Team Notes: Harvard Closes December Slate
The Particulars
Harvard wraps up the 2010 portion of its
schedule as it travels to Durham, N.H., to take
on New Hampshire Thursday night and welcomes No. 4/5 Boston
University to Bright Hockey Center Friday night. The contests mark
the fourth and fifth straight non-conference contests for Harvard
and second and third straight Hockey East opponents.
Follow From Home
Harvard will provide live statistics for this week's games, all
home games and most road contests this season. Video and live
stats links can be found on the women's hockey schedule on
GoCrimson.com
Series History
New Hampshire represents one of Harvard's toughest opponents,
historically speaking. The Crimson trails in the all-time series,
holding a 13-27-3 mark against the Wildcats. Harvard's best stretch
against UNH came from 1998 to 2004 where the Crimson picked up 12
straight wins, including four during the 1998-99 season. Last
year, Katharine
Chute (Wayzata, Minn.) scored an early goal and Christina
Kessler '10 made 24 saves to help Harvard force a 1-1 tie against
the No. 4 Wildcats in Cambridge.
Harvard has a significant edge in the all-time series against
Boston University, owning a 21-6-0 record against the Terriers. The
Crimson is currently riding a 20-game win streak against BU and
held the Terriers scoreless in nine straight games from 1986 to
2003. The last time the two teams met was in the first round of the
2009 Beanpot tournament where Harvard rolled over the Terriers by a
score of 8-0. Harvard has faced the Terriers 14 times in the
Beanpot and has claimed 13 of those 14 contests.
Last Time Out
A hat-trick by Boston College's Kelli Stack proved to be the
difference as the Harvard women's ice hockey team dropped a 6-2
decision to the Eagles Sunday afternoon at Conte Forum.
The Crimson was unable to convert on a power-play midway through
the first period but was able to solve BC goalie Molly Schaus at
even strength with just less than four minutes to play. Leanna
Coskren (Walpole, Mass.) found Kate
Buesser (Wolfeboro, N.H.) on the doorstep and Buesser
slotted home the puck to knot the score at 1-1.
The hosts imposed their will throughout the second period, netting
three goals to take a 4-1 lead after two stanzas. Stack assisted on
BC's fifth goal less than three minutes into the third, but Harvard
got one back on the power-play to make the score 5-2. Katharine
Chute slid the puck to Coskren and Coskren passed to a
wide-open Josephine
Pucci (Pearl River, N.Y.) who one-timed a rocket past
Schaus at the 15:22 mark of third.
Keep 'Em Coming
The game against Boston University will be Harvard's sixth against
a ranked opponent in its last seven contests. The Crimson is 2-4 in
its six games against ranked foes this season, collecting a pair of
wins in a home-and-home series with No. 9 Dartmouth. The Crimson
fell to No. 7 Minnesota twice Nov. 26-28, dropped a 3-0 decision at
then-No. 2 Cornell Nov. 5 and lost, 6-2, to Boston College in its
last time out.
Harvard Coach Katey Stone
Katey Stone, the Landry Family Head Coach for Harvard Women's
Hockey, is in her 17th season as Harvard's head coach, and she
holds a 343-149-29 career record, the most all-time victories
in Division I women's hockey. Stone has led Harvard to all eight of
its NCAA tournament appearances and was named the head coach of the
U.S. Women's National Team in the summer of 2010. Stone will be
facing her alma mater when Harvard takes on New Hampshire Thursday.
Crimson Captains
Leading the Crimson are three senior captains: Kate Buesser,
Leanna Coskren and Liza
Ryabkina (Kharkiv, Ukraine).
Third Period's The Charm
Harvard has played some of its best hockey in the third periods of
games so far this season. While opponents have the scoring edge in
the first and second periods, the Crimson is outscoring its foes
12-8 in the third stanza. Harvard has also held its opponents to
the fewest number of shots, allowing just 62 pucks on net in the
third period this year.
Hold Your Fire
In 33 periods of regulation hockey so far this season, Harvard has
only allowed double-digit shots nine times in a given period.
Against Yale, Harvard limited the Bulldogs to 13 shots in the game
including just three in the second period. Brown managed 15 total
shots and fired just two on net in the second stanza. Harvard held
Colgate to just two shots in the third period in a 3-1 win and also
held Quinnipiac to just two shots in the third period of a 4-1
loss. The Crimson was outshot for the second time this season Nov.
20 at Dartmouth, but came away from Hanover, N.H., with a 3-2
victory.
Harvard has yet to allow more than 30 shots to an opposing team in
a game this season. The Crimson is averaging 29.9 shots per game to
its opponents' 21.8 and is outshooting its opponents 329-240
through 11 games. Harvard's 243 shots on goal on the season is the
highest total in league play.
About New Hampshire
It has been a tale of two seasons for the Wildcats in 2010-11.
After starting the season off with a 1-2 record, UNH rattled off
seven straight wins, the final three of which were shutouts. The
tides turned from there and the Wildcats enter the Harvard matchup
on a seven-game losing skid, having faced and fallen to ranked
opponents such as Boston College, Boston University and Providence.
UNH has picked up six non-conference wins on the season and is
undefeated in four home non-league games this season.
About Boston University
The No. 4/5 Terriers are enjoying their best start to a season in
their young program history and enter the Harvard matchup riding a
five-game win streak. After a narrow 5-4 loss to North Dakota
kicked off the season, BU went on an 11-game unbeaten streak in
which it captured eight wins. In its current stretch, BU has taken
down two ranked teams in No. 6 Boston College and No. 10
Northeastern and has not allowed a goal in its last 145 minutes of
action. BU currently sits in second place in Hockey East
standings.
