Team Notes: No. 9/9 Harvard Preps for Bout with No. 2/2 Minnesota
The Particulars
Harvard takes on its first non-conference foe of the season as it
welcomes No. 2/2 Minnesota for a two-game series. The Crimson
brings a 2-1 home record into the series with the Golden
Gophers.
Follow From Home
Harvard will provide streaming video (for a subscription) and live
statistics for all home games and provide links for road
games. Video and live stats links can be found on the women's
hockey schedule on GoCrimson.com.
Series History
The Crimson and Gophers have met 16 times since the first matchup
during the 1997-98 season, a 3-2 Harvard win. Minnesota holds the
all-time series edge, 10-5-1, and has captured seven of the last
nine meetings.
The last time the Gophers played at Bright, Harvard put on a
defensive display, shutting out Minnesota in back-to-back games and
claiming a 1-0 victory in the first game of the series. It was the
first time that either team had shut the other one out in the
history of the series.
The Crimson captured victories in the first three games of the
series, following up the inagural meeting with a 3-1 win in 1998-99
and capping the run with an 8-3 pounding the year after. From
there, Minnesota took charge, claiming eight of the next nine
matchups, with Harvard's lone win coming in 2002-03, a 6-1 victory
in the NCAA Semifinals. The two teams met in the NCAA
championship game in 2004 and 2005, but the Gophers skated to 6-2
and 4-3 victories, respectively.
Last season, the Crimson squared off against the Gophers on their
home ice and the hosts captured 3-0 and 4-2 wins over Thanksgiving
weekend. After being kept scoreless in Game 1, the Crimson rallied
for a pair of goals in Game 2. Kate Buesser '11 notched a
power-play goal off feeds from classmates Katharine Chute '11 and
Leanna Coskren '11 with two minutes left in the second, and struck
again with two minutes to go in the third off assists from Alisa
Baumgartner (West Vancouver, B.C.) and Coskren.
Last Time Out
Harvard suffered its first home loss of the season as its comeback
fell short in a 3-2 loss to Dartmouth Wednesday.
For the second straight game, Harvard scored less than a minute
into the contest, taking a 1-0 lead 39 seconds in. A Dartmouth
penalty put the Crimson on an early power play and the hosts took
advantage as Josephine
Pucci (Pearl River, N.Y.) fired a shot that was
redirected by Lyndsey
Fry (Chandler, Ariz.) into the net for an quick
edge.
Dartmouth knotted the score at 1-1 midway through the second
period and took a 2-1 lead into the second break after notching its
second even-strength goal of the stanza. Harvard had over a minute
of 5-on-3 play in the third but was unable to find the equalizer as
Dartmouth netted a third goal to take a two-score lead. The Crimson
rallied for a second goal with under a minute play when Jillian
Dempsey (Winthrop, Mass.) put home a Gina
McDonald (New Brighton, Minn.) rebound, but the rally
fell short as the Crimson fell, 3-2.
Killing Streak
Harvard enters the game against the Gophers having killed its last
17 penalties. The streak started in Harvard's 2-1 victory over
Clarkson Nov. 18, when the Crimson went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill
in the third period. The following afternoon, Harvard went 8-for-8
on the kill against St. Lawrence, it's best performance on the
penalty kill since the 2007-08 season. Wednesday against Dartmouth,
the Crimson was flawless on the kill once again, squashing six Big
Green chances to stretch the streak to 17.
Everyday Dempsey
Junior Jillian Dempsey has been a consistent force for the Crimson
this season. Dempsey missed two games while suiting up for the U.S.
Women's National team, but in the five games she has played for
Harvard, she has logged at least one point in each. Dempsey has
three multi-point games on the season and has notched two points,
on a goal and an assist, in each of her last two games.
ECAC Recognition
After helping the Crimson clinch the season series sweep against
St. Lawrence and Clarkson last weekend, Laura
Bellamy was named ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week for
Nov. 21. In Friday's game against the Golden Knights, Bellamy was
outstanding, recording her second-highest saves total of the
season, stopping 29 shots in a 2-1 victory. The Duluth, Minn.,
native was equally as solid the following night against the Saints,
turning aside 26 shots and helping the Crimson go a perfect 8-for-8
on the penalty kill for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
The award marks Bellamy's second league recognition of her career,
as she picked up a Rookie of Week nod as a freshman.
Face The Facts
Jillian Dempsey is the point-person when it comes to faceoffs for
Harvard. The junior has posted a winning faceoff record in all but
one game this season and had her best performance on the dot
Wednesday against Dartmouth. Dempsey won 18 of 29 faceoffs against
the Big Green.
National Noise
A number of Harvard players have posted stats that rank highly on
the national scene. Jillian Dempsey is tied for 17th with three
power-play goals, but is third in the nation with a 0.60 power-play
goals per game average. Marissa
Gedman is tied for 11th with two game-winning tallies
and ranks sixth in scoring among defensemen with 1.00 points per
game.
Laura Bellamy's strong play has her ranked among the nations best
goalies. The junior is seventh in goals-against average at 1.71 and
11th in save percentage with a .932 mark.
As a team, Harvard boasts the 11th-ranked scoring offense,
averaging 3.43 goals per game, while the seventh-ranked defense is
allowing just 1.71 goals per contest. The Crimson also has the
fifth-ranked power-play unit in the country, scoring on 28% of its
chances, and is ranked second in combined special teams.
Spreading The Wealth
Through seven games this season, 14 of the 15 Harvard skaters that
have seen action have scored points. Ten different players have
scored goals this season, while assists have been recorded by 12
players. Hilary
Hayssen (Orono, Minn.) and Kelsey
Romatoski (Woodbury, Minn.) collected their first points
of the season off assists in the 6-1 win over St.
Lawrence.
Recognize
After downing St. Lawrence and Clarkson, two teams that were
receiving votes in both major polls, in its season-opening
weekend, the Crimson jumped up to No. 10 in both the USA
Today/USA Hockey Magazine and the USCHO.com polls. The Crimson
gained another spot in the rankings after finishing the season
sweep of the Saints and Golden Knights.
Historically Harvard
Harvard has a storied tradition within the women's college hockey
ranks. In 33 years of play, the team has compiled 25 winning
seasons, including nine with at least 20 wins and four with
30 or more victories.
Since Harvard captured the 1999 AWCHA National Championship, the
team has compiled the fifth-best winning percentage in the country
and the highest among Eastern teams during that span. Here are the
teams with the top 10 winning percentages beginning with the
1999-2000 season (updated through Nov. 21):
1. Minnesota (357-84-31)
.788
2. Mercyhurst (314-85-24)
.770
3. Wisconsin (340-91-36)
.766
4. Minnesota Duluth
(318-93-35) .756
5. Harvard (283-93-28)
.735
6. New Hampshire (286-113-38)
.704
7. Dartmouth (263-114-24)
.688
8. St. Lawrence (292-131-39)
.676
9. Clarkson (154-104-39)
.582
Providence (233-159-51)
.582
