Team Notes: Brown, Yale Next for Streaking Harvard

Photo by Kevin Burns

The Particulars
Having won its last four games, the Harvard women's hockey team looks to keep its longest win streak of the season alive on the road against Brown and Yale. The four-game streak also represented the longest home stretch the Crimson will play this season.

Series History
The Bears represent one of Harvard's longest-running opponents, and the Crimson holds a slight edge in the all-time series record, 37-30-5. Brown collected the majority of its wins early in the series, once taking 11 consecutive contests between 1994 and 1999. However, the Crimson hasn't lost to Brown since the end of the 2001-02 season. In that span, Harvard has shut the Bears out five times and collected 18 wins. When the two teams met earlier this season, Harvard jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals from Josephine Pucci, Liza Ryabkina and Jillian Dempsey, and held on for a 4-2 win, its first of 2010-11.

The Harvard-Yale series has been more one-sided historically, with the Crimson owning a 59-7-3 advantage in the all-time series. Harvard put together a stretch from 1985 to 2004 in which it did not tie or lose to the Bulldogs, winning 39 consecutive contests and posting 13 shutouts. Harvard is currently riding a 12-game unbeaten streak against Yale, claiming 10 wins during that stretch. The last time the two teams met, in the first game of Harvard's 2010-11 schedule, the Crimson had to scramble to manage a tie. Down 3-2 with just 14 seconds left in the game, senior Liza Ryabkina netted the game-tying goal .

Last Weekend
The Crimson wrapped up its four-game homestand in impressive fashion, downing Rensselaer, 2-1, Friday night before blanking Union, 4-0, Saturday during Harvard Alumnae Weekend and Olympian Celebration.

Harvard withstood a late charge from Rensselaer and killed two 5-on-3 opportunities to capture a 2-1 victory. Liza Ryabkina started the scoring in the game with a goal early in the second period, and freshman Kalley Armstrong netted the eventual game-winner a few minutes later for a 2-0 lead. RPI managed a goal midway through the third period, but goalie Laura Bellamy held tight down the stretch, collecting 19 saves in the victory for the Crimson.   

On Saturday, for the sixth straight contest, Harvard netted the first goal of the game, this one coming off the stick of Kelsey Romatoski. Jillian Dempsey scored a goal midway through the first period to push the score to 2-0 after one, and rookie Gina McDonald notched her first collegiate goal late in the second to move the score to 3-0. Kate Buesser capped the scoring in the third and Bellamy needed just 10 saves to record her second shutout of the season in the 4-0 win.

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 349-151-29 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.  

Third Period's The Charm
Harvard has played some of its best hockey in the third period of games so far this season. While opponents have the scoring edge in the first period and Harvard has a slight lead in the second period, the Crimson is outscoring its foes 20-16 in the third stanza. Harvard has also held its opponents to the fewest number of shots, allowing just 110 pucks on net in the third period this year.

Hold Your Fire
In 57 periods of regulation hockey so far this season, Harvard has only allowed double-digit shots in a given period 12 times. 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 UNH, Harvard allowed just 14 shots on net, including three in the second period. The Crimson did its best job of shot-blocking against Union Jan. 7, allowing just 10 shots on goal for the game, including just two in the final period. When Harvard faced the Dutchwomen Jan. 22, it again allowed just 10 shots in the game, including just one in the first period of play.     

Harvard has yet to allow more than 30 shots to an opposing team in a game this season. The Crimson is averaging 30.5 shots per game to its opponents' 19.9 and is outshooting its opponents 580-379 through 19 games.

About Brown
The Bears are having a trying 2010-11 campaign, as they enter the Harvard game with a 2-14-3 overall record and a 1-8-3 mark in conference play. Brown's lone conference win of the season came Nov. 13 in a 1-0 defeat of Rensselaer at home. Last season, the Bears dropped 5-1 and 4-1 decisions to the Crimson and fell, 4-2, to Harvard in their meeting earlier this season. The matchup with Harvard kicks off a three-game homestand for the Bears.

About Yale
The Bulldogs are on the outside looking in, in terms of ECAC playoff spots, needing a push down the home stretch to qualify for the conference tournament. With a 5-12-2 overall record and 4-7-1 conference mark, Yale has played well within ECAC ranks but dropped a pair of close contests at Clarkson and St. Lawrence last weekend. Last season, the Bulldogs fell to the Crimson, 5-0 and 4-3, but managed a tie in the teams' first matchup this season in Cambridge. The Bulldogs face Dartmouth Friday before welcoming the Crimson to New Haven.

Just Killing It
Despite having a tough go of it on the penalty kill in the first half of the season, the Crimson has turned it on as of late. In its past seven games, Harvard has allowed just two power-play tallies and killed 28 of 31 (90.3 percent) penalties during that stretch. The Crimson killed all six penalties against RPI Jan. 8 and followed with a 4-for-4 performance against St. Lawrence Jan. 14.

Two Down But Not Out
With an improving penalty kill, the Crimson has shown its mettle by killing four 5-on-3 opportunities in its past five games. 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. Last weekend, the Crimson kept Rensselaer scoreless on two seperate 5-on-3 scenarios in the game in a 2-1 win at Bright. 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 four times this season and has captured wins in all four games. The Crimson is 4-1-1 in games it scores three goals, its only loss coming to No. 4/5 Boston University in a 5-3 final.

Familiar Face
For the second time this season, Harvard will square off against Yale head coach Joakim Flygh, a former assistant with the Crimson. Flygh spent three seasons at Harvard, helping the Crimson to back-to-back ECAC titles in his first two season with the team. Flygh is in his first year as the head coach of the Bulldogs and led his team to a 3-3 tie against the Crimson in Harvard's 2010-11 season opener.  

Getting Involved
Through 19 games this season, all six freshmen have registered at least one point. Marissa Gedman has tallied seven points (2-5-7) on the season and is tied for the rookie team lead with Lyndsey Fry (4-3-7). Elizabeth  Parker picked up her first goal of her career against Dartmouth Nov. 19 and Gina McDonald tallied her first collegiate point with an assist against Brown Oct. 30 and added her first goal against Union Jan. 22. Jackie Young earned her first collegiate point against Clarkson with an assist on Gedman's power-play goal in the second period. Lauren Joarnt has seen action in four games this season and currently holds a save percentage of .852 and a 3.04 goals-against average.

It's All Over
Harvard is 118-2-6 (.960) since the start of the 2004-05 season when leading after two periods. The Crimson is 7-0-0 this season in such situations.    

First Things First
So far this season, Harvard is 7-1-0 when scoring first and 3-6-2 when conceding the first goal.  The Crimson was 17-2-2 when scoring first and 3-6-3 when the opponent lit the lamp first last season.

Bright Spot
Harvard is 6-1-1 at Bright so far this season.  The Crimson owned a 14-4-3 record at Bright Hockey Center in 2009-10, and posted a 6-4-2 mark on the road.  Since Harvard hosted the Beanpot in 2009-10, the Crimson played no neutral-site games.

A Balanced Attack
Through 19 games this season, 16 different players have tallied goals for the Crimson with Kelsey Romatoski and Gina McDonald recording their first of the season against Union Jan. 22. In all, 18 skaters on the roster have tallied a point this season. Harvard had 14 different players light the lamp last season, scoring a total of 94 goals.  Four Harvard players (Kate Buesser, Jillian Dempsey, Liza Ryabkina and Randi Griffin '10) had double-digit tallies for the Crimson in 2009-10.