Skaters Pitch Weekend Shutout in ECAC

It was a good weekend for the kids of Cambridge in the Harvard-Yale saga, with women’s hockey shutting out the Bulldogs (3-3-1, 3-3-1 ECAC) in New Haven on Friday before blanking Brown (1-6-1, 1-5-1) at Bright on Saturday.

The pair of shutouts pushes the No. 7 Crimson’s undefeated record to 4-0-0 on the season, and propels it into a three-way tie atop the conference standings with St. Lawrence and Dartmouth.

On the heels of a semifinal loss to the St. Lawrence in last season’s ECAC Tournament, Harvard is looking ready to reclaim the conference title it captured each of the previous three years.

“We’re starting to play a little bit smarter,” coach Katey Stone said. “It’s a long season and we try to make it a sprint, but it’s really a marathon.”

Sophomore goaltender Christina Kessler recorded her first two shutouts of the season, stopping all 36 shots she faced over the weekend.

The Crimson returns to the ice with a home series against Clarkson and the Saints on Friday and Saturday, respectively, before taking on the Big Green in Hanover next Tuesday.

“We’re just trying to go one at a time,” Stone said.

HARVARD 2, BROWN 0

A mechanical malfunction at Meehan Auditorium wasn’t the only thing going wrong for the Bears as the relocation of Saturday’s matchup from Providence to Bright Hockey Center paved the way for 2-0 Crimson shutout.

The malfunction melted the Meehan ice, forcing Brown to relocate its two weekend games.

“It was a little bit of an odd day where the ref thought we were the away team for half the game,” Stone said. “We’re glad to be here and we’re glad we won.”

Despite physical play and Brown goaltender Nicole Stock’s career-high-tying 45 saves, Harvard’s persistence paid off 8:37 into the opening frame as junior Sarah Vaillancourt hooked behind the net, drawing the defense out of position before dishing the puck to senior tri-captain Caitlin Cahow for an easy goal.

“I tried to get it to the net,” Vaillancourt said. “And then I heard Caitlin calling, and when she calls for the puck, I better pass her the puck or else I’m done. It was a good goal from her.”

Cahow left the game later in the first period after reaggravating an injury she incurred at last weekend’s Four Nations Cup in Sweden.

“[Cahow] wasn’t able to be who she normally is so it was better to not play her,” Stone said. “I thought our kids did a nice job stepping up.”

After sound defense from both sides kept the score stagnant throughout the second period, the Crimson was able to tack on an insurance goal at the 8:50 mark in the third frame. Freshman Katharine Chute connected with sophomore Anna McDonald, who fired a shot at Stock. Though the shot missed left, it deflected off Brown’s Emma Kromm for another Harvard score.

Kessler needed only 14 saves to shore up the Harvard victory.

HARVARD 3, YALE 0

It took some third-period heroics from the upperclassmen to drop Yale, 3-0, in Friday night’s game at Ingalls Rink.

“[This] was, I think, our best game so far,” Vaillancourt said. “We worked really hard from our first period to the end. I think our team really started gluing together and we had lots of power plays and were able to score on our power plays.”

Less than two minutes into the third frame, Harvard capitalized on a 5-on-3. Juniors Jenny Brine and Kati Vaughn assisted Vaillancourt on the eventual game-winner, her second goal of the season.

Fifteen seconds later, junior Sarah Wilson wasted no time in providing a Crimson cushion, draining the unassisted goal, her first of the year, on the power play.

With four minutes to go, Brine also picked up her first goal of the season when she slipped one past Bulldogs netminder Shivon Zilis on another 5-on-3 power play. Harvard finished 3-for-12 with a man advantage.

Kessler recorded 22 saves to pick up the win and her first clean sheet of the season.

—Staff writer Dixon McPhillips can be reached at fmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.