Hagerman Leads Young W. Hockey Defense

Last season the Harvard women’s hockey team scored two goals for every goal allowed, thanks largely to Jennifer Botterill ’02-’03 and Tammy Shewchuk ’00-’01, two of the nation’s top three scorers. But with those two forwards playing for the Canadian National Team this season, the Crimson will look to a defensive unit chalk full of newcomers to enable Harvard to shut down the opposition.

Mentoring the crop of rookies will be junior captain Jamie Hagerman. The 5’9 Wenham, Mass., native began her Harvard athletic career playing both lacrosse and hockey. She tore her ACL in the fall of her sophomore year, forcing her to drop lacrosse. She credits her lacrosse experience with providing her with a new perspective on her hockey team.

“You learn a lot, taking the good and bad from both [sports],” Hagerman says.

Whether on the lacrosse field or on the ice, Hagerman understands the importance of defense. Once a member the U.S. Under-22 Select Team and an invite to the U.S. Olympic Festival this summer, Hagerman will be a valuable asset to the Harvard blueline.

“From a team standpoint, defense is very important to us,” Hagerman says. “It’s the biggest part of the game, and our coach stresses that if we don’t play defense as a team then we’re not going to win.”

As captain, Hagerman provides much needed leadership to a young, dynamic defense. Harvard has only five defensemen, which means that the three freshman defenders are going to receive a lot of ice time.

“They’re going to have to be ready to play Division I hockey right away,” Hagerman says. “They’re not going to be able to learn as they go along.”

Nonetheless, she is confident that Harvard’s recruiting has brought in quality players.

Harvard Coach Katie Stone has been very pleased with Hagerman as captain.

“Jamie’s been a great captain and certainly her work ethic is second to none,” Stone says.

Hagerman is joined by junior Pamela Van Reesema, the other veteran on defense. The two juniors bring savvy and experience along with their impressive skills.

Among the freshmen, Emily Haigh made the squad as a walk-on and has been impressive thus far. Louise Chim looks to be a solid addition to the lineup.

Harvard has especially high expectations for Canadian rookie Ashley Banfield, particularly on offensive.

“We all know we have to come up and make an impact,” Banfield says.

The Toronto native noted that Stone is looking for her defenders to play a larger role in the Harvard attack.

“Coach stresses that any chance we get, bring up the puck,” Banfield says.

Banfield’s teammates have lauded her play so far.

“She’s been superb from day one,” says Hagerman of the rookie defenseman.

“She’s pretty quick and she handles the puck very well,” adds freshmen forward Nicole Corriero, who played with Banfield back in Toronto. “Defensively, she’s relentless.”

In addition to Banfield’s contributions, the veterans should supply some offense as well. Hagerman and Van Reesema chipped in on the attack last season with 16 and 20 points, respectively.

In the Crimson’s season opener against Colgate last Saturday, Van Reesema scored Harvard’s only goal. Hagerman assisted.

“If we have open ice, we’re going to take it,” Hagerman says. “But our main goal is to keep the defensive zone safe.”

Women’s hockey involves more finesse than the men’s game. Since there is less checking, forwards can often find themselves in front of the net, with opportunities for clear shots on goal.

As a defender, taking the puck away involves more skill and agility and less brute strength than it does in men’s hockey. As a result, a strong defense is sometimes hard to come by in the women’s game, and goalies are often tested.

Sophomore netminder Jessica Ruddock returns to face more of those tests after earning the bulk of the work in net last season. Hagerman acknowledges that the young defensive corps will make Ruddock’s job harder.

“[Ruddock] is going to have to play a huge role this year because we don’t have a lot of defensemen,” Hagerman says. “She’s going to have to be someone we can count on every day, and she knows that she’ll see 30, 40, 50 shots a game.”

Teamwork is crucial to their success on defense.

“In protecting [Ruddock], we’ll do the best we can to make sure she can see this ice and we all work as a unit,” Hagerman says.

Despite the relative inexperience of the defense, the strong goaltending and remarkable talent of the young players should make for an exciting season. With Hagerman and Van Reesema leading the way—and Chim, Banfield and Haigh eager to contribute—the future looks bright for the Harvard defense.