Crimson Claim 13th Beanpot Title

Photo by Meredith H. Keffer

Final	1	2	3	Final
Northeastern (16-7-5)	0	0	0	0
Harvard (16-5-4)	0	1	0	1

Scoring Summary
2nd - 00:35	Ryabkina, Liza (Harvard)

Northeastern	Harvard
G: N/A A: N/A Sh: 4 Players (#3, #13, #34, #44 - 4) Sv: Sulyma, Leah - 43	G: Liza Ryabkina - 1 A: Randi Griffin - 1 Sh: Jillian Dempsey - 6 Sv: Laura Bellamy - 27

TEAM STATISTICS	Northeastern	Harvard
Power Plays	0 for 4	0 for 1
Shorthanded Goals	0	0
Penalties (min)	2 (4)	4 (8)
Shots on Goal	27	44
Face Offs Won	25	31

full stats

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --  Junior Liza Ryabkina potted her fifth goal of the 2010 Beanpot Tournament 35 seconds into the second period and the marker stood as the game-winner as the No. 5 Harvard women's hockey team blanked No. 9 Northeastern in the Beanpot final Tuesday at Bright Hockey Center. The win marks the 13th time in program history the Crimson has hoisted the Beanpot trophy, and the first time since 2008.

Harvard now stands just one Beanpot title shy of Northeastern's 14 overall trophies. The last time the Huskies captured the tournament crown was 1998.

After scoring four goals in a 5-0 win over Boston College in the first round and netting the game-winner in the finals, Ryabkina was unanimously selected as the Beanpot Most Valuable Player, becoming the first Crimson player to win the award since Sarah Wilson '09 claimed the prize in 2008. A pair of Beanpot shutouts earned freshman goalie Laura Bellamy the Bertagna Award as the tournament's top goaltender, marking the second time in three years a Harvard player has received the accolade after Christina Kessler won it in 2008.

After outshooting the Huskies, 12-5, in the opening stanza, the Crimson grabbed control of the flow of the game in the second, owning a 26-6 margin in shots in the middle period. More importantly, Harvard netted the only goal of the frame, as Ryabkina put Harvard ahead at 0:35. Ryabkina sent a pass into the slot from the left corner, allowing Randi Griffin to get a shot off. Northeastern goaltender Leah Sulyma stopped Griffin's attempt, but the shot created a rebound on the left side. Ryabkina picked up the puck and lifted it into the top corner of the net.

The Huskies upped their offensive efforts in the third, outshooting the hosts 16-6 in the period. Three Harvard penalties gave the visitors a number of good looks on net, but Bellamy stood firm, recording 16 saves to secure her second shutout in as many Beanpot games. The Crimson finished the game with a 44-27 edge in shots.

Harvard will begin a stretch of four road games to conclude the regular season at Rensselaer Friday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.