Bellamy and Dempsey '13 Continue Helping Women's Hockey

Laura Bellamy ’13 and Jillian Dempsey ’13, though finished with their playing careers in Harvard’s Bright-Landry Arena, are still carving marks into the ice of the Crimson’s hockey program.

Bellamy finished her senior season with a 0.92 goals-against average, the best single-season mark in Harvard history. She stands at No. 2 on Harvard’s all-time charts with 19 career shutouts.

Bellamy also led the Crimson to two NCAA tournaments and an Ivy League conference title, and was a 2012 ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete nominee.

Following the departure of head coach Katey Stone, who has left for this season to coach the USA women’s ice hockey team to the 2014 Winter Olympics, Bellamy was named an assistant coach for the Crimson squad.

Interim head coach Maura Crowell called Bellamy’s voice a fresh one and stated that she provided a unique outlook on the coaching staff.

“It’s a great resource for us in terms of even giving tours, what things she can point out, and things that she knows that we don’t necessarily know,” Crowell said. “Obviously, having played with 90 percent of the kids in the locker room gives us a real good look at personalities and motivations for different players, so that’s nice, because they are very comfortable [with her].”

Junior captain Marissa Gedman echoed the sentiment.

“It’s good because a lot of us feel so comfortable with her. Just a familiar face—she knows the team; she knows how things work,” Gedman said. “Not that [Crowell and Moore] don’t, but she’s just another asset to that coaching staff that’s unparalleled in the league just because that perspective is so rare.”

Junior forward Samantha Reber has watched Bellamy smoothly transition into her new role.

“We’re lucky, we’re beyond lucky,” she said. “Some would think that the adjustment would be tough, but it’s been great, and I think it was the best choice for our team.”

Bellamy jumped on the opportunity to obtain the coaching position.

“She acted fast about the job. She was very interested in it,” Crowell said. “It worked out that she was the best candidate, and it’s been great.”

Gedman added that she is also excited to have a former teammate on the coaching staff.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Gedman said. “As a teammate, she was awesome. She was one of my best friends. As a captain, I can’t think of anyone better for the job. I obviously miss her as a friend, but as a coach she’s even better and she can totally handle it, which is really cool.”

Also now a recent graduate, Dempsey has not strayed far from Cambridge as a second-round selection in the CWHL draft for the Boston Blades. The former co-captain finished up her senior season as a three-time team MVP, netting 24 goals and dishing out 21 assists for 45 points total.

Dempsey ended her college career ninth on the Crimson’s all-time scoring list, and was a first-team selection for the All-Ivy League and All-ECAC hockey selection. Crowell expressed support for Dempsey, saying that the team members “know she’s going to be around.” Crowell added that she hopes the team will attend one of Dempsey’s Blades games this season.

“She’s such a great representative for our program and everything we want out of our players,” Crowell said.

Gedman added that “[Jillian] eats and breathes Harvard hockey, so it’s always nice to see her around.”

She also emphasized that the team would continue to cheer for her wherever she played.

“I know everyone is going to support her on the Blades, and I hope she makes a run at the next Olympics, so we’re all behind her for that,” Gedman said.

But the support goes in both directions.

“I know she’s going to come to the games because she’s still a huge supporter,” Reber said. “She’s always texting us and checking up on us, everything like that.”

Reber commended the two former players in general for everything they have brought and continue to bring to the team.

“They both were leaders on and off of the ice. That was a huge part of their personalities and a reason why they were our captains last year,” Reber said. “A lot of people look up to them still, so they’ve definitely left their mark on Harvard hockey.”