Team Notes: Harvard Welcomes St. Lawrence for Quarterfinals Showdown
The Particulars
After sealing the No. 2 seed in the ECAC hockey regular season
standings, the Crimson welcomes St. Lawrence to Bright Hockey
Center for an ECAC quarterfinal series. This is only the second
time the Crimson has squared off against the Saints in the
quarterfinals.
Series History
While St. Lawrence has proved to be a tough opponent for the
Crimson through the years, Harvard holds the edge in the all-time
series with a 30-11-5 mark. Harvard has been the dominantteam as of
late, picking up eight wins in the last nine match-ups between the
two teams. In this season's first matchup, Josephine
Pucci andAshley
Wheeler netted third-period goals to help Harvard past the
Saints, 2-1, Jan. 14.The last time the two teams met, Feb. 12,
Harvard bounced back from a 2-1 second-period deficit to force the
game into overtime tied at 2-2. After withstanding a St. Lawrence
barrage at the start of the extra frame, Jillian
Dempseysnuck home the game-winner with just seven seconds left
on the clock to give Harvard a 3-2 win and the season series
sweep.
The Crimson and Saints have faced each other six times in the
history of the ECAC tournament with Harvard holding a 5-1 record in
those games. The last time the two teams met was in 2008 where the
Crimson skated to a 3-2 overtime victory in the championship game
to clinch its most recent title. St. Lawrence's lone win in the
series came a year before that as it knocked off Harvard, 4-3, in
the 2007 semifinals.
Last Weekend
In the final regular season weekend of 2010-11, Harvard posted a
1-1 record, blanking Colgate, 7-0, Friday and narrowly falling to
No. 2 Cornell, 4-3, Saturday.
Harvard had little trouble finding the back of the net against the
Raiders, riding four first-period goals to victory. Leanna
Coskren had a pair of tallies and an assist in the game
while Jillian Dempsey registered a career-high four assists in the
win. Josephine Pucci also netted Harvard's third short-handed goal
of the season and Laura
Bellamy made 16 saves for her fourth shutout of the
season.
The Crimson dug itself a fast hole Saturday, conceding three
first-period goals to the second-ranked Big Red. Harvard came out
firing in the second period, however, and closed the gap to one at
the end of two on goals by Josephine Pucci and Kate
Buesser. Cornell scored early in the third to make it 4-2 and
even though Jillian Dempsey capitalized on a power-play to make it
4-3, the Crimson was unable to find the equalizer as Cornell
escaped with a 4-3 win.
Harvard ECAC History
The Crimson holds an all-time record of 31-15 in ECAC tournament
action, dating back to 1987. Harvard didn't win its first ECAC
playoff game until 1999, a 3-2 win over Cornell at Bright Hockey
Center. The Crimson went on to capture the tournament title that
year, the first of five. Bright has hosted an ECAC quarterfinal
series every year since 2002 and the Crimson has emerged victorious
in every one of those series.
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 354-154-31 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.
As The Two-Seed
With the 7-0 win over Colgate Friday, the Crimson locked up the
No. 2 seed for the ECAC tournament. It is just the third time in
team history that Harvard has finished second in the ECAC regular
season standings, and the first time since 2001. Harvard advanced
to the title game in 2001 as the second-seed, falling to Dartmouth,
3-1, in the final. The Crimson advanced to the semifinals as the
two-seed the year before that, dropping a 3-2 overtime thriller to
the Big Green at Meehan Auditorium in Providence, R.I.
Special Special Teams
The last week of the regular season saw some inspired performances
by the Harvard penalty kill and power play units. Against Boston
College in the Beanpot final, Harvard needed just two kills to
silence the Eagles' power-play. In the 7-0 pouding of Colgate,
Harvard notched a season-high three power-play goals on seven
attempts, erased six penalties and tallied its third short-handed
goal of the season. Harvard allowed just one power-play goal in
seven attempts to the nation's top power-play unit in Cornell, and
tallied it's fourth man-up score of the weekend.
May I Help You?
With four assists in a 7-0 blowout of Colgate, Jillian Dempsey set
a career-high for points in a game and set the mark for most points
by a Harvard skater in a game this season. The last time a Harvard
player recorded four helpers in a game was Feb. 3, 2009 when Sarah
Vaillancourt '08-09 posted four assists against Boston
University.
Offensive Outburst
The seven goals scored in the 7-0 win over Colgate Feb. 18 marked
the most goals scored in a game during the 2010-11 season. The last
time the Crimson posted at least seven goals in a game was against
Quinnipiac, Nov. 15, 2009 in a 7-2 win. The Colgate win also
represented the biggest margin of victory for the Crimson since an
8-0 blanking of Boston University in the 2009 Beanpot
semifinals.
Hold Your Fire
In 87 periods of regulation hockey this season, Harvard only
allowed double-digit shots in a given period 21 times (24 percent).
On 10 occasions, Harvard held its opponent to three or less shots
in a period, including twice holding an opponent to a single shot
on goal in a given frame. Some of Harvard's top defensive
performances this season:
Fewest Shots Allowed - Game
10 - at Union, Jan. 7, 2011 (W, 5-0)
vs. Union, Jan. 22, 2011 (W, 4-0)
13 - vs. Yale, Oct. 29, 2010 (T, 3-3)
14 - at New Hampshire, Dec. 9, 2010 (W, 3-1)
15 - vs. Brown, Oct. 30, 2010 (W, 4-2)
16 - vs. Clarkson, Jan. 15, 2011 (W, 3-2)
16 - vs. Colgate, Feb. 18, 2011 (W, 7-0)
Harvard has allowed just 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 averaged 32.4 shots per game to its opponents' 21.3 and outshot its opponents 941-618 during the regular season. 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 St. Lawrence
The Saints entered the final weekend of the regular season needing
some results in order to secure a spot in the 2011 ECAC tournament.
After splitting with Harvard and Clarkson the weekend before, St.
Lawrence took care of business last weekend to secure a seven-seed
in the tournament field. The Saints handled Union, 4-0, Friday
night and earned their 11th conference victory with a 2-1 win over
Rensselaer Saturday. Both contests took place on the road.
Two Down But Not Out
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 seven
times this season and has captured wins in all seven games. The
Crimson is 6-2-3 in games it scores three goals, its only losses
coming to No. 4/5 Boston University in a 5-3 final and No. 2
Cornell in a 4-3 game.
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 a 3-0
second-period deficit in the face 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.
Harvard came back from two seperate one-goal deficits to tie
Clarkson Feb. 11, 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, 406-284. In 29 games played this season, the Crimson has
registered more blocked shots than its opponent in a game 21 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 it's 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 7-7-2 mark on visiting ice 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 8-2-1 record in Saturday games and a 9-4-3 record in
afternoon contests.
Rookie Campaigns
This years roster featured seven freshmen: goaltender Lauren
Joarnt, Kalley
Armstrong, Lyndsey
Fry, Marissa
Gedman, Gina
McDonald, Elizabeth
Parker andJackie
Young.
Here is a look at their stats in their first full regular season
with the Crimson:
Marissa Gedman: 4g, 9a, 13 pts
Lyndsey Fry: 6g, 4a, 10 pts
Kalley Armstrong: 5g, 3a, 8 pts
Gina McDonald: 1g, 4a, 5 pts
Elizabeth Parker: 2g, 3a, 5 pts
Jackie Young: 0g, 3a, 3 pts
Lauren Joarnt: 1-1-1, 3.04GAA, .852 save %
It's All Over
Harvard is 121-2-6 (.960) since the start of the 2004-05 season
when leading after two periods. The Crimson is 10-0-0 this season
in such situations.
