No. 10 W. Hockey Faces Early Obstacles

The Harvard women’s hockey team learned this weekend that nothing is going to come easy this season.

The No. 10 Crimson (1-0-1, 1-0-1 ECAC North) opened its season with a 1-1 tie at Colgate (2-2-1, 2-2-1) on Saturday and rebounded yesterday with a 3-0 win at Cornell (0-2-0, 0-2-0).

The Red Raiders, who made the jump from D-III women’s hockey to D-I this year, managed to pull out a tie against Harvard despite being outshot 45-18.

The Crimson had more success finding the back of the net against Cornell, scoring three times on 36 shots. Two freshmen forwards, Ali Crum and Nicole Corriero, scored the first goals of their careers.

Harvard will now look to play strong in front of a home crowd next weekend. Its home opener is on Friday against Vermont, another D-I newcomer. On Saturday, longtime rival No. 2 Dartmouth comes to town.

“To win, we have to be the team that works the hardest on the ice,” captain Jaime Hagerman said. “But we still have a long way to go. The best thing is, we get to play each [ECAC North] team twice. But we’ve got to beat them the first time.”

Harvard 3, Cornell 0

Crum gave the Crimson all the scoring it would need just 3:22 into the afternoon, as sophomore goaltender Jessica Ruddock made 20 saves in net to earn the shutout.

“[Ali Crum] is a player that worked so hard for us,” Hagerman said. “Her goal came on a [shorthanded] breakaway. She had a great shot in between the goalie’s pads. It was just pure hard work.”

Corriero put Harvard up 2-0 at the 13:42 mark on the power play. The goal was set up by junior forward Kalen Ingram who won the faceoff and passed off to Corriero on the right wing. Junior forward Tracy Catlin kept a Big Red player in front to set up a screen, and Corriero shot the puck short-side past Cornell goaltender Sanya Sandahl.

Corriero’s experience in Harvard’s 6-2 win over the Toronto Junior Aeros last Friday proved to be valuable in yesterday’s game.

“It was kind of funny because it was almost identical to the goal I scored in the scrimmage last weekend,” Corriero said.

Harvard dominated the first period, outshooting the Big Red 11-1, but shots were even the rest of the way, with the Crimson holding a 21-19 advantage.

With just over five minutes remaining in the game, Catlin put home her own rebound on a two-man advantage for a 3-0 Harvard lead.

Of the Crimson’s four goals, none have come at even strength. Cornell, meanwhile, has yet to score through two games this season. The Big Red lost 5-0 to Brown on Saturday.

Ruddock was given the start yesterday after Harvard Coach Katey Stone went with Kuusisto in the opener.

“I think Allison did a great job against Colgate,” Hagerman said. “Jessica, I think, is our No. 1 goalie right now, and she played great. Each day they’ll battle for it.”

Harvard 1, Colgate 1 (OT)

The Crimson went up 1-0 when Red Raider freshman goaltender Rebecca Lahar coughed up a rebound—on a shot from Hagerman—that junior defenseman Pam Van Reesema finished.

But Lahar would not make another costly mistake. Harvard could not find the net in a scoreless second period, despite outshooting Colgate, 15-2.

The Red Raiders made Harvard pay for its missed opportunities when Colgate’s Cheryl Setchell finished on a three-on-two rush to tie the game with just under eight minutes left.

Lahar allowed that score to stand for the rest of the afternoon.

“[Lahar] is a freshman, so no one had seen her,” Hagerman said. “We really tested her early. We had 76 shots, 14 were blocked, 17 missed the net and we had 45 on goal. We didn’t hold back. We really went after her.”

Although Saturday’s game was Harvard’s season opener, it was Colgate’s fifth game of the year. As in nearly every other sport, Ivy teams start their seasons later than all other teams.

“[The scheduling] was definitely a factor,” Hagerman said. “We had to jump right into it. They knew where all their teammates were. You could tell that we were a little shaky with our poisitioning and our defensive zone coverage.”

Colgate continued to play strong against the Ivies on Sunday, falling to Brown by a score of 2-0.

Saturday’s game marked the debut for seven Harvard freshmen, who nearly outnumber the nine returning players on the team.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Corriero about her debut. “It’s one of the most fun weekends I’ve had playing hockey.”

The freshmen could not get on the board for the first game of the season, but they came through in game two, and showed their potential for the season to come.