Team Notes: No. 10 Harvard Looks to Gain Ground in Standings
The Particulars
After a three-game road swing, the Crimson return home for the
first time in 2012, to take on conference opponents Union and RPI.
Harvard enters the weekend as the No. 5 team in the ECAC Hockey
standings.
Series History
In 16 all-time matchups, Harvard has never lost to Union,
collecting wins in every meeting starting in 2003-04. The Crimson
has outscored the Dutchwomen 102-3 in the all-time series and has
recorded 13 shutouts.
Last season, the Crimson posted a pair of shutouts against the
Dutchwomen just 15 days apart. In its first game back after winter
break, five different players scored goals as the Crimson blanked
Union on the road, 5-0. Josephine
Pucci, Jillian
Dempsey, Kaitlin
Spurling and Lyndsey
Fry all scored even-strength goals and Katharine Chute
'11 added a power-play tally in the win. In the rematch at Bright,
four different players scored with Kelsey
Romatoski, Gina
McDonald, Kate Buesser '11 and Dempsey lighting the lamp
in a 4-0 win.
The Harvard-Rensselaer series is barely ten games old with the
Crimson holding a slim 6-4-1 series edge over the Engineers. The
teams first played during the 2006-07 season and Harvard went 5-0-1
in the first six meetings. Four of the past five meetings have gone
to RPI and two of those games were decided in overtime.
The teams played a pair of physical contests in 2010-11 and each
team was able to succesfully defend home ice. In Troy, N.Y., Ashley
Wheeler '11 started the scoring but RPI goals in the second and
third periods proved to be enough in a 2-1 Engineers win.
Harvard returned the favor two weeks later at Bright as Liza
Ryabkina '11 and Kalley
Armstrong netted second-period goals to claim a 2-1 win
for the Crimson. Laura Bellamy made 20 saves and allowed only a
power-play goal in the victory.
Last Time Out
The Crimson fought through a tough road trip last weekend,
traveling to Princeton and Quinnipiac for a pair of league
games.
After a first-period goal was disallowed against the Tigers, the
Crimson offense stalled, getting shutout for the first time in over
a year. Princeton's Sally Butler potted goals in the first and
third periods, and Danille DiCesare's power-play goal with 6:34 to
play sealed the 3-0 loss, Harvard's third in ECAC action.
Harvard's resiliency showed the following afternoon in a showdown
with league-leading Quinnipiac, as the Crimson fought back from
one- and two-goal deficits to force a 3-3 tie. Kaitlin Spurling's
tally just 47 seconds into the second period knotted the score at
1-1, but a pair of Bobcat goals in the frame put Harvard in a 3-1
hole heading into the third. Lyndsey Fry brought Harvard to within
one 3:41 into the third period and Marissa
Gedman's power-play slapshot forced the overtime period.
In overtime, Laura Bellamy turned aside six threatening shots to
seal the 3-3 final.
Welcome Back
After starting the 2012 portion of the schedule without freshman
defender Sarah
Edney, the rookie will be back on the ice Friday against
Union. Edney was named to the Canadian U-22 development team, and
competed in the 2012 MECO Cup in Germany Jan. 3-8. Edney helped
Canada earn a bronze medal at the event, putting together a 3-2
record in five tournament games. Edney finished the tournament with
one point, scoring a goal in a 6-0 rout of Switzerland in the first
round.
The freshman has had plenty of contact with the Canadian Women's
National Team, attending a number of training camps and captaining
the U-18 team to a silver mdeal at the 2011 IIHF Women's World
Under-18 Championship in Stokholm, Sweden. Edney was one of just
two ECAC Hockey defenders named to the team for the MECO Cup.
Owning The Empire
A number of teams from the state of New York dot the Harvard
schedule year in and year out, and so far this season, Harvard has
fared well against Empire State squads. The Crimson kicked off the
season with three straight wins against St. Lawrence, Clarkson and
Colgate, before suffering its lone loss to an N.Y. team in a
5-3 defeat at Cornell. The Crimson bounced back with two more wins
over the Saints and Golden Knights, to push its record to 5-1 in
games against New York teams. In the five wins, Harvard has
outscored its opponent 19-4.
Sure While Short-Handed
After going 10 games without a short-handed goal to start the
season, Harvard has tallied a pair of them in the past five
contests. Jillian Dempsey scored Harvard's first of the season in a
two-goal night at Providence, and Gina McDonald scored on the
penalty kill against Connecticut for her second goal of the
evening. Harvard gave up its first short-handed goal of the season
last weekend in a 3-3 tie with Quinnipiac.
A Note About Ties
The 3-3 draw with Quinnipiac in its last game was Harvard's first
tie of the season. Dating back to Jan. 2010, six of Harvard's last
eight ties have been by a 3-3 score. Three of Harvard's four ties
last season were 3-3 games, including a Beanpot first-round game
against Northeastern, where Harvard advanced thanks to a shootout
victory.
Right Out Of The Break
The Crimson proved it was able to carry the momentum it gained
before winter break into the 2012 portion of the schedule. The 8-1
pounding of Connecticut represents the biggest win for Harvard in
its first game after winter recess since a 9-0 drubbing of Wayne
State Jan. 4, 2003. This year also represents the first time since
the 2005-06 season Harvard was able to win its last game before
break and first game returning from it.
Strong in the Second
The second period has been Harvard's best in terms of goal
differential this season. 20 of Harvard's 51 team goals have come
in the middle stanza, making it the Crimson's most productive
period. Harvard has allowed only 10 goals in the first frame, also
a team-best mark.
Feast On the East
Hockey East has become one of the strongest conferences in women's
college hockey, but the Crimson has been dominant in three games
against Hockey East opponents this season. Harvard downed
Providence on the road, 5-1, Dec. 8, and followed with a 5-2
pounding of New Hampshire at Bright the following night. The 8-1
thrashing of Connecticut pushes Harvard's record to 3-0 against
Hockey East schools this season. The Crimson is slated to face two
more Hockey East opponents in the Beanpot in February.
Ruthlessly Efficient
Rookie defenseman Sarah Edney leads the Crimson in shooting
percentage at 23.1%. She has scored three goals this season while
taking just 13 shots.
League's Elite
As a team, Harvard ranks among the top of the league in a number
of categories. The Crimson boasts the second-best scoring offense
in the league as one of just two teams averaging even or better
than three goals per game at 3.40 per contest. Harvard has
converted on 23.8 percent of its power-play chances, which also
ranks second in the ECAC, and its 15 power-play goals rank tied for
fourth in the league. The Crimson ranks fifth in the conference
with 51 goals on the season, despite playing just 15 games, tied
for the fewest among ECAC schools. Harvard has also allowed just 10
power-play goals this season, the second-lowest number in the ECAC.
