Playoff Postioning Hangs in Balance

This weekend’s contests mark the end of the regular season and the longest road trip thus far for the No. 5 Harvard (17-6-4, 12-6-2 ECAC) women’s hockey team. The Crimson plays St. Lawrence (14-11-7, 10-7-3) tonight and No. 6 Clarkson (20-8-4, 14-4-2) tomorrow.

With a mere three points separating the third- and seventh-place teams in the ECAC, these two matchups have the potential to considerably impact the postseason landscape. Depending upon how conference games unfold in the next few days, Harvard could fall anywhere between being tied for first place in the ECAC and dropping to the seventh spot.

A strong performance this weekend against the Saints and Golden Knights would also reward the Crimson with a much-coveted home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs, received only by the top four teams.

Harvard understands the long-run significance of the back-to-back road matchups.

“It’s really important for our team emotionally,” co-captain Kathryn Farni said. “We’ll do whatever it takes to win, but being at home would definitely be huge.”

The Crimson faced both St. Lawrence and Clarkson earlier in the regular season. Harvard skated to a 3-0 victory over the Saints back in November, improving its overall head-to-head record against St. Lawrence to 27-11-5. But the Crimson’s last faceoff against the Golden Knights ended in a tight 1-0 loss.

Harvard coach Katey Stone notes that this time around, both the Crimson and its opponents are different teams.

“We need to stay focused,” Stone emphasized. “Everybody needs to play her position and be willing to put up 60 minutes of great hockey.”

Indeed, Harvard faces formidable opponents in St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The Saints currently occupy the seventh spot in the ECAC standings and are safely into the playoffs. Despite losing to sixth-place Princeton last weekend, St. Lawrence remains well within striking distance of the Crimson.

The Saints are reputed for their disciplined style of play and traditional ECAC-powerhouse status to match.

“St. Lawrence is definitely a hard-working and quick team,” Farni said.

Coming into tomorrow’s game, the Golden Knights boast an impressive record, tied atop the conference standings with Cornell. Strong outings against Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend would bring the optimal end to a storied run for Clarkson, which seeks its first-ever ECAC regular-season title. But the Golden Knights have struggled of late, winning just one of their last five conference games.

Clarkson’s offense is led by senior Dominique Thibault, who is third in the conference with 34 points on the season. The Golden Knights’ tough defense and physical presence on the ice will also factor into the Crimson’s game plan.

Harvard has a challenging weekend of hockey ahead, but it hopes to rely on the same unwavering mantra that has propelled the Crimson to the forefront of women’s hockey over the past few seasons.

“We need to play our game, be well rested, communicate with each other, and come out with high pace and tempo, getting back to our style of hockey,” Stone remarked. “The preparation is no different [than for any other game].”

Furthermore, the last time the Crimson faced Clarkson in November, it was without power forward junior Liza Ryabkina, who was suffering from a dislocated kneecap. Ryabkina led Harvard to the Beanpot final this month with a stunning four-goal performance against Boston College. In the championship game, she then netted the game-winner against Northeastern. Ryabkina was named tournament MVP for her efforts.

A native of the Ukraine, the talented Crimson right-winger was nominated Wednesday for the Patty Kazmaier Award, along with teammates junior forward Kate Buesser, junior defender Leanna Coskren, and senior goaltender Christina Kessler. The award is presented each year to the country’s top Division I women’s hockey player.

But the players are not the only ones receiving distinctions this week. Coach Stone is poised to break the all-time NCAA career wins record. She needs one win this weekend to tie Laura Halldorson’s record of 337 wins and a clean sweep to surpass it.

During her tenure at Harvard, Coach Stone has left an indelible mark on not only the program but also on the players.

“She’s one of the biggest reasons I came to Harvard,” Farni said. “She has an awesome reputation in and outside of Harvard. She’s widely respected, and that’s only reinforced by the fact that she’s been invited to coach some of the U.S. national teams. All of the success we’ve had is due to her guidance, careful recruiting, and knowledge of the game.”

The players’ prowess on the ice, coupled with Coach Stone’s distinguished leadership, is sure to pose a daunting obstacle for the Crimson’s opponents this weekend.