Women's Hockey Improves to 4-0 with Pair of Victories

In dominant back-to-back performances, the Harvard women’s hockey team (4-0-0, 4-0-0 ECAC) extended its season-opening winning streak with road victories against Brown and Yale. In both meetings, the Crimson kept most of the action on its opponents’ side of the red line, outshooting the Bears and the Bulldogs by an aggregate margin of 86-17 without surrendering a goal.

“We went into [the weekend] knowing what we needed to do,” junior forward Lyndsey Fry said. “Our team is just really meshing this year. [There is] a lot of early-season excitement.”

While the defenders and goaltenders did their part to keep the puck out of the net, co-captain Jillian Dempsey’s five points on the weekend propelled the Crimson offense.

“We’re coming out playing hungry,” Dempsey said of her team’s efforts. “This weekend especially, we got a lot of shots towards the net. We were facing some really solid goaltending. Offensively, we were just trying to get in the goalie’s face [and] put pucks on net. It worked out well.”

HARVARD 4, YALE 0

A strong offensive presence helped Harvard past the Bulldogs (1-5-0, 1-3-0) on Saturday.

“We’ve really been working on our systems and playing in such a way that it’s hard for these teams to get past us in the offensive zone,” Fry said. “We know that we are offensively strong, and we’re going to do everything we can in order to keep it in that end.”

On the night, the Crimson recorded 48 shots on net compared to Yale’s 12.

A Bulldog cross-checking infraction led to a power play opportunity in the middle of the first for Harvard. Capitalizing on the advantage, Dempsey scored at 11:17 in the first period off an assist from sophomore defender Sarah Edney and Fry.

Fry found the back of the net just over three minutes later off a 3-on-1 breakaway, giving the Crimson a 2-0 advantage at the end of the first period.

After a scoreless second period, Edney registered her third consecutive assist of the night when she fed the puck to senior defenseman Hilary Hayssen, who scored 8:53 minutes into the third period.

Senior forward Kaitlin Spurling registered an unassisted goal just over three minutes later, as Harvard went on to a convincing 4-0 win.

“Spurling had a beautiful goal against Yale,” co-captain goaltender Laura Bellamy said. “But her strength was in showing up all over the ice. She was a huge contributor this weekend.”

Freshman goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer minded the net all night for the Crimson. She stopped all 12 shots, anchoring the team’s solid defensive effort. Having only surrendered one goal on the season, Maschmeyer currently boasts a .966 save percentage.

“Defensively, [our goalies] have been solid between the pipes,” Dempsey said. “There’s nothing better than knowing you can rely on phenomenal goaltending.”

HARVARD 3, BROWN 0

Harvard got off to a quick start against the Bears on Friday (1-3-0, 1-3-0) and never looked back.

Less than 10 minutes into the first period, forward Kalley Armstrong found the back of the net, registering her first goal of the season.

“We played really well offensively,” Bellamy said. “We didn’t give up many shots, but we also took a lot of shots.”

The Crimson sustained pressure right from the start of the second period, keeping possession of the puck on Brown’s side of the ice for the first five minutes. Harvard’s top line converted less than three minutes into the period, when Dempsey found the back of the net, giving Harvard a 2-0 lead.

On the other end of the ice, Bellamy did not see much action, as the Bears only registered five shots on goal all night. The senior has had the best start of her career with the Crimson so far this season, recording shutouts in her first two matchups.

One of the night’s few threats on Harvard’s own end of the ice came early when Brown freshman Emma Pearson’s shot ricocheted off the right goalpost.

“Our defense is playing really well, not letting a lot of shots through,” Fry said. “That’s a [big] reason [for our success].”

“Defensively, we are just shutting people down,” Demspey added.

Senior defender Kelsey Romatoski tacked on another goal for the Crimson halfway through the second period, when she slid the puck past the Bears’ goaltender Katie Jamieson.

The third period passed uneventfully, as the Harvard defense allowed only one shot on goal.

On the night, the Crimson outshot Brown, 38-5.