Familiar Foe, Difficult Ice Lead to Tie

The No. 10 Harvard women’s hockey team (4-4-3, 4-2-2 ECAC) tied 1-1 with long-standing rival No. 7 New Hampshire (8-4-4, 3-1-3-1 Hockey East) in a non-conference game on Friday night at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H.

The game marked the Crimson’s seventh chance to avenge a string of losses to the Wildcats since its last win against UNH in 2003. But Friday’s game was far from a shootout. The teams were well-matched, and neither team was able to score in the first period.

Yet it was Harvard who stepped up its game, simply by adapting to and surviving the Olympic-size rink that the Wildcats call home.

“We adjusted well to the big ice surface, which is always a tough thing to do when you are not used to that, and our kids kept going,” Crimson coach Katey Stone said. “We out-shot them, and we had chances to win.”

Despite a lackluster start, the Harvard offense gradually turned up its offensive pressure, taking a 6-1 lead in shots after the first period. The best chance for a Crimson goal came in the last few minutes of the first period, when tri-captain Sarah Vaillancourt passed to tri-captain Jenny Brine, who struck for the UNH net. The puck rebounded in front of the goal but was kicked away by Wildcat goaltender Kayley Hermann.

“I think that it was a really good start for us,” Vaillancourt said. “We kept them in their zone right from the beginning, which is surprising because since the beginning of the season we have had trouble having a good first period.”

In the second period, Harvard had early opportunities in power plays, most notably at 6:22 when the Crimson gained a two-player advantage but was unable to score.

“I think we are still trying to find our groove on the power play,” Stone said. “Sometimes on a big ice surface you have a little bit farther to go to the net, and it’s a little bit more difficult.”

Just after the penalties expired, New Hampshire tore through the Harvard defense. Wildcats leading scorer Jenn Wakefield, who has posted 19 points in 13 games, took a pass from teammate Kelly Cahill and put the puck in the back of the net at 10:03.

Soon after, UNH earned back-to-back penalties for holding and hooking, giving Harvard another 5-on-3 power play. This time around, Harvard seized the opportunity to score.

The shining moment came when senior Sarah Wilson scored at 18:46, with assists from Vaillancourt and sophomore Kate Buesser, tying the game 1-1 to close the second period.

It was the seventh goal of the season for Wilson, who leads the team with 13 points.

In the third, Harvard managed its highest number of shots on goal for the game, tallying 20 compared with a mere five for the Wildcats, but the Crimson could not get past UNH’s ace netminder.

Harvard out-shot the Wildcats, 37-13, for the game.

“By the end of the game, both teams were playing two lines, so everyone was exhausted. It was obvious on the ice,” Vaillancourt said. “[The game] was kind of back and forth, and there wasn’t really a time that they were dominating and we weren’t.”

Harvard’s overall weakness in goals this season remains a mystery, especially compared with last year’s torrent of scoring. The team came back from a near-perfect season with 21 returning members, but is not churning out the same impressive victories.

Vaillancourt insists that the Crimson has improved, and that there are other factors that need to be considered.

“[You] have to think about the fact that other teams have changed and improved their teams,” Vaillancourt said. “I still think that overall we have a better team than last year. I am really confident about our team. I don’t think we have anything to worry about even though we aren’t going to be undefeated [in the league] like we were last year.”

The Crimson returns home on Friday for a second chance for a victory against the Wildcats.

“I think [if] we can play a little bit smarter in certain situations and play better together, we will be in good shape,” Stone said. “We certainly aren’t satisfied with the tie, and we will get after them next Friday night.”