NOTEBOOK: Improved Engineers Down Crimson

There was a time, not too long ago, when a game against Rennselaer meant an opportunity for the Harvard women’s hockey team to give reserve players a chance to play and for the squad’s stars to pad their stats.

That time is over.

On Saturday afternoon, the Engineers upset the No. 7 Crimson, 3-2, in overtime to cap off an exhilarating matchup and advance to the ECAC Finals.

RPI’s win is a testament to the program’s development in recent years and to the increasingly higher level of competition in the ECAC and college women’s hockey in general.

“[The Engineers have] invested a lot of time and money into their program, and they’ve gotten results,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “They have some good kids, they play hard, they have strong work ethic…Every time we’ve [faced them], they’ve come out ready to play.”

The Crimson first got wind that RPI was no longer a conference doormat on Nov. 11, when the Engineers contained the Harvard offense enough to force a 1-1 tie.

RPI hung tough with the Crimson once again on Jan. 31, nearly coming back from a 5-2 deficit before falling just short at 5-4.

The Engineers’ victory on Saturday showed just how far the team has come. While Harvard outscored RPI, 17-1, in their last three meetings before this season, the revamped Engineers have handled their current campaign with renewed confidence and drive.

“When we found out we were playing them,” said RPI’s Whitney Naslund, when asked at which point the team felt that it could beat the Crimson. “When we found out we were playing Harvard, we were ready to play them. It doesn’t matter who we’re going to play. We came here to win.”

BETWEEN THE PIPES

In baseball, even the best of teams can be rendered powerless by an ace pitcher who has his best stuff on a particular day. The same is true of hockey and goalies.

While the Crimson offense has been successful this year, especially in the second half of the season, Harvard’s scoring efforts have occasionally been stymied by standout performances from opposing goalies.

The Crimson attacked the net relentlessly on Saturday, but the Engineers’ Sonja van der Bliek displayed her sharp reflexes and impressive agility in a 48-save effort in RPI’s 3-2 win.

Van der Bliek was aided by some luck—Harvard hit multiple posts and had an early goal taken away from it—but on several occasions she singlehandedly kept her team alive with sprawling saves that seemed to defy reason.

“I think it was pretty hectic, but that’s why I like being a goalie,” van der Bliek said.

COMEBACK KID

In last weekend’s sweep of Cornell in the ECAC Tournament quarterfinal round, Harvard tri-captain Sarah Wilson was forced to watch her team take down the Big Red from the stands because of illness.

On Saturday, Wilson returned to action, and had it not been for her efforts, the Crimson may not have even forced overtime.

With Harvard down 2-0 towards the end of the second period, Wilson received a leading pass from junior Anna McDonald and fired a strike to get Harvard on the board.

Then, midway through the third frame, sophomore defenseman Leanna Coskren found Wilson in front of the net, who slammed the puck home to force a tie.

In the end, Harvard was unable to take advantage of Wilson’s pair of goals and secure a victory, but the senior winger showed why she has been such a crucial piece of the Crimson’s offense over the last four seasons, in what turned out to be the final game of her college career.

“I felt good out there today,” Wilson said. “After watching them in the stands last week I was really ready to go and get out there with them. We played our heart out today.”

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