Women's Hockey Looks to Stay Undefeated

Interim Harvard women’s hockey coach Maura Crowell has yet to lose a game in her stint at the helm (2-0, 2-0 ECAC), leading her squad to two wins in the Bright-Landry Center in its opening games of the season. This weekend, the Crimson looks to stay perfect as it hits the road for the first time this year, taking on Rennselaer and Union.

No. 7 Harvard heads to New York this Friday to take on division foe Rensselaer (1-5-1, 0-0). After winning their season opener against Robert Morris, the Engineers have been winless in their last six games and are still looking for their first victory in Troy.

“RPI is always a tough game for us,” Crowell said. “They play very physically…. We’re going to have to come in ready, play physical, and get to the dirty areas.”

The Crimson has gotten off to a strong start due in large part to the efforts of sophomore goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer. After defeating Quinnipiac on Friday, the second-year star stopped 44 shots, a career high, on Saturday in a shutout performance against rival Princeton. The ECAC goaltender of the week leads the league with a .969 save percentage.

“[Emerance] is that kid that will show up every weekend,” junior captain Marissa Gedman said. “Last weekend proved that.”

Despite losing its leading scorer last season to graduation, Harvard has had several players help fill her shoes and keep the offensive attack strong. After scoring eight goals in the team’s 34 games last season, junior Hillary Crowe has already put in three goals in two games, an average that leads the league thus far. Sophomore Dylanne Crugnale and junior Sarah Edney have also added to the offensive firepower with two goals each on the season.

“Hillary Crowe lit it up this weekend and we’re looking for her to next weekend as well,” Gedman said. “[But] every one of our forwards is a huge proponent to our offense.”

A large part of the Crimson’s success on the attack is due to its performance on the power play. In its eight attempts on the year, the Crimson has converted five a conversion rate that leads the ECAC.

“They’re confident in reading the pressure really well,” Crowell said. “When you are confident…you make your own luck by executing and working hard.”

The Engineers have not had such success on the man-advantage, scoring only 7.7 percent of the time. Although Rennselaer offense has been sluggish, two freshmen have stepped up on the attack. First-years Laura Horwood and Taylor Mahoney have helped lead the Engineers, recording a team-leading five and four points, respectively.

Harvard will stay in New York on Saturday to take on Union (3-5, 0-0). The Crimson looks to continue its historical success against the Dutchwomen, having been victorious in all matchups in the 21st century.

Union is looking to improve on last year’s campaign in which it failed to win a conference game. The offense this year has been much improved, averaging a goal more per game than it did last season.

“Union is definitely on the rise,” Crowell said. “They’ve beaten some teams this year that they haven’t beaten in their prior history.”

The Union defense will have to improve on its penalty kill in order to take down Harvard this Saturday. The Dutchwomen have only stopped opponents’ power plays 67.9 percent of the time, the second lowest rate in the league.

Sophomore Courtney Turner and junior Christine Valente have propelled the Dutchwomen offense thus far. The two have each put up four goals on the season, helping Union average more than two goals per game. Senior Maddy Norton and junior Bryanne Panchuk have also helped the attack, each adding a team-high four assists.

The Dutchwomen have benefitted from their performance on the power play, scoring on 21.9 percent of their opportunities this season. They will be hard-pressed to score on the man-advantage against the Crimson, who has not allowed a goal in its eight penalty kills this season.

“[The veterans] are bringing their experience and expertise to the ice and helping the younger kids who are being put into huge situations,” Crowell said.

Although Harvard’s ultimate goal is to return to the NCAA tournament, the team is focused on this weekend to make sure it leaves New York without a loss.

“Both teams play very well defensively and have the ability to keep games close against teams that are better than them on paper,” Crowell said. “So we can’t take anyone lightly.”