Harvard Women’s Hockey Opens Season With Offensive Explosion, Sweeps Holy Cross

The Harvard women’s ice hockey team wasted little time finding its offensive rhythm to open the season, sweeping Holy Cross in a dominant two-game weekend that showcased the Crimson’s depth and new rookie talent.

Harvard (2-0) began its season on Friday night with a commanding 5-1 victory in Worcester, Mass., before heading home to the Bright-Landry Hockey Center on Saturday to defeat the Crusaders (1-4-2, 0-2 Hockey East) 8-2. The Crimson scored a whopping 13 goals across the two games, with nine different players finding the back of the net.

For head coach Laura Bellamy ’13, the weekend’s success reflected more than just an impressive offensive showing. It showed the entire team’s ability to catalyze success on the scoreboard.

“Any successful team, you’ve got to be getting goals from a lot of different areas,” Bellamy said. “So, really good start for us.”

Harvard 5, Holy Cross 1

Harvard came out strong from the start of the first period, implementing an aggressive forecheck.

The Crimson’s speed in transition ultimately enabled it to take an early lead. Junior forward Ella Lucia executed a perfect breakout, blazing up the ice and into the offensive zone. The junior banged a pass off the boards to sophomore forward Elle Sproule, who lit the lamp in the middle of the first period.

Both teams traded shots throughout the remainder of the frame, but Harvard controlled the puck for most of the period, trapping the Crusaders within their defensive zone.

The Crimson built on its lead in the second period, scoring four additional goals as its offense began to click.

Lucia doubled her team’s advantage just over three minutes into the frame, capitalizing on another great play off the boards in transition. Captain Gwyn Lapp dished the puck to Lucia, who walked right into the dot and zipped a low shot under Holy Cross’s rookie goaltender Jordine Heller.

Harvard continued to exhaust the Crusaders’ defense, pummelling Heller with shots. Utilizing an offensive faceoff, the Crimson set up a nifty passing play deep in the zone. Heller made an impressive back-door save, but freshman forward Lindsay Stepnowski was hungry for a goal and pounced on the rebound in the slot. The rookie spent her summer at the national training camp and proved her merit with her gritty first collegiate goal.

Less than two minutes later, captain Zoe Boosamra extended Harvard’s lead to four, converting a play assisted by junior forward Emily Hamann. Hamann zipped a pass into the crease for Boosamra, who was perfectly positioned to tip the puck into the far side of the net.

Holy Cross, which was growing increasingly frustrated by the Crimson’s offense, answered just 44 seconds later, catching the visiting defenders off guard.

On a breakout, the Crusaders found senior forward Reghan Chadwick stretching down the ice, behind the Harvard defenders. Freshman forward Manuela Heidenberger sauced a feed through the neutral zone, finding Chadwick alone for a breakaway goal.

Although the Crusaders cut the Crimson’s lead to 4-1, the hosts struggled to build on their momentum.

Helped by Harvard’s strong defense, sophomore goaltender Isabelle Whynot turned away 24 of Holy Cross’ 25 shots throughout the game. Senior defender Maria Pape – who returned to the ice after missing last season due to injury — not only ensured that the slot was clear of threatening forwards, but also restored Harvard’s four-goal advantage with just over a minute remaining in the period.

Junior forward Annie Dinges fired a backhand shot, but the goalkeeper swept it aside and into the waiting hands of Pape. The senior defender charged into the zone and launched a shot into the net, becoming the Crimson’s fifth goalscorer of the afternoon.

Beyond the scoring, Bellamy was proud of her team’s ability to sustain offensive pressure and maintain its momentum from one shift to the next.

“We did a really good job stringing shifts together, setting up the next line for success, managing the puck,” the coach said.

Neither team scored in the final period, securing Harvard’s first win of the season. The Crimson ultimately outshot Holy Cross 39-25, forcing Heller to record an impressive 34 saves.

Harvard 8, Holy Cross 2

In its home opener on Saturday, Harvard picked up right where it left off, this time with an even more explosive offensive performance.

Sophomore defender Alex Paulsen opened the scoring by capitalizing on the Crimson’s second power play of the day, giving Harvard an advantage midway through the first. The defender ripped a shot from the point, utilizing an offensive screen in the slot to light the lamp at home for the first time this season.

