Hanover Holds Familiar Foes

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold.

The No. 6 Harvard women’s hockey team will have an opportunity to prove just that when it takes to the ice in the ECAC Tournament semifinals against rival St. Lawrence tomorrow afternoon in soon-to-be snowed-over Hanover, N.H.

The Crimson (23-6-2, 17-4-1 ECAC) has already played the Saints (27-6-3, 17-4-1) twice this season, losing both times, 4-2 and 2-1. The most recent game was deadlocked at 1 heading into the final minute before St. Lawrence’s Alison Domenico found the net with fifty seconds remaining to deal Harvard a heartbreaking defeat.

Since then, the Crimson has gone 9-2-0 and is eager to get a shot to atone for the regular-season disappointments.

“It stings a little bit,” co-captain Julie Chu said earlier this week. “We’re going to come out and play a complete 60-minute game and not maybe just 59.”

And it will take a complete effort if Harvard wishes to advance to the finals on Sunday against either Dartmouth or Colgate. St. Lawrence is ranked fifth in the nation, finishing tied with the Crimson for second place in the ECAC standings, with two of their four conference losses coming against first-place Dartmouth. Junior Sabrina Harbec leads the team with 63 points and sophomore Carson Duggan has 27 goals to pace the Saints’ offense.

“We’re well-matched,” head coach Katey Stone said after Harvard’s quarterfinal series with Yale. “I think there is a little bit extra when we haven’t beaten them yet this year.”

Despite feeling the need for revenge, the Crimson is trying not to worry about past performances. What happened in the regular season, in other words, stays in the regular season.

“It doesn’t matter what happened before the playoffs,” senior co-captain Jennifer Sifers said. “We’re not going to be lacking in confidence just because we lost to them during the season.”

Harvard enters the semifinals on the heels of a two-game series sweep in the quarters at home against Yale. However, the Crimson must now travel to Dartmouth and navigate a potentially hostile home crowd and the one foot of snow that is forecast to fall there today. Five of Harvard’s six losses this season have come on the road, including one in Hanover on Dec. 15.

Offensively, the Crimson is led by former Olympians Chu and sophomore Sarah Vaillancourt. Chu leads the country in points with 66 and Vaillancourt leads the nation in goals per game with 29 scores in 27 appearances. For Chu and Sifers and the rest of the team’s seniors, this is a last hurrah and an opportunity to win a fourth consecutive ECAC Tournament championship.

“The conference is different every year,” Sifers said. “The teams are always new. Last year, we were less confident since we didn’t have as good a record, so it was a huge accomplishment.”

Last season’s team lost several of its skaters, including Chu and Vaillancourt, to the Olympic squad and thus pulled a considerable upset when it prevailed in the tournament finals.

Should the Crimson defeat St. Lawrence tomorrow, it would play the winner of the Dartmouth-Colgate semifinal on Sunday afternoon. Harvard split the season series with the Red Raiders, winning, 4-3, at home on Nov. 10, and falling, 3-1, on the road three weeks ago. Against archrival Dartmouth, the Crimson was crushed in its first meeting, 4-1, but salvaged a 2-2 draw on Jan. 12 at the Bright Hockey Center.

But before the team can even worry about Sunday, it first must survive a brutal test against St. Lawrence.

“We are playing one game to play another.” Sifers said. “There’s no tomorrow. That’s the sort of mentality we’ve had all season and now it’s actually coming true.”