No. 9 Harvard Takes Conference Lead

Photo by DSPics.com

Final	1	2	3	Final
St. Lawrence (21-9-3, 15-5-1)	0	0	0	0
Harvard (16-9-3, 15-4-2)	3	1	0	4

Scoring Summary
1st - 03:28	Sarah Vaillancourt (Harvard)
1st - 10:04	Sarah Vaillancourt (Harvard)
1st - 15:33	Kate Buesser (Harvard)
2nd - 11:17	Kate Buesser (Harvard)

St. Lawrence	Harvard
G: N/A A: N/A Sh: 3 Players (#9, #13, #18 - 3) Sv: Brittony Chartier - 19	G: 2 Players (#20, #26 - 2) A: Anna McDonald - 3 Sh: Sarah Vaillancourt - 7 Sv: Christina Kessler - 22

TEAM STATISTICS	St. Lawrence	Harvard
Power Plays	0 for 4	0 for 3
Shorthanded Goals	0	0
Penalties (min)	4 (8)	6 (23)
Shots on Goal	22	23
Face Offs Won	25	27

full stats

Boxscore

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Harvard women's hockey team struck three times in the first period and did not look back as the ninth-ranked Crimson shut down No. 7 St.  Lawrence, 4-0, Friday evening at Bright Hockey Center.  Kate Buesser and Sarah Vaillancourt each scored twice, while Anna McDonald collected three assists.  Christina Kessler made 22 saves for her fourth shutout of the season. 

With the victory, Harvard (16-9-3, 15-4-2) moves to first in the ECAC Hockey standings with 32 points, one ahead of St. Lawrence with one game remaining in the regular season.  The Crimson will look to clinch its second straight ECAC Hockey regular-season title Saturday when the team hosts Clarkson at 4 p.m.

Vaillancourt opened the scoring with a goal on an assist from McDonald at 3:29 of the first.  Vaillancourt received the pass and skated down the left side, maneuvering her way through two defenders before reaching the left faceoff circle.  The Crimson forward shifted to her right and skated in front of the goal.  Vaillancourt faked a shot, freezing St. Lawrence goaltender Brittony Chartier and creating an open portion of the net.  Vaillancourt capitalized on the chance and slid the puck across the goal line.

Midway through the frame, Vaillancourt lit the lamp for her second tally, coming on an unassisted chance at 10:04.  She grabbed a loose puck near the Crimson bench and carried the puck down the right boards before weaving her way towards the slot.  Vaillancourt reached around a defender and lifted the puck over Chartier's right shoulder.

The Crimson added another score in the period at 15:33.  After McDonald won a faceoff at the left circle, Sarah Wilson picked up the puck and mustered a shot on net.  Chartier stopped the initial chance, but the puck hit off her chest, creating a rebound in front.  Buesser grabbed it and flipped it into the cage, giving Harvard a 3-0 lead.  With the assist on Buesser's tally, Wilson collected the 100th point of her career.  Harvard lit the lamp three times in the first on only eight shots, while holding St. Lawrence to only seven attempts on net in the frame.

Buesser netted the Crimson's fourth even-strength goal of the evening at 11:14 of the second.  Ashley Wheeler and McDonald traded passes before McDonald swung around the defense, finding Buesser standing at the left of the net.  Buesser wristed a shot that got through the defense for her second tally of the night.

In the third, Vaillancourt had three chances to earn a hat trick, but Chartier came up with three stops, including a breakaway chance by the Crimson forward.  As Vaillancourt skated in alone on the goaltender, Chartier poke-checked away the puck before Vaillancourt could fire a shot.  On another opportunity, Vaillancourt aimed at the top of the net, but Chartier managed to get her left shoulder on the shot, pushing it aside. 

Harvard also continued its mastery on the penalty kill, as the team did not allow the Saints to score on a five-minute power play near the end of the frame and finished the game a perfect 5-for-5 down a skater.  The Crimson led the final shot count, 23-22, and led in faceoff victories, 27-25.