Tough Tuffy: Goaltender Shines Despite 1-0 Lost to No. 7 Quinnipiac

In the final game of the team’s four-game homestand at Bright Landry Hockey Center, Harvard women’s ice hockey (2-5-0, 1-5-0 ECAC) was shutout 1-0 by No. 7 Quinnipiac (10-3-1, 4-1-1 ECAC). The Bobcats ranked higher than any opponent Harvard has faced this season, posing a significant challenge for the home team that was ultimately too much to overcome in the tight contest.

The team hoped to split the weekend following a 5-3 loss to Princeton (4-4-0, 2-4-0 ECAC). Like its subsequent game against Quinnipiac, Harvard narrowly fell to the Tigers. It was a busy final period in that game: after Princeton scored three straight third-period goals on the Crimson, creating a 5-1 deficit, Harvard mounted a brief comeback on the strength of two power play opportunities. However, the comeback fell short.

Despite entering the contest against Quinnipiac on a two-game losing streak, the Crimson didn’t count itself out of the game, having fared admirably against top-ranked teams UConn and Yale earlier this season. Unfortunately for the Crimson, the team failed to continue its underdog success streak against the Bobcats, even though freshman goalkeeper Ainsley Tuffy had an incredible 40-save performance.

After the puck dropped in the opening period, Quinnipiac ignited its dominant offensive charge. The Bobcats tested the rookie Tuffy, who was playing in just her second collegiate start, by firing a total of 1o shots on net in the first eight minutes of play.

In the seventh minute of the contest, Harvard’s junior defenseman Kate Kasica was called for a slashing penalty. The Crimson’s defense, backed by Tuffy in net, continued to pressure, preventing the Bobcats from capitalizing on the woman-down situation.

Maintaining puck possession during the transition from the defensive zone was a challenge for the home team throughout the first period. Tuffy, the local from Duxbury, Mass., stood tall against the repeatedly powerful Quinnipiac shots, yet the Crimson had trouble pulling itself ahead from the Bobcats’ backcheckers while recovering the puck for a move up ice.

Midway through the first period, sophomore right wing Zoe Boosamra collided with a fellow teammate and fell to the ice while trying to gain control of the puck. After getting to her feet, she was forced to take the bench and watch as Quinnipiac charged ahead on the attack, a moment that displayed the Crimson’s sloppy play early in the game Saturday.

Later, the team was caught on a bad line change as the Bobcats charged the puck back into its offensive zone. Luckily for the Crimson, Quinnipiac’s forwards dumped the puck deep into the zone and headed toward the bench for a rest, instead of taking advantage of the odd-woman rush.

In the few opportunities Harvard had on offense, the team moved the puck well, establishing space within the zone and causing the Bobcats to scramble in an attempt to block scoring chances. The Crimson’s most prominent offensive moment occurred with five minutes remaining in the first period, as Quinnipiac’s Jenna Donahue was sent to the penalty box for tripping.

Utilizing the advantage of the extra skater, senior forward Paige Lester skated swiftly around the Bobcats’ defensemen, feeding the puck to her linemates and creating a few excellent looks toward goal.

Despite the effort, Lester was unable to slip it past Quinnipiac’s goaltender Kaley Doyle and light the lamp for Harvard. At the end of the first period, Harvard had only been outshot by three, and the score remained locked in a 0-0 tie.

After the break, the Bobcats immediately fired more shots on net, looking to take the lead against the underdog team. Tuffy was forced to stretch out her left pad and make a difficult save in the very first minute of play, as the puck glided dangerously along the edge of the goalline.

Her performance proved reminiscent of Harvard’s junior goalkeeper, Emily Davidson, who posted a 34-save shutout in her first and opening game of the season against UConn but rested in the game against the Bobcats.

Head Coach Laura Bellamy ’13, an acclaimed goalkeeper herself, discussed Tuffy’s excellent game after the final buzzer.

“She’s a great athlete. She works her tail off,” Bellamy said, describing the freshman. “She has size, but she moves really well too. Has good athleticism, and you saw that tonight, and she played a great game.”

Senior captain and defenseman Jenna MacDonald also praised Tuffy for her exceptional play, emphasizing the potential she sees in Tuffy’s Harvard hockey career.

“[Her] competition level in practice and games is off the charts,” MacDonald said. “I'm really excited to see where she brings this program in the future.”

After Tuffy’s initial save in the second period, however, the speed of the game seemed to slow down for both teams. Plays were disrupted much more quickly, and skaters appeared more inclined to wack pucks in the opponent’s direction rather than working it over the blue line to establish a zone presence.

Another Harvard penalty came midway through the game – roughing by MacDonald – but Quinnipiac failed to get a shot through the Crimson’s defensive unit. During the power play, the Bobcats continued its barrage of shots, many of which were blocked by Harvard’s defense. The team tallied an impressive 22 blocks throughout the contest. That being said, Quinnipiac was able to fire off 14 shots in just the second period and its aggressive forecheck prevented the Crimson from possessing the puck long enough to send off any of its own.

When the buzzer echoed, signaling the end of the second, the scoreboard still read 0-0.

This season, Quinnipiac has scored the majority of its game-winning goals in the third period. In fact, the last time the team scored in a first period of play was on Oct. 18 against Syracuse. Therefore, both opponents hit the ice ready for an intense final 2o minutes of play, as the Bobcats looked to assert its worthiness of a top-10 national ranking and the Crimson strove to upset another powerhouse.

In what ended up being more of an inevitability than a misstep from Harvard, Quinnipiac managed to break through on a routine offensive play and score the game’s first and only goal just 22 seconds after the opening face-off. The buildup for both teams was simply too much to bear, and one goalie had to break.

Following the goal, a cross-checking penalty against Quinnipiac gave Harvard a chance to even the game, but the Crimson failed to capitalize. With the penalty kill, the Bobcats gained momentum, continuing to batter Harvard with shots. By the time the clock trickled to zero, Quinnipiac had racked up 40 shots on Tuffy’s goal.

Ultimately, the one shot that the Bobcats knocked in was enough to carry the team to victory. For Harvard, the game was a testament to its ability to compete with top national contenders, and to hold its space on the ice. Tuffy demonstrated decisively that a rotation of Davidson and her in goal can be a successful pairing for the Crimson.

However, the Crimson will have to improve its transitional hockey to create more effective offensive zone entrances and maintain the puck. With more puck possession, Harvard could rely more on offensive weapons like Lester and junior Gwyn Lapp to get some points on the board.

“It took their best player really putting one away early in the third,” said Bellamy as she praised her team after the game. “We had a good effort [and] kept it really tight.”

The team will head to New York next weekend, where it will take on two more formidable opponents in No. 11 Cornell and No. 5 Colgate for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader. The game against the Big Red will start at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, with streaming on ESPN+.

—Staff writer Nate M. Bolan can be reached at nathan.bolan@thecrimson.com.