Seniors Say Goodbye With Convincing ECAC Win

Milestones and honors were handed out in abundance at Saturday’s game between the Harvard women’s hockey team and RPI, giving what would have been an ordinary ECAC matchup a distinctive feel.

The Crimson (21-1-0, 18-0-0 ECAC) defeated the Engineers (12-12-5, 5-9-4 ECAC), 5-0, at the Bright Hockey Center in a game that saw Harvard’s seniors honored for four years of service to the team while sophomore goalie Christina Kessler tied the NCAA Division I single-season record for shutouts by notching her tenth clean sheet of the 2007-08 campaign.

“Everybody played well, [with] a lot of jump in their step,” Crimson coach Katey Stone said, “We’re headed in the right direction.”

After Harvard scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the opening period, RPI settled down and engaged the Crimson in a defensive battle for the following 17 minutes of play.

But with six and a half minutes left in the second frame, Harvard crashed the net and sophomore Jen Brawn grabbed a rebound and put the puck away to pick up her first goal of the season and secure a comfortable advantage for the Crimson.

“That was a huge goal,” Stone said. “It changed the momentum of the game.”

Harvard would pad its lead with another pair of goals in the third period.

First, junior winger Sarah Vaillancourt stole the puck from an Engineers defender along the boards, then made her way in front of the net before flicking the puck over the right shoulder of RPI goalie Ashley Mayr to give the Crimson a 4-0 edge.

Next, with just under eight minutes left in the game, freshman Kate Buesser fed a pass to classmate Katharine Chute, who weaved through a couple of Engineers defenders before lifting the puck high into the net.

Harvard scored both third period goals by shooting over Mayr’s glove-side shoulder, something the Crimson was looking to achieve coming into the game.

“It was just nice that we finally got there to shoot,” Stone said. “She goes down pretty quick. That’s where we were looking to shoot.”

Chute’s goal was her second on the afternoon, and Buesser’s assist marked her third point in the game, where Harvard’s freshmen tallied a total of seven points.

“[The freshmen are] playing well,” Stone said. “They’re keeping it simple. They know their role.”

But while the rookies displayed their skills on Saturday, it was Harvard’s elder stateswomen who garnered the recognition.

Harvard celebrated Senior Day following the game, acknowledging the contributions of its four players that will graduate after this semester. Caitlin Cahow, Laura Brady, Jessica MacKenzie and Brenna McLean were all honored in a post-game ceremony.

Besides Cahow, a member of the United States Olympic squad, the Crimson’s senior class has seen limited action this season in a year where younger players have stepped up to take playing time. But in Saturday’s game, where Harvard rested on a lofty 5-0 lead in the third period, the rest of the seniors got a chance to get on the ice.

“Tonight was a big night for the seniors,” Kessler said. “I’m really proud of them...They played their hearts out tonight...It was great to see them back on the ice.”

The Crimson opened up the game with two quick scores.

Chute put Harvard on the board 3:40 into the first period, after Buesser charged the net but saw her scoring opportunity broken up.

Chute recovered the puck and slung it towards Mayr. The puck hit the far post, but made it past the goal line before kicking out of the net.

The Crimson scored again just under six minutes later, when Cahow centered a pass to junior Jenny Brine, who put a nifty backhanded shot into the back of the net.

The assist marked Cahow’s 100th point of her career, tying her for 17th on Harvard’s all-time scoring list.

After holding RPI scoreless with 18 saves, Kessler is now tied for the NCAA single-season shutout record. The clean sheet was also the 13th of her career, putting her just two behind Ali Boe ’06 for Harvard’s career record.

“It feels great,” Kessler said. “But with only 18 saves I think the credit is due to the defense. They only allowed three shots in the second period and I think that defensively we played a pretty sound game.”

The Crimson sported bright pink jerseys on Saturday to commemorate the Pink At The Rink program, a joint venture between the ECAC Hockey League and the American Cancer Society aimed at raising funds toward fighting cancer.

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