Kessler’s Ninth Shutout Keys Win

Another game, another opponent sent home with nothing but an extra number in the loss column to show for it.

Such has been the story for the No. 1 Harvard women’s hockey team, which finished up its weekend series against conference foes Brown and Yale with a win over the Bulldogs on Saturday at the Bright Hockey Center.

The Crimson (19-1-0, 16-0-0 ECAC) beat Yale (9-10-5, 6-7-3 ECAC) by a score of 3-0, riding on the strength of some early scoring and yet another shutout by sophomore goalie Christina Kessler on the way to victory.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “Everybody’s going to play their best when they play against us…Whenever you can be one goal better than somebody, at least, then good things are going on.”

For Kessler—who made 21 saves on the evening—the clean sheet was her ninth shutout of the season as well as the 12th of her career. After having already broken Ali Boe ’06’s single season Harvard record of seven in last Sunday’s 4-0 win over Dartmouth, Kessler now stands only three shutouts shy of Boe’s Crimson career record of 15.

Kessler also leads the nation in goals against average (0.84), save percentage (.960) and win percentage (.947), leaving some of her teammates with only superlatives left in their vocabulary when asked to describe Kessler’s performance this season.

“Great,” freshman forward Liza Ryabkina said. “Unbelievable. That’s all I can say.”

Ryabkina made a contribution of her own to the Crimson’s victory over the Bulldogs. Just under a minute into the game, Ryabkina deflected a pass from junior Sarah Wilson, toward the net. Yale goaltender Shivon Zilis was able to get a glove on the puck, but not before it crossed the goal line and gave Harvard a 1-0 lead. The score would turn out to be all Harvard would need.

“[The goal] was great in terms of team spirit,” Ryabkina said. “Always when you score the first goal fast the team gains confidence.”

The score was Ryabkina’s third goal in as many games. The rookie winger has caught fire as of late after Stone removed her from the Crimson’s special teams units.

According to both coach and player, the move has allowed Ryabkina to focus more and make better decisions on the ice.

“She’s playing just 5-on-5 hockey,” Stone said. “We’re keeping it simple with her right now, 5-on-5, and it’s working because she’s gotten a goal in each of the games we’ve done that.”

“I have more time to think through what I’m going to do on the next shift rather than just rush myself,” Ryabkina added.

It was the Ryabkina’s seventh goal of the season, and the Ukranian native is now tied for sixth in the nation among rookies with a 1.00 points per game average.

Harvard struck again 5:45 into the second period after two Bulldogs penalties gave the Crimson a 5-on-3 advantage. Junior center Jenny Brine took the puck towards the right side of the net, drawing the attention of a Yale defender and Zilis. Brine then passed the puck across the crease to an open Wilson, who put it away for her tenth goal of the season.

Just over four minutes later, with Harvard a player down after a Wilson penalty, a scuffle near center ice resulted in a breakaway for junior Sarah Vaillancourt. Vaillancourt charged into the Bulldogs zone, and after making a few nifty moves on Zilis, put the puck in the back of the net to extend the Crimson lead to 3-0.

“She’s a great player and you never know what she’s going to do,” Ryabkina said of Vaillancourt. “That’s why she’s so dangerous.”

Vaillancourt’s 12 goals lead the team, and she is ranked fifth in the nation in overall scoring with 1.95 points per game.

Vaillancourt’s goal would turn out to be the last score of the game. Neither team managed to build much offensive momentum in the last period and a half, and both goalies kept the puck out of the net for the remainder of the contest.

While Kessler’s shutout was the story of the game, her counterpart Zilis also performed admirably despite allowing three goals and made things very difficult for the Harvard offense, stifling several early Crimson power play opportunities with diving stops and flashy glove work in what became a penalty-laden first period.

“She’s good,” Stone said. “She got to see a lot of pucks, which is a testament to her defense. Any time that something like that happens the puck is going to look like a beach ball.”

Zilis notched 30 saves on the evening.

Harvard has now won eight games in a row, a streak that dates back to Dec. 14, when the squad suffered its only loss of the season to No. 2 New Hampshire. The Crimson remains the only team in the nation without multiple losses.

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