Team Notes: Sights Set on 14th Beanpot Title for Harvard
The Particulars
After a thrilling shootout victory over local rival Northeastern
in the Beanpot semifinals, Harvard looks to claim a record-tying
14th Beanpot Championship Tuesday night against host Boston
College. The Eagles advanced to the finals via a 2-1 win over No. 3
Boston University.
Series History
Harvard and Boston College have met 46 times prior to tonight's
matchup, making the Eagles the team with the second-most
appearances on the Crimson's schedule among non-conference schools.
Harvard boasts a 36-10-0 series lead against BC, including a 5-0
win last season in the opening round of the Beanpot. Harvard also
collected 17 straight wins over the Eagles between 1997 and
2005.
When the two teams met earlier this season, it was a one-sided
affair as the Eagles skated to a 6-2 win. Kelli Stack started
the scoring in the first period but Kate
Buesser answered, knotting the score at 1-1 at the first
break. Stack took over in the second, netting two more goals to
complete the hat-trick. Even with a Josephine Pucci tally in the
third, the Crimson was unable to climb back into the game.
A Beanpot Barnburner
Last Tuesday, the Crimson rallied from a 3-0 second-period deficit
to tie Northeastern at the end of regulation and earn a 2-1
shootout victory in the semifinal round of the 2011 Beanpot, hosted
by Boston College. Kate Buesser started the scoring for Harvard
with a power-play tally in the second and Ashley
Wheeler and Marissa
Gedman scored with less than five minutes to play to force
a 3-3 tie in regulation.
Jillian
Dempsey scored on Harvard's first attempt in the shootout
and Josephine Pucci pushed the shootout score to 2-1 on the
Crimson's fourth attempt. With two saves already to her credit in
the shootout, Laura
Bellamy stuffed Northeastern's final attempt, propelling
Harvard into the Beanpot final against host Boston College.
Beanpot Hall of Fame
The Beanpot Hall of Fame class of 2011 will be announced during
the Beanpot final. This year, Harvard is proud to announce the
induction of A.J. Mleczko '99. With eight goals and 11 assists in
eight games, Mleczko stands as the fifth-highest scorer in
tournament history, and was named Beanpot MVP her senior year. She
led Harvard to two Beanpot Championships (1995 and 1999) and
captained the Crimson during its 1999 AWCHA National Championship
run. Mleczko also received All-America accolades her senior year
and was the first of five Harvard recipients of the Patty Kazmaier
Memorial Award. Mleczko has twice represented her country at the
Winter Olympic Games, helping Team U.S.A. win the gold medal in
Nagano in 1998 and a silver medal in Salt Lake City in
2002.
Last Weekend
On a key conference road trip, its final one of the regular
season, the Crimson earned three out of a possible four points,
tying Clarkson, 3-3, Friday and downing St. Lawrence, 3-2, in
overtime Saturday.
Down 1-0 at the start of the second period against Clarkson,
Harvard rallied for two quick goals midway through the frame.
Jillian Dempsey converted a Leanna
Coskren feed for Harvard's first goal and Elizabeth
Parker gave the Crimson its first lead. The Golden Knights
snatched the lead back with two goals of their own but Dempsey
potted her second goal of the game early in the third to seal the
3-3 tie.
All of the scoring in regulation took place in the second period,
beginning with Liza
Ryabkina's marker 11:23 into the period. St. Lawrence rattled
off the next two but Josephine Pucci put home a short-range shot to
knot the score at 2-2 after two periods of play. A scoreless third
led Harvard to its third consecutive overtime contest and with just
seven seconds remaining in the game, Jillian Dempsey scored her
third goal of the weekend to give Harvard the 3-2 overtime victory.
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 353-152-31 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 head coach of the
U.S. Women's National Team in the summer of 2010.
Hold Your Fire
In 78 periods of regulation hockey so far this season, Harvard has
only allowed double-digit shots in a given period 18 times (23
percent). Against Yale (Oct. 29) 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 Oct. 30. 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.
Against New Hampshire, Harvard allowed just 14 shots on net,
including three in the second period. The Crimson did its best job
of shot-blocking versus Union Jan. 7, allowing just 10 shots on
goal for the game, including only two in the final period. When
Harvard faced the Dutchwomen Jan. 22, it again allowed just 10
shots in the game, including only one in the first period of play.
In the Beanpot semifinal against Northeastern, the Crimson matched
its period-low, conceding just one shot in the second stanza of an
eventual shootout victory.