Paulsen’s goal marked an encouraging start for the Crimson’s power play unit, which struggled last season, converting on just eight of its 87 power-play opportunities, a 9.2 percent success rate that ranked last in the ECAC. Ahead of the team’s opening weekend, Bellamy emphasized improving the power play as a priority of hers.

After taking the lead, Harvard kept its foot on the gas.

Junior defender Keira Ley scored the team’s second goal, converting on a ripper from the blue line. Sophomore forward Carla McSweeney set up a perfect screen in front of the Crusaders’ goalkeeper, and Ley utilized her space on the blue line to put her team up 2-0.

A little over a minute later, Stepnowski got in on the action as well. The Crimson flexed its transition muscles again, finding the open rookie in the dot on an odd-skater rush for her second goal of the weekend. Harvard entered the first break with a commanding 3-0 lead.

Stepnowski’s immediate impact was particularly encouraging for Bellamy, who praised the freshman forward’s offensive instincts and confidence.

“She’s a really powerful skater, great offensive player,” she said. “[She] wants the puck on her stick, you know, sort of demands it and expects to score.”

Even a penalty kill couldn’t slow the Crimson’s offense. Less than two minutes into the second period, sophomore defender Emi Biotti scored a shorthanded goal off an assist from Lapp, extending Harvard’s lead to 4-0. The goal marked Biotti’s first of the season and highlighted the Crimson’s speed and ability to generate offense even while down a skater.

Despite trailing by four, Holy Cross responded to the shorty, as freshman forward Caroline Doherty capitalized on a rebound, poking the puck past junior goaltender Ainsley Tuffy for her first collegiate goal.

The Crusaders’ momentum was short-lived, however, as Boosamra answered just 31 seconds later, restoring Harvard’s four-goal cushion and prompting Holy Cross to pull its starting goaltender, freshman Livia Debnarova, for sophomore Campbell Krotee.

Sproule added to the Crimson’s lead late in the period, converting on a power-play to send Harvard into the final intermission ahead 6-1.

Biotti scored again in the third, completing a two-goal performance, while McSweeney also found the back of the net for the first time this season.

Holy Cross senior forward Abby Garvin added a late goal, but the Crusaders could do little to threaten Harvard’s overwhelming lead.

The Crimson’s offensive depth was particularly apparent among its defenders, who accounted for four of the team’s eight goals. Seven different Harvard players scored, with contributions coming from both returning veterans and newcomers. The balanced attack reflected the offensive philosophy Bellamy emphasized ahead of the season: building a team where scoring opportunities could come from anywhere on the ice, regardless of position.

Rather than relying on a handful of offensive stars, the Crimson proved it can generate goals throughout its lineup.

“I think our D were really involved,” Bellamy said. “We had four goals from our D today, so great day for them.”

The team’s performance also marked an encouraging development. After struggling to convert on the power play last season, Harvard scored on three of its five opportunities Saturday.

“I think it’s an area that we want to be better,” Bellamy reiterated. “A lot of the power plays early in the year can just be putting a few in to gain that confidence.”

The Crimson also demonstrated defensive strength, limiting Holy Cross to just 14 shots on goal. Tuffy made 12 saves in her first start of the season.

Still, Bellamy acknowledged that the team has room to improve, particularly after allowing a late goal in Saturday’s game.

“We don’t want to give up three goals in a weekend if we can help it,” Bellamy said. “But I thought it was good, and we did a nice job, held them to 14 shots today. There’s a ton of good there.”

With two decisive victories behind it, Harvard will look to carry its momentum into another weekend of non-conference play. The Crimson will host Saint Michael’s College (0-8-0, 0-6-0 NEWHA) on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and the University of New Hampshire (3-4-1, 0-1-1 Hockey East) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

For Bellamy, the opening weekend offered an early glimpse of the team’s potential, but maintaining that success will require continued development and consistency.

“I think we want to play five active, five in motion, and you see that in our game right now,” she said. “So we want to continue to do that.”

—Staff writer Tamar H. Scheinfeld can be reached at [email protected].