Women's Ice Hockey Eliminated from ECAC Playoffs After Overtime Loss to No. 9/9 Colgate

­The Harvard women’s ice hockey team found itself looking at a sudden death overtime in game three of the ECAC quarterfinals against No. 9/9 Colgate after sixty minutes of hockey, needing to net one goal in order to advance to the semifinals.

Just under 15 minutes later, however, the Crimson stood dejected on the ice as the Raider faithful banged on the boards where their players were piled up. Colgate 3, Harvard 2. The Crimson’s season was over.

Rookie forward Shae Labbe’s golden goal in the extra stanza sent Starr Rink into a frenzy, as Colgate (22-8-7, 12-5-5 ECAC) clinched its second trip to the ECAC semifinals in program history with a 2-1 series victory over Harvard (17-12-3, 12-7-3). The Crimson failed to advance to the conference semifinals for the first time since 1998.

No. 9/9 COLGATE 3, HARVARD 2

With just over five minutes remaining in the first overtime period, Colgate found itself knocking on the door of Harvard co-captain Emerance Maschmeyer’s net after Crimson freshman forward Grace Zarzecki’s shot earlier in the frame clanged off of the crossbar on the other end.

A few seconds later, Raider freshman attacker Jessie Eldridge sent the puck to a wide open Labbe in the slot, who shifted to her right, dropped her shoulder and sent a rocket past Maschmeyer into the top left corner of the goal, breaking Harvard hearts and sealing the Colgate win.

“It’s the best way to win but it’s the worst way to lose,” Crimson freshman forward Kate Hallett said. “We knew we had what it takes to win that game but that’s the thing about hockey, it’s a second…It takes one second to change the game and that’s what happened. They were better for that one second.”

The game got off to a rocky start for the Crimson, as sophomore forward Megan Sullivan found the back of the net on the power play just over five minutes into the game following a checking penalty on junior forward Sydney Daniels.

It took less than eight minutes to flip the script, as Harvard potted two goals in the span of less than four minutes to gain a 2-1 advantage.

After losing a faceoff in the Colgate defensive zone, Harvard freshman blueliner Kaitlin Tse regained possession of the puck and fired a shot at the goal. Though the effort was blocked, sophomore forward Lexie Laing was there to poke the puck past Raider keeper Ashlynne Rando.

Harvard claimed the lead a few minutes later as Zarzecki redirected another shot by Tse past Rando.

With 20 minutes separating the Crimson from its 18th consecutive berth in the ECAC semifinals going into the third frame, Harvard failed to hold on as Sullivan redirected teammate Cat Quirion’s shot past Maschmeyer, evening the scoreline, 2-2, and setting up Labbe’s heroics. Maschmeyer tallied 35 saves in the loss.

HARVARD 4, No. 9/9 COLGATE 1

The Crimson bounced back from a series-opening loss on Friday, routing the Raiders 4-1 behind a brace from Daniels.

After a scoreless first stanza, Harvard claimed a 1-0 lead early in the second period, as Daniels’ power play wrist shot found the back of the net seconds after a Zarzecki effort had been disallowed. The tally was the 20th of the campaign for the junior, who scored for the fifth straight game.

Sophomore line-mate Karly Heffernan doubled the lead nine minutes later, sending a laser into the bottom corner after being set up by Daniels and senior forward Miye D’Oench.

While Sullivan pulled one back for the home team less than two minutes in the third frame, rookie forward Bradley Fusco’s first collegiate goal, which occurred on the penalty, cemented the lead for Harvard. Daniels added an empty netter late in the period for the final tally.

It was a comprehensive victory for the Crimson, who led Colgate in shots on goal, 32-20. Maschmeyer had a fairly quiet night, as the Bruderheim, Alberta native made just 18 saves.

“Our second game was huge,” Hallett said. “Coming out from Friday, a 4-1 loss was pretty tough. But even coming out of that loss we were still so confident in ourselves and our teammates and we knew we’d come out strong…. From start to finish we were all over them.”

No. 9/9 COLGATE 4, HARVARD 1

Relieving the burden on their shoulders, the Raiders broke a 15-game losing streak against Harvard with a dominant 4-1 triumph.

Colgate peppered the Harvard goal early and often, tallying 17 shots on goal in the first frame alone, part of a 40-shot effort that saw Maschmeyer forced into making 36 saves.

“There was a huge difference in the first game and the second game of energy that we had going out for each shift,” Ziadie said. “I think that was lacking in the first game.”

The early effort paid off for the Raiders, as Sullivan tallied a brace in the first stanza alone, claiming the first two goals of a five-goal weekend.

Daniels cut the lead in half in the second frame, wrapping around the net before sending a shot into the mesh. The Crimson failed to breakthrough further, however, as Colgate sophomores Breanne Wilson-Bennett and Annika Zalewski added a pair of goals in the third stanza for the final margin.

––Staff writer Julio Fierro can be reached at julio.fierro@thecrimson.com.