Three-Goal First Period Leads Crimson at Yale
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Christina Kessler stopped 21
shots to earn the 23rd shutout of her career, helping the Harvard
women's hockey team defeat archrival Yale, 5-0, Friday evening at
Ingalls Rink. The Crimson scored three times in the first five
minutes of the game, two of which were netted by Jillian Dempsey,
who also handed out an assist during the game. Kate Buesser scored
once and handed out two assists for a three-point effort, while
Ashley Wheeler and Margaret Chute also contributed to the win with
a goal apiece.
Harvard (4-3-1, 4-3 ECAC Hockey, 1-2 Ivy League) wasted little time
getting on the scoreboard, as Dempsey, the reigning ECAC Hockey
Rookie of the Week, netted an goal only 25 seconds into the first
period, sneaking a shot past Jackee Snikeris. Buesser and Alisa
Baumgartner combined for the assists on the tally. Two minutes
later at 2:43, Wheeler extended Harvard's lead to 2-0 after
receiving a pass from Buesser, who was honored as the ECAC Hockey
Player of the Week Monday, and Kathryn Farni. The Crimson offense
continued to surge, netting its third goal of the frame off the
stick of Dempsey for an unassisted score at 4:48.
After the Crimson's third goal, Yale (1-6-1, 1-6, 0-2) replaced
Snikeris with Genny Ladiges between the pipes. In the first period,
Harvard outshot its archrival, 14-4, and held the Bulldogs
scoreless on two power plays.
After a scoreless second period in which Yale had the edge in
shots, 11-5, Buesser made it a 4-0 contest when she found the back
of the net on a shot at the 3:20 mark of the third. Buesser's goal,
which was assisted by Josephine Pucci and Dempsey, gives her four
tallies on the season to lead the Crimson. With 1:53 to play in the
game, Chute put the game out of reach with her first goal of the
season, as Anna McDonald and Katharine Chute earned assists on the
Crimson's fifth goal.
The Crimson successfully killed all five Yale chances with an extra
attacker, while being held scoreless on its own four power plays.
Harvard held the final count in shots, 25-21.
Harvard, which has now won its last nine games against Yale, remains on the road to play at Brown Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.













