W. Hockey: All Roads Lead Through Duluth

The best ever? Harvard coach Katey Stone thinks so.

Stone, who led the 1999 women’s hockey team to 33 victories, a Beanpot title and a national championship, says this year’s edition of the Crimson is the finest she’s ever coached.

“This is our most talented team to date,” said Stone, now entering her ninth season at the Harvard helm. “There’s no question about that. We’re very deep compared to where we were in the past.”

All but two players—forward Vanessa Bazzocchi and goaltender Alison Kuusisto —return for this season. In addition, Harvard welcomes not only a large freshman class but also tri-captain Angela Ruggiero, who took off two years to train for last years Olympic Games, and former captain Jennifer Botterill, who took off last year. They rejoin a team that finished the year ranked ninth in their absence.

Two of the nation’s leading three returning scorers are among that group in tri-captain Kalen Ingram and sophomore Nicole Corriero. Corriero, second in the nation in scoring with 32 goals and 30 assists, earned ECAC and Ivy Rookie of the Year honors. Ingram led the nation in assists per game but was overlooked for All-American honors.

“Kalen Ingram is a very good center, a tremendous center,” Stone said. “She’s the most underrated player in college hockey in my opinion.”

Botterill, Ruggiero and a third Olympian—freshman Julie Chu—will make an immediate impact this season, fresh off their rivalry in Salt Lake City last winter. Botterill played for the gold-medal winning Canadians while Ruggiero and Chu settled for the silver as part of Team USA.

Now the three will work for a common goal as they join up on the Bright ice.

“When we get on the ice and everybody’s wearing a Harvard jersey then that’s all that matters,” said tri-captain Jamie Hagerman.

Botterill and Ruggiero are no marginal Olympians either. They’ve each been acknowledged as the best in the world at their position at some point in their careers. Botterill was the MVP of the 2001 World Championships, and Ruggiero was named the most outstanding defenseman of the Olympics. Both were members of the 1999 national championship team.

“She’s the best defenseman in the world, there’s no question,” Stone said. “She could probably come close to playing for our guys, I think. She’s tremendous and in the best possible shape she could be in.”

In addition to being an outstanding defenseman, Ruggiero’s ability to quickly shift from defense to offense makes her a tremendous two-way threat. She scored 21 goals in each of her first two seasons.

Like Ruggiero, Chu was a member of the silver-medal winning U.S. Olympic Team in Salt Lake City.

Her versatility will be an important asset to the Crimson this year and her international experience should have her more than prepared for collegiate-level action.

“She’s a tremendous [player],” Stone said. “She can play defense, wing [and] center.”

Though the Olympians are certainly a valuable addition to the squad, Stone does not want her other players to merely sit back and watch as the action unfolds around them.

“Everyone has their role,” Stone said. “We’ve sort of said to them, ‘Everyone empty your pockets.’ Some of you come with Beanpots, some of you come with New England championships. Some of you come with a medal rattling around somewhere. [All those individual accolades] are gone.”

“We don’t want to be in a situation of high profile, low profile players,” Stone added. “We’ve been there before, it does nothing for us, and that causes people to sort of sit and watch and think. It doesn’t mean we’re not happy they’re back—we’re so happy. But we want them to come back into this great thing we’ve created while they were gone.”

The Crimson attack will likely feature four lines, though Stone has not yet finalized exactly how they will look.

“There will be some explosiveness,” Stone said. “We have weapons. We have a lot of weapons.”

Vital to Harvard’s scoring efforts this year will be the ability to score on the power play. Last year the Crimson ranked first in the nation in power-play proficiency.

“We’re very lucky we have kids who can handle the puck,” Stone said. “If they move that puck quickly they’re constantly creating two-on-ones.”

The coaching staff is looking to muster a power play goal on at least one out of every three chances.

And with the personnel available, that aim certainly seems within reach.

“We’ve been working pretty hard on the power play the last couple of weeks,” Corriero said. “For us to have our power play from last season with Botterill, Ruggiero and Chu ... it makes more options.”

Defensively, the Crimson is as strong as ever, retaining all its defensemen while adding Ruggiero and two freshmen, Abra Kinkopf and Jennifer Skinner.

In addition to Hagerman, one senior, Pamela Van Reesema, and three sophomores—Ashley Banfield, Louise Chim and Emily Haigh—retake the ice.

“Hagerman [and] Van Reesema are two really good defensemen,” Stone said. “We feel so good about our defensemen. We’re in better shape than ever [on defense] since I’ve been here.”

Van Reesema, in addition to being a defensive menace throughout her three years, recorded six goals and eighteen assists last season, helping to quickly galvanize the offense from the back.

Banfield was hobbled last year by a knee injury which caused her to miss a significant chunk of the season. Despite that, however, she returned late in the year to score two critical goals in the ECAC quarterfinals against Princeton.

Last year the team only dressed four defenders a game, which led to understandable fatigue on defense at times.

“It definitely makes a difference when you’re dressing six for a game and we can run six deep,” Hagerman said. “People can go twice as hard because they know they’re going to get a rest.”

The blueliners should make life easier for the Crimson at the goaltending position, where Harvard is hoping that numbers will help compensate for lack of experience.

The Crimson has three goaltenders at its disposal this season. Stone hopes they all can stay healthy, unlike past seasons.

Junior Jessica Ruddock is recovered from a stress fracture to her hip that limited her to nine games last season. Stone hopes she will emerge as the starter given her prior experience in the 2001 Frozen Four.

Despite its strength compared to previous years at all positions, the Crimson’s path to victory this season will not be an easy one.

Harvard will not be the only school with Olympians returning to take the ice, nor is it the only squad fielding its top recruiting class in years.

“The whole landscape of college hockey has changed in a few months by bringing those kids back and bringing in one of the best classes college hockey has seen,” Stone said.

And the Crimson’s schedule is anything but forgiving. Harvard’s first two games of the season come against No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth and No. 2 Minnesota, both on the road.

“Every year we play them at the beginning of the season,” Hagerman said. “Our coaches do a great job making sure we’re ready.”

Unfortunately for the Crimson, both the Bulldogs and Gophers will be well into their schedules by the time Harvard first drops the puck.

“We like to play them early,” Stone said. “It’s good to get everyone in there right away. We want to have the toughest schedule in the country.”

With only four teams making the NCAA tournament, this year’s performance may need to be every bit as good as it is hyped up to be if Harvard is to come home with a national title.