Crimson Faces First Road Challenge This Weekend

Rewind to March 12, 2010: the Harvard women’s hockey team, which had posted a 20-8-5 record on the season and garnered home ice for the opening round of the NCAA tournament, had just fallen to Cornell, 6-2, in a resounding defeat that ended the Crimson’s season.

Fast-forward to tonight, where one finds the same matchup, the same rivalry, and the same desire to win—only with a little extra motivation on the side of the Crimson.

“There’s definitely a grudge factor,” tri-captain Kate Buesser said. “There’s not as much riding on this game as last season…but we’re definitely going to go out there and try and play better.”

The rematch is also the first test away from Bright Hockey Center this season for No. 10 Harvard (1-0-1, 0-0-0 ECAC), which tied Yale, 3-3, and defeated Brown, 4-2, at home in its opening weekend.

“We’re looking forward to the game as an early test against one of the top teams in our conference,” sophomore goalie Laura Bellamy said. “It’s our first game on the road and we’re excited for the challenge.”

No. 2 Cornell (4-1-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) is coming off its first loss of the season, suffered Tuesday to Mercyhurst—another team the Big Red beat on its way to the NCAA national title game last year, after Cornell managed to win its first-ever ECAC regular season and tournament championships.

The undefeated Crimson is led by tri-captain Liza Ryabkina, who scored three of Harvard’s seven goals last weekend, and Bellamy on the backline, who has a 2.41 goals-against average and a .821 save percentage.

The Crimson is tied for first in the nation in power-play conversions, having capitalized on three of its nine opportunities, while managing to stop five of the eight chances taken by opponents.

In the all-time series between the rivals, Harvard possesses a 50-19-3 advantage, although the Big Red won two of the three games against the Crimson last year.

Prior to last season, Harvard held a 10-game winning streak against Cornell and had not lost back-to-back games to the Big Red since the 1997-1998 schedule.

One notable missing member from the Crimson team will be coach Katey Stone, who will be coaching the U.S. Women’s National Team at the Four Nations Cup, which officially begins Nov. 9.

Held in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the four-day tournament will also feature players from both the Harvard and Cornell rosters.

Josephine Pucci, a sophomore defender for the Crimson, will suit up for Team USA, while freshman Brianne Jenner and junior Rebecca Johnston will play in Canada’s red and white.

Johnston took her sophomore year off from school and hockey in order to prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

She played for the Canadian National Team in five Olympic games, scoring one goal and notching five assists for six points.

Harvard remains confident in its ability to perform without Stone at the helm.

Assistant coaches Melanie Ruzzi and Maura Crowell will lead the Crimson against Cornell tonight and Colgate tomorrow.

“It’s definitely going to be a different dynamic on the bench, but at the same time, Coach prepared us very well,” Buesser said. “The captains and senior leaders on the team know what’s expected…and strong leadership on team will fill in gap.”

One thing that Stone emphasized to her team was not getting caught up in rivalries or redemption games.

Instead, Harvard realizes it must take each match as its own challenge.

“Although we have Ivy rivalries, there’s such a competitive edge with every team this year,” Buesser said. “There’s no one game that we consider to be bigger than another in our schedule.”

“There’s no doubt that the returning players remember the way our season ended, but that’s a feeling we used as motivation throughout the offseason,” Bellamy added. “Now it’s all about this year’s team and giving our best effort no matter who the opponent is.”

So despite the history—both last season’s and throughout the years—the Crimson will face tonight’s match as it would any other: as a team ready to win.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Buesser said. “But we just have to play our game.”

—Staff writer B. Marjorie Gullick can be reached at gullick@college.harvard.edu.