NOTEBOOK: Special Teams Determine Outcome

When an unranked team plays against the No. 4 powerhouse in the nation, it’s assumed that a 1-1 tie would be cause for celebration, or at least locker room smiles. But for the Crimson, the tie with New Hampshire was less than satisfying

“We’re very disappointed,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “The kids know they could have won and that’s a good thing, but it’s also a stinky thing.”

Going into play, the Crimson knew it was going up against not only one of the best overall teams in the country, but also the top ranked team on power plays. In comparison, Harvard’s nine-percent success scoring on power plays seemed dismal to the Wildcat’s 34 percent.

“It was something that we knew was one of their strong points and that we needed to come up big on our penalty kills,” senior goaltender Christina Kessler said.

Ranked 19th nationally on the penalty kill, the Crimson showed the result of a seasoned commitment to playing a man down, stopping UNH from scoring on its three power plays.

“We like how we’re killing penalties, and I think the kids are becoming much more eager to block the shot and recognize that it gives our team a ton of energy when they do that,” Stone said.

Short on Time

In the last three games, Harvard has played two into overtime, losing to Princeton 2-1 on Friday before last night’s match-up where the Crimson played the final five minutes against a four-man Wildcat team.

“At least we didn’t lose this one,” Kessler said. “It’s always disappointing to have a power play in overtime and not be able to capitalize on it. That’s something we aren’t necessarily happy with and I think that we had enough scoring chances throughout the game to win it in regulation.”

The last two times Harvard and UNH faced each other on the ice, the games also went into overtime. Dec. 5’s game last year showcased similar features and also ended in a 1-1 tie, while the Wildcats secured a 3-2 win later in the season.

“It’s good experience, however, you want to come up on the high side of those,” Stone said. “We’ll be in, I’m sure, more overtime games because we’re going to be in low-scoring games that are going to come down to the wire all year long.”

But for Stone and the Crimson players , experience, doesn’t feel the same as a win.

“I don’t like it, I really don’t,” Stone said. “I thought we’d win in overtime. We lost one the other night, we tied one; I’m hoping the next one is a win for us. ”

Stone’s House

For Stone, playing her alma mater each year is nothing more than another game. Unless Harvard wins.

“It’s fun, it’s enjoyable, but it means so much more to me when we win, to be honest with you,” she said. “They’re just another team that we play, and I like to beat everybody.”

A two-time ECAC champ with the Wildcats from 1986-1987, Stone has recreated the same storied environment at Harvard that she experienced during her college days.

“They’re very good, they’ve got a very good program and a long-standing tradition and certainly we feel like we’ve established that here,” she said.

Even with a 322-game winning career with the Crimson, the second-most victorious coach in the division has yet to beat UNH since 2003.

There used to be a day where Harvard never beat UNH, and so now it’s pretty good that it’s a great battle every time we play, and that’s important to me,” Stone said. “I’m just glad we’re doing well, but I wanted us to be better tonight.”

—Staff writer Alex Sopko can be reached at sopko@fas.harvard.edu.