Team Notes: No. 3 Cornell, Colgate on Tap for No. 9 Harvard
The Particulars
The Crimson caps its four-game homestand with a key conference
weekend, welcoming Ivy League rival No. 3 Cornell and Colgate to
Bright Hockey Center. Harvard has won its last three home
contests.
Series History
Against Cornell, one of Harvard's longest-tenured rivals, the
Crimson holds the lead in the all-time series with a 50-22-3 mark.
The Big Red has been tallying up marks in the win column in recent
history, however, as the Crimson is winless against Cornell in its
last six games, dating back to the 2008-09 season.
Earlier this season in Ithaca, N.Y., the Crimson put on a gutsy
display, knotting the score late in the game, before two quick
scores powered Cornell to a 5-3 victory. Down 2-0 in the first
period, Sarah
Edney got the Crimson on the board and helped the team
close the first frame down by just one goal. Another Cornell marker
just past the halfway point of the second stretched the lead back
to two, but fellow rookie Hillary
Crowe closed the gap once again with the final goal of
the second stanza. Kaitlin
Spurling evened the score at 12:37 of the third, but
quick strikes from Jillian Saulnier and Emily Fulton capped the 5-3
final in front of a raucous Big Red crowd.
The Crimson has had the Raiders' number in the all-time series, as
Harvard has captured 19 wins in the 22 games between the two teams
for a 19-1-2 overall mark. Colgate's lone win in the series game
during the 2006-07 season, and Harvard has won the last six
meetings between the squads.
Harvard scored early and scored late in its first game against the
Raiders this season, collecting its first shutout victory of the
season in a 2-0 win in Hamilton, N.Y. Elizabeth
Parker netted a goal just 42 seconds into the game and
Lyndsey
Fry put home an empty-net insurance goal with under a
minute to go in the game to seal the victory. Laura
Bellamy stopped all 20 shots she faced in the contest
.
Last Time Out
In its first home league weekend since the middle of November,
Harvard earned four valuable league points with wins over Union and
Rensselaer.
The Dutchwomen proved to be a much more stingy opponent then their
record would have suggested, but Harvard was able to figure out a
hot goaltender twice, skating to a 2-0 win Friday night. Despite
Harvard's 12-6 shots advantage in the frame, the first period went
by scoreless. It wasn't until 16:54 of the second that Elizabeth
Parker put the Crimson up for good with a redirect goal. In her
first game of the 2011-12 season, senior captain Alisa
Baumgartner provided the insurance with a blast from
distance that snuck through the Union goalie's five hole with seven
minutes to play in the game. Laura Bellamy needed just 15 saves to
notch her second clean sheet this season.
Harvard's mettle was tested the following afternoon against
Rensselaer, as the Engineers took advantage of an early power play
and added a pair of scores in the second to take a commanding 3-0
lead midway through the contest. Jillian
Dempsey started the Crimson comeback with her 11th goal
of the season at 16:31, and Gina
McDonald struck just over a minute later on the power
play to close the gap to one. Kalley
Armstrong evened the score at 3-3 early in the third
period and McDonald netted two more goals to complete the comeback
and hat trick and cap Harvard's five unanswered goals in a 5-3
win.
Hats Off!
With a trio of goals in the 5-3 win over Rensselaer, Gina McDonald
logged the first hat trick of the season for the Crimson. Harvard's
last hat trick came courtesy of Kate Buesser '11, who tallied three
scores in an 8-3 pounding of St. Lawrence in the 2011 ECAC Hockey
quarterfinals, pushing the Crimson in to the semifinal round. Five
Harvard players had scored multiple goals in a game this season
prior to McDonald's performance against RPI.
Top Rookie
After one of her best weekend showings of her young career,
Hillary Crowe was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week for Jan. 17.
Against Union, Crowe assisted Elizabeth Parker on the eventual
game-winning goal, giving her six helpers on the season. The
following afternoon, Crowe set a career-high for points, dishing
out three assists in a 5-3 comeback win, including a helper on the
game-winning goal by Gina McDonald. Crowe currently holds the
rookie team lead for points with 12 (3g, 9a) and brings a
three-game point-scoring streak into the Cornell
matchup.
A Very Welcome Addition
Freshman defender Sarah Edney was back on the ice for Harvard last
weekend, after opening 2012 with the Canadian U-22 development team
at the 2012 MECO Cup in Germany. She notched an assist against
Union and a pair of helpers against RPI to help Harvard sweep the
weekend series. She holds the longest active point streak on the
team at six games.
Edney helped Canada earn a bronze medal at the MECO Cup, finishing
the tournament with one point, scoring a goal in a 6-0 rout of
Switzerland in the first round. 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 a New York 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. Last weekend's pair of
victories pushes Harvard's record to 7-1 this season against New
York squads. In the seven wins, Harvard has outscored its
opponents, 26-7.
A Comeback of Notable Proportions
Harvard's 5-3 comeback victory over Rensselaer marked the first
time since Nov. 16, 2004 the Crimson has come back to win from a
three-goal deficit. The last time it happened, Brown scored three
times within the first 8:52 of the contest, but Harvard found three
of its own quickly after to close the first period in a 3-3 tie. In
fact, the Crimson scored seven straight times to close the game
with a 7-3 win in Providence. Harvard scored five unanswered goals
in its comeback win over RPI Saturday.
Clean Sheets
With the 2-0 blanking of Union last weekend, Laura Bellamy has two
shutouts this season and has upped her career shutout total
to nine. She made 20 saves in her first clean sheet against Colgate
and just 15 stops in the 2-0 blanking of the Dutchwomen. In both
games, sophomore Elizabeth Parker scored the game-winning goal for
the Crimson.
Parker Please
Elizabeth Parker has five points on the season, all of which have
come on goals. The Crimson is 5-0-0 this season in games
where Parker scores. In fact, Harvard has never lost a game in
which Parker scores a goal, posting a 7-0-1 record in eight such
contests, dating back to her rookie season.
A Note About Ties
The 3-3 draw with Quinnipiac Jan. 7 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
production this season. Twenty-three of Harvard's 58 team goals
have come in the middle stanza, making it the Crimson's most
productive period. Harvard has allowed only 11 goals in the first
and third frames, also a team-best mark.
Ruthlessly Efficient
Rookie defenseman Sarah Edney is second on the Crimson in shooting
percentage at 18.8 percent. She has scored three goals this season
while taking just 16 shots. Alisa Baumgartner is the team leader at
33.3, with one goal on just three shots.
Shot Stoppers
After holding an opponent to fewer than 20 shots in a game just
three times this season heading into last weekend, the Crimson held
both the Dutchwomen and the Engineers below that threshold in the
weekend sweep. Harvard's 15 shots allowed against Union marked a
season-best and the 18 allowed against RPI tied a previous
season-low total. On the season, Harvard is outshooting its
opponents, 496-415.
Spreading The Wealth
Thanks to Alisa Baumgartner's goal against Union in her first game
back from injury, every Harvard position player on the 2011-12
roster has registered a point. Twelve different players have scored
goals this season, while assists have been recorded by 14 players.
It marks the first time since the 2004-05 season that every
position player on the roster has registered a point.
Freshmen Force
All four freshmen position players have made an impact this
season. Through 17 games, all four rookies have logged points.
Hillary Crowe leads all members of the class of 2015 with 3-9-12
points, and is follwed by Samantha
Reber (Edina, Minn.) and Sarah Edney with 3-6-9 points
each. Michelle
Picard (Taunton, Mass.) has collected four assists so
far this season.