Harvard has allowed one opponent to amass more than 30 shots in a
game this season as Quinnipiac racked up 32 shots Feb. 5 when the
Crimson totaled 44. Harvard is averaging 32.2 shots per game to its
opponents' 20.9 and is outshooting its opponents 837-544 through 26
games. Harvard recorded its highest shot total of the season
against Brown Jan. 28, firing 54 shots on goal. Harvard has
eclipsed the 40-shot mark five times this season.
About Boston College
The Eagles are having a solid season in 2010-11, holding down a
national ranking and sitting in second place by a wide margin in
the Hockey East standings. BC kicked off its schedule with a
10-game unbeaten streak and has yet to drop back-to-back games this
season. In its most recent action, BC had a tough time with
conference foe Maine, tying and falling to the Black Bears in a two
game series this weekend.
Two Down But Not Out
With an improving penalty kill, the Crimson has shown its mettle
by killing six 5-on-3 opportunities since the New Year. Harvard
stopped RPI on a two-skater advantage in a 2-1 loss Jan. 8 and then
killed another two-skater advantage in its next game, a 2-1 win
over St. Lawrence. The Crimson kept Rensselaer scoreless on two
separate 5-on-3 scenarios in a 2-1 win at Bright Jan. 21. Harvard
also killed a pair of 5-on-3 situations against Quinnipiac Feb. 5,
enabling a 3-2 comeback win. Harvard has not allowed a 5-on-3 goal
all season.
Give Me an "O"
The Crimson has had its best results this season when it scores
more than two goals. Harvard has scored four or more goals six
times this season and has captured wins in all six games. The
Crimson is 6-1-3 in games it scores three goals, its only loss
coming to No. 4/5 Boston University in a 5-3 final.
Comeback Kids
While Harvard has been a bit slow to start in its last few
outings, the team has shown its resilience, posting a number of
come-from-behind performances. Against Quinnipiac Feb. 5, Harvard
entered the third period down, 2-0, only to tally three goals in an
eight-minute span to capture a 3-2 victory at home. Against
Northeastern in the Beanpot semifinal, Harvard was staring at a 3-0
second-period deficit before putting three pucks in the net, two
coming with under five minutes to play in regulation. The Crimson
went on to win the shootout, 2-1, to advance to the Beanpot
final.
This past weekend, Harvard came back from two separate one-goal
deficits to tie Clarkson and then overcame a 2-1 hole against St.
Lawrence to claim a 3-2 overtime win.
Block You Like a Hurricane
A big reason that Harvard has been so successful in limiting
opponents' shots on goal has been the team's penchant for blocking
shots. Heading into the weekend, Harvard has out-blocked its
opponents 367-260. In 26 games played this season, the Crimson has
registered more blocked shots than its opponent in a game 18 times.
Harvard has also topped the 20-block barrier five times this season
with the most blocked shots in a game coming in the season opener
against Yale where 33 shots never made it to the goalie.
Four Pack
The Crimson scored four or more goals in a three-game stretch from
Jan. 22-29. Harvard blanked Union and Brown by identical 4-0 scores
and downed Yale, 5-3. The last time Harvard put together a streak
of three, four-goal games was Feb. 2-6, 2010, which was kicked off
with a 5-0 win over B.C. in the opening round of the Beanpot.
Getting It Done on the Road
With the weekend sweep of Brown and Yale Jan. 28-29, the Crimson
recorded its first road weekend sweep since Nov. 20-21, 2009, when
it also topped Yale and Brown in their home rinks. Harvard also
upped its season road record to .500 for the first time in two
months, with a 7-6-2 mark away from home this season.
Timing is Everything
January was a month to remember for the Crimson. After posting
sub-.500 records in
November and December, Harvard recorded its best January record
since the 2007-08 season, posting a 7-1-0 mark.
Saturdays have also been favorable for the Crimson this season as
Harvard has a 8-1-1 record in Saturday games and a 9-3-3 record in
afternoon contests.
Rank And File
Harvard began the 2010-11 regular season schedule ranked in both
national polls. The Crimson was ranked in the first seven national
polls of the season, climbing as high as No. 7 in the Oct. 4 polls.
Harvard worked its way back into the national polls Feb. 1,
claiming the No. 10 ranking in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA
Hockey Magazine polls.
It's All Over
Harvard is 120-2-6 (.960) since the start of the 2004-05 season
when leading after two periods. The Crimson is 9-0-0 this season in
such situations.
First Things First
So far this season, Harvard is 10-1-0 when scoring first and 4-7-4
when conceding the first goal. The Crimson was 17-2-2 when
scoring first and 3-6-3 when the opponent scored first last
season.
