Ingram’s Hat Trick Lifts W. Hockey Over No. 6 Wildcats

DURHAM, N.H.—Harvard women’s hockey coach Katey Stone did not hold back any praise for junior center Kalen Ingram after the Crimson’s 4-3 road victory over No. 6 New Hampshire at the Whittemore Center Friday night.

Ingram was worthy of every word.

Her hat trick of three mirror-image power-play goals was the difference as No. 10 Harvard survived an emotionally wrenching game marred by freshman Nicole Corriero’s scary second-period collision into the rear boards and UNH’s fiery third-period rally.

“[Ingram] put herself in the right spot three times on our power play. That kid was awesome. She gets better every single game. I said from the day she got here three years ago, she’s the smartest player I’ve ever had,” Stone said.

Harvard (7-6-1) has now beaten UNH (11-4-1) nine consecutive times since the national championship season of 1999, when the Crimson swept the Wildcats in the regular season and beat them in overtime of the ECAC and AWCHA championship games. Harvard was 0-22-1 against UNH prior to that year.

Ingram thought that Harvard goaltender Alison Kuusisto deserved more credit for the victory than she did. On the strength of Kuusisto’s career-high matching 38 saves, the Crimson won the game despite being outshot 41-28.

“Our goalie kept us in there in the second period when we were dead,” Ingram said. “She made some big saves and that’s what we needed, because we have a young team and sometimes it takes a little longer to figure things out. She was the No. 1 star for us [on Friday].”

On each of Ingram’s three power-play goals, Crimson defenseman Pamela Van Reesema set her up in front from the left point.

On the first goal, which came just 3:16 into the game, Van Reesema's shot hung at the top of the crease, and as New Hampshire goaltender Jen Huggon moved out of position to play it, Ingram put it past her.

For the second goal—which came at 9:54 of the first—Harvard center Lauren McAuliffe got the initial deflection, but the puck came right back to Ingram as Huggon was taken out of the play. Ingram then calmly skated out of traffic and backhanded the puck into the open net.

Ingram completed the hat trick with a deflection from the top of the crease just 2:08 into the third period.

She was surprised that UNH left her so uncovered all night.

"They play a box, and they just stick to the box, and we recognized that," Ingram said. "Normally I just play on the wing there, and coming in no one would pick me up."

Ingram had scored just two goals this season entering the night, but she more than doubled her season total in one game. Although her goal-scoring numbers have been down this season, she had been leading the nation in assists-per-game with 14 in 11 contests entering this week.

Despite falling behind 2-0 and 4-1, UNH stayed in the game. A major turning point came with 5:30 left in the second period, when Wildcat center Debbie Bernhard hit Corriero from behind. The collision caused Corriero, who had already been down on the ice, to hit the rear boards head-first.

Corriero felt a surge of pain in her neck and cried out, then remained motionless on the ice for nearly five minutes.

“I just was really scared because you hear about all those freak stories where people hit their heads and they never walk again,” Corriero said.

Corriero did come back to play in the third period. She sweetened her evening and kept her six-game goal-scoring streak alive by scoring on a quick, deceptive wrister that snuck past Huggon inside the left post at the 7:38 mark.

The game disqualification charged to Bernhard for her hit on Corriero set the Crimson off on a five-minute power play. But Harvard wasted the opportunity when Crimson center Tracy Catlin was called for a hitting-from-behind minor penalty just 15 seconds later. The Wildcats then capitalized on the four-on-four with under four minutes left in the period, as UNH winger Jaime VanMassenhove beat Kuusisto top-shelf on a breakaway.

The Wildcats killed the rest of the penalty.

Harvard began to wear down in the final minutes of the second, due largely to its short roster and the Olympic-sized ice surface its skaters had to cover. But the Crimson bounced back in the third as the Ingram and Corriero goals put Harvard up 4-1.

“At the end of the second period, I think we were holding on hoping that we weren’t going to lose,” Stone said. “In the third period we went to win, and that’s what turned it around for us.”

UNH cut the deficit to two on a power play when UNH freshman winger Steph Jones found the net after winning a loose puck in traffic at the 9:25 mark. Winger Annie Fahlenbrock then made the score 4-3 on a deflection that snuck inside the right post with 3:29 left in regulation.

UNH kept the pressure on in the final minutes, but couldn't find the game-tying goal. Harvard was just as unlucky on its attempts for an insurance goal, as Corriero hit a post on an empty net, and a McAuliffe shot went wide down the stretch.

Like Wednesday’s game against Connecticut and the 3-2 loss to Minnesota last month, Harvard had a two-goal lead cut to one in the final minutes. But like the UConn win and unlike the Minnesota loss, Harvard persevered.

“We knew what we didn’t want to happen,” junior captain Jaime Hagerman said. “So we just worked on good defense, keeping it down low, and minimizing our mistakes.”

UNH Coach Karen Kay considered Friday’s game just as winnable as her team’s losses to unranked Connecticut and Providence in the past two weeks.

"I think we're a better team than Harvard. Not to take anything away—they won the game. But I think we’re a better team," Kay said.

Harvard will play its last official game of 2001 at Maine on Sunday. The Crimson has never lost in six meetings with the Black Bears.