No. 4/5 Women's Ice Hockey Tops Big Green

It may have been the Winter Carnival this weekend in Hanover, N.H., but there was little to celebrate for Dartmouth hockey enthusiasts as the Big Green (7-16-1, 6-11-1 ECAC) fell to the No. 4/5 Harvard women’s ice hockey team, 4-1, on Friday night at Thompson Arena. The win was the Crimson’s fourth straight against its northern Ivy foes.

“I thought that we came out fast,” junior forward Hillary Crowe said. “One of our main goals heading into the game was to start with a lot of speed and get the first goal so we could have the momentum the rest of the game.”

After slow starts made tough contests of the past two games—a tie at Quinnipiac on Feb. 1 and a loss to Northeastern in the Beanpot semifinals last Tuesday—speed was a priority for Harvard (18-3-3, 14-2-2). Crowe put the Crimson on the board 2:37 into the contest off a feed from sophomore forward Miye D’Oench and work behind the goal from captain Marissa Gedman.

Crowe, who ranks second on the team in both points and goals, notched the final score of the contest. With just 20 seconds left in the game and a two-goal lead, sophomore Mary Parker fired a pass to Crowe, who drove the puck past Dartmouth goaltender Lindsay Holdcroft.

Crowe’s two tallies were matched by D’Oench, Harvard’s leading scorer, who has scored 14 goals and notched 10 assists thus far this season. D’Oench scored her first goal 6:36 into the second frame, as she wrestled the puck out from the Crimson zone and led a fast-break play across the ice, connecting with the bottom left corner of the Big Green goal.

“I strained the goalie and put her eyes away,” D’Oench said. “When I put it towards the net, she couldn’t see it so it dribbled in. That was a huge play.”

With under a minute to go and just a one-goal deficit, Dartmouth pulled Holdcroft from between the pipes hoping to even the score. Less than 10 seconds later, the home team would come to regret that decision, as the Crimson capitalized on the empty net opportunity. Harvard junior defender Sarah Edney fended off a six-person Big Green attack and found an open D’Oench, who slipped the puck past the crease to increase her team’s lead.

“The play kind of got broken up in the neutral zone,” D’Oench. “It went to Edney, who passed it to me, and I was able to put it in the empty net.”

D’Oench, whose team-high 24 points exceeds her total from last season by nine, has become a keystone of Harvard’s offense this season, as graduations from the College and attrition to the US Olympic Team depleted the squad’s roster to a number far smaller than what most competitive teams play with.

“A lot of it is being in the right place at the right time,” D’Oench said. “I’m playing with really talented players. A lot of my goals have been some really nice feeds so I really can’t take credit for a lot of it.”

The two forwards may have been the only Crimson players to score, but a well-balanced and quick team made the win possible. Ten different skaters registered shots, and 3-of-4 goals were assisted.

Sophomore goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer tallied 27 saves, while Harvard’s defensive core rendered Dartmouth ineffective on the power play, going 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.

“[The penalty kill] has always been one of our main focuses throughout the entire year,” Crowe said.

“We spent a majority of the time the practice before [the Dartmouth contest] analyzing their power play and what we need to do to minimize their chances. I think everyone is staying disciplined and placing a lot of importance on the penalty kills.”

The league victory might be just what the Crimson needs heading into the Beanpot consolation round and the final weekend in Cambridge of the regular season—a home stand against Clarkson, ranked third in the ECAC, and St. Lawrence, which sits at fifth in the conference.

“It was a really good win,” D’Oench said. “We really controlled the plays for the majority of the game…. In terms of the momentum of the team, it was a huge win, and also the way we played I think we should be very proud of. Dartmouth can be a tough team and it was a very physical game.”

—Staff writer Cordelia F. Mendez can be reached at cordelia.mendez@thecrimson.com.