Harvard Women’s Hockey Falls to No. 9 Clarkson and St. Lawrence in ECAC Opening Weekend

After opening its season with three consecutive victories, the Harvard women’s ice hockey team entered its first weekend of ECAC play looking to earn some more wins in its fierce conference competition. However, Halloween weekend brought more tricks than treats for the Crimson, which suffered back-to-back losses at Bright-Landry Hockey Center, falling 4-3 to No. 9 Clarkson on Friday before getting shut out 4-0 by St. Lawrence on Saturday.

The two defeats extended Harvard’s (3-3, 0-2 ECAC) losing streak to three games. While Friday’s game featured a promising third-period comeback against a top-10 team, Saturday’s game showed the Crimson’s continued struggles to create consistent offensive opportunities.

Clarkson 4, Harvard 3

Friday’s game against Clarkson (10-2, 2-0) began with the Golden Knights controlling possession and generating early scoring opportunities. A little over two minutes into the opening period, Clarkson junior forward Jessie Pellerin found the back of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Harvard then mounted a response. Sophomore forward Carla McSweeney gained possession of the puck behind Clarkson’s net before passing to senior forward Angelica Megdanis, who attempted a wraparound shot. Although the Golden Knights’ freshman goaltender Kalia Pharand denied the initial attempt, sophomore forward Morgan McGathey got the rebound in the slot and sent it into the net, tying the game at one apiece.

The teams entered the first break tied 1-1, but Clarkson regained control of the scoreboard in the second period. After the Crimson attempted to break the puck out of its zone, Golden Knight sophomore forward Manon Le Scodan intercepted it along the boards and passed to senior forward Janelle Evans near the blue line. Evans skated into space near the left circle and sent a shot between junior goaltender Ainsley Tuffy’s legs, putting the visitors ahead 2-1.

Clarkson extended its lead later in the period, again capitalizing on a failed Harvard breakout. Sophomore defender Jaela Carter pinched along the boards, picked up the puck, and dished it to junior forward Isabelle Goettl, creating a three-on-one opportunity. Goettl fed the puck to senior forward Shelby Laidlaw in the slot, who finished to give the Golden Knights a 3-1 advantage at the end of the period.

The Golden Knights maintained their offensive pressure into the third period. Midway through the final frame, Goettl passed the puck across the ice from the left circle to freshman forward Kennedy Sisson on the right. Sisson fired a shot over Tuffy’s stick side shoulder, extending Clarkson’s lead to 4-1.

Suddenly, with just over 12 minutes remaining in regulation, Harvard faced a three-goal deficit against one of the nation’s top-ranked teams.

Despite the deficit, the Crimson fought back with a late offensive push.

Just 71 seconds after Clarkson’s fourth goal, junior forward Ella Lucia capitalized on a power-play opportunity, scoring off assists from freshman forward Lindsay Stepnowski and sophomore defender Alex Paulsen.

The goal cut the deficit to two and gave the Crimson renewed momentum entering the final stretch.

Megdanis kept the energy going as she scored her second goal of the season, shooting from the slot over Pharand’s glove as her teammates screened the goaltender. Assisted by McSweeney and sophomore defender Bella Finnegan, the tally cut the deficit to one with almost seven minutes left on the clock.

Despite scoring two quick goals, Harvard struggled to regain possession in the closing minutes. Clarkson maintained control of the puck in the Crimson’s zone, limiting Harvard’s opportunities to complete the comeback. The Crimson finally pulled Tuffy for an extra skater with fewer than 40 seconds remaining, but could not record the equalizer and force an overtime. Pharand ultimately finished with 19 saves, and Clarkson escaped Cambridge with a 4-3 victory.

Although its comeback ultimately fell short, Harvard’s valiant third-period performance offered a glimpse of its offensive potential. The hosting team took 11 shots in the final period, matching its combined total from the first two periods.

Megdanis, meanwhile, had a particularly successful outing, finishing with a goal and an assist. McSweeney recorded her first career two-assist game, while Stepnowski continued her strong rookie campaign, recording her team-leading eighth point of the season. Between the pipes, Tuffy made 27 saves for Harvard, which was outshot 31-22.

St. Lawrence 4, Harvard 0

Less than 24 hours after its narrow loss to the Golden Knights, the Crimson returned to Bright-Landry hoping to secure its first conference win against St. Lawrence (4-8, 2-0).

Instead, the Crimson struggled to create opportunities within the offensive zone throughout Saturday’s game, falling 4-0 in its second consecutive ECAC loss.

The Saints wasted no time building their lead. Just a few minutes into the first period, freshman forward Jaylee MacKinnon gained possession in the zone and found sophomore defender Ella Nancarrow driving toward the net. Using traffic in front of the goal to set up a screen on Harvard’s sophomore goaltender Isabelle Whynot, Nancarrow fired a shot into the top corner, giving St. Lawrence an early 1-0 lead on its first shot on goal.

The Saints doubled their lead at halfway through the period, capitalizing on a miscommunication in Harvard’s defensive zone. St. Lawrence freshman defender Nellie Svensson recovered the puck following a Crimson turnover and quickly turned to fire a shot past Whynot, catching the goaltender off guard. The unassisted goal sent Harvard into the first intermission trailing 2-0.

Unlike Friday’s game, when the Crimson responded quickly to Clarkson’s opening goal, Harvard struggled to answer St. Lawrence.

The Crimson flung just three shots on goal in the opening period, and none of them were during its first power play opportunity, leaving the Saints’ freshman goaltender Maja Helge largely unchallenged.

St. Lawrence sophomore forward Rylan Haslam extended the lead to 3-0, scoring off assists from freshmen forwards Kendeall Doiron and Mae Severn.

Harvard entered the final period facing another three-goal deficit, but this time, the late offensive surge that had nearly rescued Friday’s game never came.

The Crimson recorded five shots in the third period, but Haslam added her second goal of the game in the third to complete the 4-0 win.

Helge finished with 14 saves and the shutout, while Whynot recorded 24 saves.

Stepnowski led the Crimson with five shots on goal, followed by McGathey with three. Despite winning 27 of 42 faceoffs, Harvard struggled to translate those possessions into continued offensive pressure.

The Crimson also failed to capitalize on four power play opportunities, managing just one shot on goal across eight minutes with the skater-up advantage.

Saturday’s loss marked Harvard’s second shutout defeat of the season and its third consecutive defeat.

The Crimson will now turn its attention to its first ECAC road weekend, traveling to face Brown on Friday, Nov. 6, before taking on Yale the following afternoon.

With its conference record at 0-2, Harvard will look to regain the offensive consistency that fueled its undefeated start to the season and secure its first ECAC victory.

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