Raimondi Shines In W. Hockey Win Over Maine

After demolishing No. 5 New Hampshire 7-1 in its finest performance of the year on Friday, the Harvard women’s hockey team looked to have an easy victory against unranked Maine. The Black Bears played tough and dirty but were still overmatched in a 6-0 defeat.

The victory showcased the emergence of freshman forward Jennifer Raimondi, who scored two picture perfect goals and established herself as yet another scoring threat on the nation’s No. 1 team.

The first came on the power play, as Raimondi had moved up to join Harvard’s usual first line of captain Jennifer Botterill, sophomore Kat Sweet and freshman Julie Chu. Chu played at the point along with captain Angela Ruggiero.

The move proved fruitful early on. A couple of minutes after Botterill was involved in a post-whistle shoving altercation, she responded with a perfect pass from the corner to Raimondi waiting in front. Raimondi slid the puck by Maine goalie Lara Smart for a 2-0 Crimson lead.

“Every chance I get to play with Botts, Chuey, Kat—I love it,” Raimondi said. “I got a perfect pass from Botterill—and they just see the ice so well. I was just standing there and she hit me.”

Raimondi’s second goal came midway through the second period. After a Harvard power play ended, Ruggiero set up an odd-man rush with a long pass to junior forward Mina Pell at Maine’s blue line. Pell delivered a perfect pass in front to Raimondi, who once again demonstrated her ability to finish.

As usual, Raimondi’s fellow freshman Chu stood out. She also benefited from a perfect Botterill pass with a shorthanded top-shelf goal that opened the evening’s scoring.

Chu also scored the final goal of the night, creating her own break alone on goal. She finished by slightly altering her shot at the last second. Smart couldn’t adjust and the puck deflected harmlessly off her into the net.

Chu and Botterill were both victims of Maine’s aggression, as the Black Bears attempted to use their size and strength to slow and intimidate the Crimson. In all, the Black Bears recorded 16 penalty minutes.

“They’re big and they’re strong and they’re not quite as fast as we are,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone. “So you can pretty much figure out what they are going to try to do to slow you down.”

Though its efforts ultimately proved ineffective, Maine did put up a tougher fight than No. 5 UNH the day before. The Black Bears allowed 57 shots, but they recorded 18 of their own—twice as many as UNH. The Black Bears were able to make some opportunities for themselves, occasionally as a result of sloppy defense by the Crimson.

While the result was never really in doubt, Harvard’s goalie, junior Jessica Ruddock, was forced to make a few big saves. In the first period, she robbed a Maine attacker with a quick right pad save.

In the first minute of the second period, after sophomore defenseman Ashley Banfield gave up the puck in her own zone, Ruddock was forced to make a glove save on a shot from point blank range. She succeeded in knocking the puck up in the air and then held strong during the ensuing scramble. In the third period, Ruddock stopped a breakaway.

The story of the game, however, was the potency and depth of the Crimson offense. Stone has more consistent scorers than she’s ever had before, and she will have decisions to make on how to properly handle that depth in the coming months once senior center Kalen Ingram returns from a broken thumb.

With the victory, Harvard enters the winter break. The Crimson will not resume action until Jan. 4, when unranked Wayne State comes to the Bright Center.

—Staff writer David A. Weinfeld can be reached at weinfeld@fas.harvard.edu.

W. HOCKEY 6, Maine 0

at Bright Hockey Center

Maine (3- 7- 2, 0-4-0 HE) 0 0 0 — 0

Harvard (11-1-0, 5-0-0 ECAC) 2 2 2 — 6

First Period: H, Chu (Botterill, Ruggiero), 3:18. H, Raimondi (Botterill, Ruggiero), 14:40. Second Period: H, Raimondi (Pell, Ruggiero), 9:21 H, Botterill (Chu, Sweet), 18:18. Third Period: H, Sweet (Ruggerio, McAuliffe), 2:34. H, Chu. Shots: H 19-24-14 57, M 7-9-2 18. Power play: H 2-7, M 0-2. Goalies: H, Ruddock (18-18). M, Smart (57-51). A: 210.