Women's Hockey Blanks Brown

Just three days after escaping with a win over the Connecticut, the Harvard women’s ice hockey team knew it needed to adjust its mentality. Against the Huskies, the Crimson trailed almost the entire game before scoring two goals in third period to take the victory.

No. 4/5 Harvard (12-1-2, 8-1-1 ECAC) rose to the challenge on Friday night against Brown (1-12-3, 0-8-1 ECAC). The Crimson came out ready to play on its way to blanking the Bears, scoring two of its three goals in the first period as it skated to a 3-0 win in its first Ivy League matchup of the new year.

“We’re back to where we want to be,” Harvard coach Maura Crowell said. “Obviously we want to continue to improve, but it was definitely a refreshing game for us to play more of our style: speed and crisp passes, going hard to the net, and obviously getting rewarded for that.”

It was Crimson goalkeeper Emerance Maschmeyer’s fifth shutout of the season and the first time Brown has been shut out this year.

The Bears appeared outmatched from the start, missing passes and showcasing a hesitant style of play. Harvard, which hadn’t lost a game since Nov. 1, was up against a Brown squad that hadn’t won a game in nearly as long.

“The exciting part for us today was that it was an Ivy League matchup,” Crowell said. “The team is just so motivated. We don’t talk a whole lot about stats and numbers because I think Brown played really well tonight, and they gave us a run for our money. If you get bogged down in, ‘well, they only have one win,’ you don’t end up with wins.”

Senior Gina McDonald netted two points in the win, notching both an assist in the first period and the game-winning goal in the third. After a shot by Natasha Rachlin was blocked by Brown defender Ariana Rucker, the rebound landed directly in McDonald’s path as she came in off the bench. The forward slapped the shot from just below the blue line and tipped it past Brown goalkeeper Aubree Moore to give the Crimson the 3-0 victory.

“The puck kind of popped out right to where I was skating into, and I had a clear shot to the net and just tried to get one off quickly,” McDonald said. “It worked out so well. It was like this gift just waiting there for me.”

Sophomore forward Miye D’Oench got the scoring started for Harvard halfway through the first period. With the Crimson on the power play, D’Oench received a pass from junior Sami Reber in front of the net and quickly tapped the puck in past Moore to give Harvard the early lead.

“It was pretty relieving,” said D’Oench of the early goal. “Especially because we haven’t been all that great on the power play, so to get a power play goal was a big confidence booster. And then once we get one goal, having [Maschmeyer] behind you, you always feel pretty good about that.”

Despite the early score, the Crimson showed no signs of letting up as the period continued. After a save by Moore, sophomore Dylanne Crugnale scooped up the loose puck and snuck it past Moore to put Harvard up, 2-0, off her sixth goal of the season.

Brown came out stronger after the first break, leading to a track meet atmosphere as the teams skated up and down the ice throughout the second period. Despite both squads getting off eight shots on goal, neither team was able to get much offense going and finished the second period with Harvard still up two goals to none.

“Usually we move through the neutral zone with a lot of speed and puck possession, and when they have the puck, we usually can get them to turn it over,” Crowell said. “We’re trying to clean up our neutral zone a little bit better; just getting back to simple plays in the neutral zone, not trying to be so cute with the puck.”

Now at the midpoint of the 2013-14 season, the Crimson is looking forward to continuing to improve and building on the gains they’ve made in recent games.

“So far this year haven’t played our absolute best, and I thought this game changed that, so that’s really huge for us,” D’Oench said. “I think we’re definitely moving the right way for 2014.”

—Staff writer Glynis Healey can be reached at ghealey@college.harvard.edu.