Women's Ice Hockey Skates to a 2-0 Start

The Harvard women’s ice hockey team capitalized on power plays and made a strong opening statement this weekend as it emerged victorious on the road against Quinnipiac and Princeton.

The No. 9 Crimson (2-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) grabbed early leads against the Bobcats (3-3-1, 0-1-0) and the Tigers (2-2-0, 1-1-0) and never looked back en route to two commanding wins to start its season.

“The team dynamic was awesome, everybody was so pumped to play, and it was just a really great start to our season,” freshman forward Mary Parker said.

HARVARD 9, PRINCETON 1

A dominant offensive showing led the Harvard to a rout over Princeton for a strong close to its weekend.

Halfway through the second period, senior forward Jillian Dempsey slid the puck to junior forward Lyndsey Fry, who knocked it past Tigers goaltender Kimberly Newell to give the Crimson a commanding 4-0 lead.

With the score, Fry achieved her first hat trick of the season, having scored her first goal nine minutes into the first period and another five minutes into the second.

“We were all forechecking hard and backchecking hard and doing the little things right and getting shots on net led us to scoring goals,” Parker said.

Harvard, led by Fry’s three scores, kept the puck on its offensive side for the majority of the game, taking 49 shot attempts to Princeton’s 17.

“It started from our net out,” Crimson coach Katey Stone said. “We played very, very well. We were opportunistic and had two late-period goals, which were moment changers.”

Thirteen minutes into the second period, Tigers senior forward Kelly Cooke took advantage of a clear lane to tally Princeton’s lone goal, bringing the score to 4-1.

The Crimson was able to capitalize on special teams, as Harvard recorded five power plays to Princeton’s two.

The Crimson notched its first during a power play two minutes into the first period. Sophomore defender Sarah Edney slotted the puck to Parker, who found the back of the net to score the first goal of her collegiate career.

Dempsey, who also had three assists on the day, tallied two goals in the third period, while Edney, freshman forward Miye D’Oench and senior forward Spurling added a score each to round out the Crimson’s goals.

Freshman goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, who made an impressive four saves during a penalty kill, notched her first win with a solid defensive effort, recording 16 saves.

HARVARD 2, QUINNIPIAC 0

Although Quinnipiac controlled much of the offensive action on Friday night, a strong defensive stand gave Harvard its first victory of the season. Co-captain and goaltender Laura Bellamy recorded 30 saves to deny the Bobcats any chance to get onto the scoreboard.

“Bellamy played unbelievable in the Quinnipiac game,” Parker said. “She was stopping pucks left and right, which I thought really helped and really kept the momentum on our side.”

The Bobcats failed to capitalize on multiple chances to score late in the first period. After missed shot attempts by Quinnipiac players, sophomore forward Nicole Kosta had a clear shot past Bellamy. Kosta took a shot at net, but her backhand shot hit the post and ran wide.

With the shutout, Bellamy is now tied for second in career shutouts for goaltenders at Harvard.

“Our defenders played really well, and I saw every puck on Friday night,” Bellamy said. “They were moving bodies out of the center of the net, and just made my job a lot easier. To get the offense and then the defense helping was everything I could ask for.”

A power play with two minutes left in the first period led to the Crimson’s early lead. After Parker won the faceoff, sophomore forward Hilary Crowe received the puck and passed it to Dempsey, who received it near the right circle. Dempsey returned it to Parker, and the duo worked the puck across the ice to give Dempsey a go-ahead goal for Harvard’s first score of the season.

A scrum near the Bobcats’ goal at the end of the second period led to the second Crimson goal. Crowe took advantage of the confusion to shoot the puck past senior goaltender Victoria Vigilanti, extending Harvard’s lead to two.

Goaltenders on both sides held the third period scoreless; Quinnipiac held the advantage in shots on goal throughout the game, 30-22, as well as in the final period, 10-4, but couldn’t convert on ample opportunities.

“Even though they outshot us, we had a lot of good shots on them, and the shots we did have were quality,” Bellamy said. “Our forwards did a good job putting pressure on them.”