Harvard Women's Hockey Starts Year with 5-0 Win

Many celebrate the new year with the drop of a giant crystal ball. The Harvard women's hockey team rang it in with the drop of a puck—and five unanswered goals. Turning its first game of 2011 into its own celebration, the Crimson (6-6-2, 5-2-2 ECAC) dropped Union (1-17-3, 0-7-2), 5-0, in Schenectady, N.Y., on Friday afternoon.

"It was a good game, a good start to 2011," Harvard coach Katey Stone said. "We played with all kinds of passion and energy. We saw a lot of great opportunities from different kids."

But the Crimson didn't get on the scoreboard until the second period, after all nine of the team's first-period shots were stopped by Dutchwoman goaltender Alana Marcinko. The sophomore would end the game with 26 saves.

But Harvard quickly made up for the lost time in the second period when sophomore defenseman Josephine Pucci scored the eventual game-winner two minutes into the frame. After recovering the puck from a battle at the blue line with help from rookie Kalley Armstrong, Pucci raced to the cage and put the puck past Marcinko before Union even had a chance to get in position.

"Josephine Pucci had a great rush," tri-captain Liza Ryabkina said.

The Jillian Dempsey insurance goal once again showcased the Crimson's superior speed. On the left side of the offensive zone, Ryabkina backhanded the puck to freshman Lyndsey Fry, who found a wide-open Dempsey waiting on the right side of the goal. With an open net in front of her, Dempsey, a sophomore, converted the pass to put Harvard up by two.

The second period proved to be a sophomore showcase, with Kaitlin Spurling scoring the third goal of the game 15 minutes into the frame. Spurling stole the puck in the defensive end and scored on a fast break.

The Crimson finished the period with a 16-4 advantage in shots.

"We switched up the lines a bit, and it worked," Ryabkina said. "We usually outshoot our opponents, but today we had a lot of good shots."

Meanwhile, on the other end of the ice, Bellamy and the Harvard blue-liners kept the Dutchwomen from finding any offensive momentum.

"Our defense did a really good job staying up and not letting their forwards shoot and intercepting passes," Ryabkina said. "Our defense did a good job wheeling away from the pressure and giving the puck back to the forwards."

The defense allowed Union only 10 shots all afternoon.

"Overall we shut them down and gave them very little to work with," Stone said.

And when Bellamy was challenged, such as on penalties, the sophomore stood strong.

"On [one of the] PKs...someone passed the puck in front of the net and [Bellamy] made a great save," Ryabkina said. "Those saves definitely gave us energy and helped us keep scoring."

And keep scoring the forwards did. The Crimson hadn't needed a power play to score its first three goals but wasted little time scoring when it got the man-up scenario in the final frame. Senior Katharine Chute scored an unassisted goal only 25 seconds after junior Dutchwoman Chelsey Heinhuis was called for hooking.

Harvard still had one more goal to put away, with its final tally coming from Fry. The rookie converted an assist from Pucci nine minutes into the final frame. Pucci and Fry both finished the game with a goal and an assist to lead the team.

Not only did the squad post a convincing win, it also had its five goals scored by five different players. Perhaps more importantly, the Crimson killed all three of its penalties. Harvard struggled with penalties throughout its first two months but has only allowed one power play goal in its last three games.

"I think we're healthy, which is huge," Stone said. "Kids are playing smart, playing aggressive. That's what we want. So far, so good. We've just got to keep getting better."

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.