Barrage of Shots Help Crimson Overpower Union

A complete team effort led the Harvard women’s hockey team to a convincing 5-0 victory over an overmatched Union squad Saturday afternoon at Bright Hockey Center. Playing for the second straight game without head coach Katey Stone and tri-captain Sarah Vaillancourt, who are both taking part in the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., the Crimson (3-0-1, 3-0-1 ECAC) put forth its best effort of the season. Harvard used a 46-shot barrage to tackle the Union defense while limiting the Dutchwomen (0-11-1, 0-4-0 ECAC) to only 12 shots on goal.

Harvard had a single tally in the first period, three goals in the second, and a lone marker in the third to go along with solid goaltending from senior Brittany Martin and sophomore Kylie Stephens. Senior Sarah Wilson led the Crimson with two goals and tri-captain Jenny Brine added a goal and an assist to help the squad bounce back from a disappointing tie the night before against Rensselaer.

“[We] played a solid 60 minutes today, and that’s the first time all year we’ve done that,” said Harvard assistant coach Joakim Flygh. “We’re starting to find our identity as we had last year. It was a great effort tonight, and that’s something the kids can hold their heads up high about and be proud of how hard they worked tonight.”

While both teams started off a bit sluggish in the early going, Brine broke through on an unassisted effort with around three minutes to go in the first period. She picked off a Union pass inside the Dutchwomen’s zone, skated wide right around a defender, and pushed the puck past the Union keeper and into the goal.

While Brine got the Crimson going, freshman Alisa Baumgartner scored next, with the first goal of her collegiate career midway through the second. She received a pass from sophomore Deborah Conway, circled behind the net, and fired a shot past the left shoulder of the Union netminder and into the back of the net.

“She got more playing time today than she did in the past,” Flygh said. “It’s great to see her willingness to shoot the puck.”

“Its always exciting when freshmen get their first goal of the year,” Brine said. “The whole team gets motivated.”

Wilson scored the first of her two tallies on the afternoon less than three minutes later, skating in on the right side after receiving a pass from junior Cori Bassett and flipping the puck past the Union goalie.

“[Wilson] has a great work ethic, and she creates a lot of scoring opportunities by herself,” Flygh said. “I think that she’s been struggling a little bit to find the back of the net, but I think once she scored that first goal today she gained confidence.”

Junior Kathryn Farni added Harvard’s fourth goal of the contest on a power play, as she one-timed a sophomore Katharine Chute pass past the Dutchwomen defense and into the net for her first goal of the year.

Wilson then put the finishing touches on the victory with an unassisted score with about three minutes left to play in the game, as she cut through the Union defense on the left side and fired a shot past the netminder’s left shoulder and in to make the score 5-0.

“We came into today’s game with an idea of what goals we wanted to accomplish, and for the most part we performed them,” Brine said.