League's Worst on Tap for Women's Hockey

In a change of pace from its recent three-game stretch against the top teams in the ECAC, the Harvard women’s hockey team goes on the road this weekend to take on conference bottom dwellers RPI and Union.

The Crimson (7-0-0, 7-0-0 ECAC) looks to continue its perfect season against the Engineers (6-5-2, 1-2-1 ECAC) in Troy, N.Y. tonight and the Dutchwomen (1-11-0, 0-4-0 ECAC) tomorrow afternoon in Schenectady, N.Y.

Harvard makes the trip after defeating a trio of nationally ranked ECAC teams—then-No. 10 Clarkson, then-No. 3 St. Lawrence and No. 8 Dartmouth—in its last three games. The Crimson is off to its best start since the 2003-04 season, when it came out of the gate with an 11-game winning streak. The team’s recent success has bumped it up to No. 2 in the national rankings, a first since the 2004-05 campaign.

Harvard’s remarkable early run has sparked old memories for senior tri-captain Caitlin Cahow—who was a freshman on that 2003-04 squad that made it to the NCAA title game.

“It’s a great feeling,” Cahow said. “It’s certainly one that is familiar to Harvard hockey’s past and not so familiar to us in the last few years.”

The Crimson presents a tough challenge for its opponents, bringing depth at every position.

Junior forward Sarah Vaillancourt—who leads the team with 14 points—heads a varied Harvard offensive attack that features six players with five or more points, including junior Jenny Brine, who is tied with Vaillancourt for the team lead in goals with four.

On defense, Cahow and junior Katie Vaughn form a veteran core bolstered by sophomore Kathryn Farni and rookie Leanna Coskren. The Harvard defensive unit is allowing just 22 shots per game and has an 88 pct. success rate on penalty kills.

Sophomore goalie Christina Kessler rounds out the deep Crimson roster, leading the nation with a .961 save percentage and 0.86 goals against average. The netminder has shown a penchant for the clutch, not allowing a single third period goal all season.

“We’re just going to start seeing productivity coming in from all different places,” Cahow said. “Our mentality is that everyone on this team should feel like they can make a difference.”

In preparing her team for RPI and Union, Harvard coach Katey Stone is trying to keep the squad focused on its own level of play rather than the strength of its competition.

“It’s about us,” Stone said. “Certainly we’ll prepare for each team and pay attention to their tendencies. [But] it’s about playing great team hockey. That’s our goal and we’ll see how it goes.”

Both the Engineers and Dutchwomen have reason to be optimistic for the future despite remaining low in the conference standings this season.

Although RPI is stuck in 10th place in the ECAC, the Engineers are a versatile squad with an overall record above .500 and scoring threats at both the forward and defenseman position, including blue-liner junior Melanie Guillemette, who leads the team with six goals.

Union is attempting to rebuild its program with former Crimson assistant and player Claudia Asano ’99 as its new head coach. Asano is an accomplished recruiter going back to her days with Harvard, and could draw a higher level of talent to the Dutchwomen than the squad has been used to in recent years. Former Crimson standout goalie Ali Boe ’06 is also on the Union coaching staff.

“If you want any two people to turn your program around and build a championship program, [Asano and Boe] are the two I would hire,” Cahow said.

“I think they’re going to be a great tag team for that program,” Cahow added.

For Harvard, the two-game set this weekend represents a chance to continue building momentum while improving on its flaws such as occasionally sloppy play late in games, which almost cost the Crimson a win against Dartmouth on Tuesday night. It is also an opportunity to put pressure on No. 1 New Hampshire in the national rankings. A Harvard sweep combined with a Wildcats loss to either Northeastern or Boston University this weekend could push the Crimson into the top spot in the country.

—Staff writer Loren Amor can be reached at lamor@fas.harvard.edu.