Ingram, Corriero and Co. Face Princeton in First Round of ECAC Playoffs

This weekend’s ECAC North quartefinal will be a clash of momentum and rebirth as the Harvard women’s hockey team battles Princeton in a best-of-three series in Princeton, N.J.

If momentum proves greater, No. 10 Harvard (16-10-2, 9-5-2 ECAC North) is sitting pretty. The Crimson is riding the coattails of a 7-1 drubbing of the Tigers last Saturday.

“It was a great way to wrap up the regular season,” senior goalie Alison Kuusisto said. “We are looking to make more statements this weekend.”

The Tigers (15-9-3, 10-6-0) are hoping for a rebirth of sorts., praying that the regular season doesn’t matter once the playoffs begin, or at the very least, that they can revert to pre-Christmas form. Before the new year, Princeton upset top-ranked Dartmouth, 3-1, and downed Harvard in overtime, 4-3.

The Tigers have scored only three combined goals in their last three games in 5-1, 4-1 and 7-1 losses to Dartmouth, Brown and Harvard respectively.

Nonetheless, Harvard will not take Princeton lightly.

“I fully expect Princeton to come out as fired up as they can be on Friday night,” junior forward Kalen Ingram said. “We are not expecting them to roll over and die because of what happened last Saturday.”

Harvard’s recent victories have made Ingram confident.

“Our team is already fired up to play and we are prepared to get the job done regardless of what Princeton throws at us,” Ingram said.

In last week’s loss, Princeton played without junior Nikola Holmes, one of the team’s speediest forwards. Holmes will return for the playoffs.

At full strength, the two teams are relatively even matched, with Princeton seeded fourth and Harvard fifth.

“It is a brand new season,” Harvard Coach Katey Stone said. “From the first seed to the eighth, anything can happen.”

Both Harvard and Princeton finished the season with 20 points. Princeton earned the right to host with a greater total of league wins.

Travelling, though, doesn’t bother Harvard.

“Playing on the road may not be ideal for some teams, but it focuses our team and keeps us on track for what we are really doing down there,” junior defenseman and captain Jamie Hagerman said.

“We are in a perfect place right now. No one expects us to win and that is just what we want. We know we can do it and that is all that matters,” she said.

If the underdog prevails, Harvard and No. 1 seed Dartmouth will face-off in the ECAC North semifinals held March 16 at Dartmouth. The Crimson is 0-2 against the No. 4 Big Green.