Women's Ice Hockey Smooths over Dartmouth

After nearly a decade of tinkering with new designs and rethinking old ideas, Frank Joseph Zamboni, Jr., filed a patent application for his Model A ice resurfacer in 1949. Nearly 70 years later, Zambonis are a constant at ice hockey rinks, reliably smoothing the ice before each game and after every period.

Any given time these teams face off, a Harvard women’s ice hockey win over Dartmouth at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center has become almost a guarantee. With all three of the Crimson’s goals coming from freshmen in the most recent showdown, the streak looks likely to continue.

For the ninth consecutive home match-up between the two teams, Harvard (1-0, 1-0 ECAC) emerged with a win over Dartmouth (0-1, 0-1 ECAC) despite an early lead by the visitors. The 3-1 triumph marked the Crimson’s fourth victorious start to the regular season in four years and built on a 4-0 victory over McGill University in the team’s only preseason match.

In the first period, after a flurry of Harvard activity in the Big Green’s defending zone saw 15 Crimson shots to Dartmouth’s three, a power play against Harvard in the 10th minute delivered a spell of offensive rest for the Crimson as the team killed the power play. However, a minute later, the Big Green’s Rose Falzone managed to slip a shot past freshman goalie Lindsay Reed.

At the conclusion of the first frame, despite Harvard’s 27 shots to Dartmouth’s 17, the Big Green held the 1-0 lead. The teams emerged 15 minutes later to a renewed rink, courtesy of a Zamboni — and the Crimson emerged with renewed vigor.

“I would say we really kept it really positive,” said captain and forward Kate Hallett when asked about Harvard’s turnaround. “One thing for us is always bouncing back and just kind of getting back to the basics on things.”

The Crimson’s upbeat attitude proved effective. Two minutes into the second period, a successful Harvard faceoff by freshman defender Kyra Willoughby led to a pass from freshman forward Katie Tresca to a third freshman, left wing Anne Bloomer. Three short touches and a swift shot later, Bloomer notched her first collegiate goal and put the Crimson on the board.

Aside from a 13th minute pipe-hitter by Willoughby, the next 16 minutes of the half appeared evenly matched.

Suddenly, a commotion in front of Dartmouth’s net in the 19th minute saw two Big Green skaters come up stickless. Harvard Freshman forward Dominique Petrie dove stick-first for a pass from sophomore forward Brooke Jovanovich. A precise push of the puck, and the Crimson snatched the lead, taking a 2-1 advantage into the third period on Petrie’s goal.

Solid defense from Harvard and Dartmouth alike defined the final stretch of the game, a single goal separating the Big Green from overtime and a possible victory.

Then, a desperate goalie pull by Dartmouth brought the contest to a close. Only 11 seconds after senior goalie Christine Honor left the ice in the 18th minute of the third period, a breakaway by Petrie earned the Crimson a third freshman goal and sealed Harvard’s successful defense of its home rink.

Captain and forward Lexie Laing, who played her 100th game in a Crimson uniform on Friday night, was impressed by the team’s ability to rebound after allowing an early goal from the Big Green.

“I thought that we definitely showed a lot of resilience,” Laing said. “We got down first and then came back, and kept pushing the pace, so that was a good overall game.”

Harvard’s promising freshman roster has contributed four goals and multiple saves between the first preseason and regular season games. Several, including Petrie and Bloomer, even clocked minutes with the United States U-18 National Team.

“They’ve come to play, and they’ve come in with some confidence, which is huge,” Hallett said.

The Crimson faces a set of away games next weekend, first against No. 7 Cornell on Friday and followed closely by a game against ECAC powerhouse Colgate on Saturday. Harvard has no plans to leave its game-winning resilience behind in Massachusetts.

“It’s gonna be huge that we focus on game one, and then after the fact,” Hallett said, “no matter the result — hopefully it’s a win — we’re ready to turn around so we can get the W.”