Kessler Sets Shut Out Mark in Road Victory

A day after clinching the ECAC regular season title, the Harvard women’s hockey team showed once again why it has been so dominant in conference play this season.

The Crimson (25-1-0, 20-0-0 ECAC) followed what has become its winning formula Saturday evening during its matchup with Quinnipiac (5-22-5, 2-14-4 ECAC) in Hamden, Conn. The combination of yet another shutout by sophomore goalie Christina Kessler, a potent offensive attack led by junior Sarah Vaillancourt and a solid defensive performance anchored by senior tri-captain Caitlin Cahow resulted in a 4-0 Harvard victory over the Bobcats.

Kessler made 24 saves to pick up her 11th shutout of the season, breaking the NCAA single season record. She now stands alone in second place on Harvard’s all-time list with 14 career shutouts, and is one shy of the school record set by Ali Boe ’06.

“[Kessler]’s doing great,” Crimson coach Katey Stone said. “This weekend she had some pretty big saves at critical times. She has command of the position.”

Kessler also displayed her versatility against Quinnipiac. Having already picked up an assist earlier this season, Kessler once again proved adept at making the outlet pass to start up Harvard’s offensive attack.

“She’s not just a goaltender who keeps the puck out of the net,” Cahow said. “She moves the puck up the ice really quickly. She probably should have been credited with an assist a few times on Saturday.”

After Cahow got the Crimson on the board early with a power play goal 8:29 into the first period, Harvard was awarded a penalty shot when a Quinnipiac player defended a puck in the crease just over eight minutes later. The Crimson picked Vaillancourt to take the shot, a no-brainer considering the forward’s speed and stick-handing ability that make her one of the most dangerous scorers in the nation.

Vaillancourt did not fail to deliver. The Olympian charged up the ice, faked out Bobcats goalie Jamie Miller and flicked the puck under Miller’s glove to give Harvard a 2-0 lead.

“She was the obvious choice,” Cahow said. “It was a hands-down decision for our coaching staff. It was a great move and a clutch goal.”

In the first half of the second period, the Crimson struck again on a strong effort by junior Sarah Wilson. Wilson rushed the net and fired a shot, which Miller deflected. After hustling to recover her own rebound and passing the puck to junior Kati Vaughn, Vaughn passed back to Wilson—now inside the right circle—who outmuscled a defender and took a desperation shot that found the back of the net.

“That was just hard work,” Stone said. “It was a pretty goal.”

Just a minute and a half later, Vaillancourt struck again, this time scoring on a wrist shot after receiving the puck from freshman Liza Ryabkina.

Vaillancourt’s two goals gave her 18 on the season. While the French Canadian—who also added an assist Saturday—led Harvard with 30 goals last year, she has become more of a playmaker this season, thriving when creating scoring opportunities for her teammates. But the diminished goal total by no means indicates a decrease in scoring ability, as Vaillancourt proved this weekend. She scored three times in two games against Quinnipiac and Princeton, using highlight reel moves to display her capacity for creating her own shot.

“The thing about Sarah is that she’s always going to come through and make great plays and team plays,” Cahow said. “Because she’s a fantastic goal scorer people focus on that.

“I would say her scoring goals this weekend is more of what she’s capable of. I guarantee you that there will be much more of that coming into the games that matter. She’s a big game player.”

Vaillancourt and Kessler are both candidates for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the best player in women’s college hockey. Cahow is also in the running, and on Saturday continued to lead a strong Crimson defensive unit that despite allowing 24 shots on goal was 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and generally kept control of the game’s momentum in Harvard’s hands.

“We did a really good job of managing the game and managing the clock,” Cahow said. “We were able to weather the storm.”

The victory over the Bobcats was the 293rd of Stone’s career. Stone is now the third-winningest coach in Division I history.

—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.