Beanpot game since the tournament was started back in 1979.

Harvard (13-8-3) had two scoring chances on an early power play in the first.  After Sarah Vaillancourt eluded two BC skaters and carried the puck up ice, Jenny Brine got it in the slot and wristed a chance at goaltender Molly Schaus.  The goalie pushed aside Brine's attempt, but the rebound went directly to Vaillancourt's stick.  The Crimson forward put the puck right at the net, but Schaus slid over to her left, covering up the open portion of the net and preventing a goal.

With six minutes to play in the opening frame, Katharine Chute, controlling the puck from behind the BC net, slid a pass through traffic, finding Vaillancourt.  Vaillancourt slapped a one-timer at Schaus, but the goaltender snared it with her glove.  After the first 20 minutes of play, Harvard held a 19-6 advantage in shots in a scoreless contest.

At 6:09 of the second period, Cori Bassett was whistled for tripping, setting up BC's first power-play opportunity of the night.  Harvard's defense was up to the test, as the penalty-kill unit did not allow a single shot while down a skater.  The Crimson was called for a checking penalty only two minutes later, giving the Eagles another power play.  Kessler stopped three point-blank shots by Eagle forwards, including two from the left of the slot.  One of the chances, an attempt by Meghan Fardelmann, got past Kessler, but Harvard defender Leanna Coskren cleared the puck before it crossed the goal line. 

With four minutes remaining in the second, Sarah Wilson picked up a loose puck near the BC bench and center ice and skated in alone against Schaus.  Wilson tried to sneak a shot through Schaus' pads, but the goaltender kicked the puck aside.  Wilson got her stick on the rebound, but could not muster a second attempt as the puck rolled into the corner.  BC (20-7-3) outshot the Crimson, 14-9, in the frame.

Harvard earned a quality chance near the eight-minute mark in the third when Kate Buesser chipped a shot that hit Schaus in the helmet.  A secondary chance by McDonald was covered up a second later to prevent a Crimson score.  Less than two minutes later, Harvard went on the power play and set up in the Eagles' zone.  Bassett fired a shot from the right point, but it was blocked by a BC defender.  The puck rolled out of the BC zone towards the Harvard bench where it was picked up by Allie Thunstrom, who skated down the right side, creating a 2-on-1 along with Kelli Stack.  Thunstrom passed the puck from the right circle toward the slot, finding Stack, who flipped the puck under Kessler on a one-timer, giving BC a 1-0 lead at 9:51.

BC was called for hooking with 5:36 to play, giving Harvard its fifth man advantage.  The Crimson had its best chance 20 seconds into the power play when Kati Vaughn's shot from the left point went just wide. Harvard continued to apply pressure once the penalty ended, with the best chance coming when Vaillancourt's backhander in front of the crease hit off the crossbar.

Then with 1:21left, Harvard pulled Kessler, but the Crimson was unable to muster a shot on goal as time wound down. BC shuffled the puck down the ice and nearly got an empty net goal on a mad scramble in front of the net, but Stack was unable to get the puck past the Harvard defense. Harvard held a 40-23 edge in shots for the game and killed off all six BC power plays. Kessler made 22 saves in net for the Crimson.

Harvard will conclude the road portion of its regular-season schedule at Cornell and Colgate Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13-14.