Women's Hockey Splits Pair of Weekend Matchups

The No. 4/5 Harvard women’s hockey team (9-1-1, 7-0-0 ECAC) went 1-0-1 this weekend to close out the first half of its season. Captain Jillian Dempsey scored the tying goal against the University of New Hampshire in a 2-2 draw on the road Saturday afternoon after exploding for four goals in an 8-1 home rout of Providence Friday evening.

HARVARD 2, UNH 2 (OT)

With less than three minutes left in the final frame of regulation, Dempsey let loose a quick wrist shot from the top of the right circle. UNH goaltender Jenn Gilligan could only watch as the puck clanged harmlessly off the left post.

Dempsey was just inches away from registering her sixth goal in less than 24 hours and completing a Harvard comeback. But the Crimson left Durham, N.H., with a 2-2 tie as the Wildcats (7-11-2, 4-4-1 Hockey East) weathered a forceful Harvard attack in the closing minutes.

“I think this game’s good for us,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “This is a good tie. For us to come back and scrap and claw back to 2-2, this makes me feel good, because our kids don’t quit. We had opportunities at the end of the game to win...and that’s all you can ask. Some days it’s not going to go click-click-click. It certainly didn’t today for us, but we found a way to get ourselves back even with them.”

The Crimson tied the game with nine minutes left in regulation as sophomore defender Sarah Edney telegraphed a slap shot from the point that bounced off Gilligan and onto the blade of a screening Dempsey. Dempsey pushed the puck past the goal line to extend her point streak to 25 games.

“I think that it was great that we were able to come back from behind,” Dempsey said, noting that Harvard had lost to Boston University in the last game that it had trailed an opponent. “There were a lot of positives, and we’re going to work on the negatives in this time off.”

The Crimson opened up the scoring in the second with a goal from freshman winger Miye D’Oench, who broke away from the UNH defense to beat Gilligan one-on-one in the crease. But the Wildcats responded with two goals from forwards Hannah Armstrong and Jessica Hitchcock less than 20 seconds apart before the second horn sounded.

Harvard outshot its opponents 9-3 in the third as Dempsey produced the equalizer and nearly pulled the Crimson ahead. In overtime, Harvard registered another three shots on goal but failed to put the game-winner between the pipes.

Freshman goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer recorded 16 saves for the Crimson. Dempsey now leads all NCAA Division I scorers with 1.27 goals per game and has tallied at least one point in 25 straight games.

HARVARD 8, PROVIDENCE 1

Dempsey scored four goals in a commanding Harvard win over Providence (8-8-4, 5-4-2 Hockey East) at the Bright Hockey Center Friday night, 8-1.

Junior Gina McDonald tipped a rebound to a wide-open Dempsey, who buried the puck with an easy chip shot for the Crimson’s final goal of the game. It was a fitting bookend for a Harvard scoring drive that appeared almost effortless at times.

“I was set up really nicely—some beautiful passes,” Dempsey said of her goals. “It all started in the D-zone with the D making great plays and then moving it up…. It’s meshing well.”

After 19 minutes of missed offensive opportunities, the Crimson broke through in the final minute of the first period with a goal from senior defender Kelsey Romatoski, who lined up a powerful wrist shot from the top of the circle that fluttered past the left glove of Friar goaltender Nina Riley. The Crimson rode the momentum into the locker room.

“That goal at the end of that first period...was huge for us,” Stone said. “Then we just came out like gangbusters in the second period.”

Harvard caught fire in the second with three goals in less than three minutes, two of which were spaced less than 19 seconds apart.

Before the PA announcer had time to read senior Kaitlin Spurling’s goal assisted by freshman Mary Parker, Dempsey tore across the blueline and launched a shot from the top of the circle that found the net for her first goal of the game and the Crimson’s third.

Dempsey added her second goal of the game two minutes and 21 seconds later. D’Oench rounded out the second period scoring for the Crimson with a coast-to-coast strike.

In the third, Romatoski and Dempsey added to their tallies, scoring their second and third goals of the game, respectively, 22 seconds apart. Dempsey added her fourth with less than four minutes left in the final frame.

The Harvard scoring machine systematically limited Providence’s opportunities as the Crimson outshot the Friars, 44 to 17, and logged only one minor penalty to Providence’s four. Junior goaltender Laura Bellamy appeared on her way to her fifth shutout in six games before Friar forward Jessica Vella scored Providence’s only goal with 10 seconds left in the game.

“[Bellamy] played well; she made the saves she needed to make,” Stone said. “It was kind of a bummer for her at the end, but, hey, it doesn’t matter. A win’s a win; that’s what we’re looking for.”

—Staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at mledecky@college.harvard.edu.