Harvard Beats Union, Will Host First Round of the ECAC Tournament

Harvard women’s hockey took on Union College in its final game of regular-season play, securing eighth place in the ECAC with a tight 2-1 victory over the Garnet Chargers. After losing to RPI yesterday, the Crimson continued to struggle early against Union, letting up a goal in the first six minutes of play. Undeterred by the deficit, Harvard found its form and was able to secure the win, and with it, hosting privileges for the first round of the ECAC tournament.

It was the Chargers (10-20-3, 3-18-1) who dominated play early in the first period. Union, celebrating senior day, started all five of its seniors, who kept the puck in Harvard’s (14-13-3, 8-11-3) zone and tested the Crimson’s sophomore goaltender Ainsley Tuffy. However, even as Harvard began to find its feet and put shots on net, it was the Chargers who scored first, getting a puck through traffic over Tuffy’s left shoulder to take an early 1-0 lead.

Energized by the goal, Harvard strived to find another gear, pressuring Union during the breakout and generating opportunities with an aggressive forecheck. Junior forward Angelica Megdanis got a hard shot on net as sophomore defenseman Keira Ley won the puck on the boards, allowing Megdanis to swipe it and drive towards the goal.

With just over a minute left in the period, sophomore forward Emily Hamann tied up the game, tipping a hard shot from freshman defender Alex Paulson to get the puck to the back of the net.

With the score all tied up going into the second period, freshman forward Morgan McGathey quickly got Harvard its first lead of the game, ripping a shot past the bottom right pad of Union’s goaltender on a two-on-two break. However, a checking penalty just seconds later on junior forward Gwyn Lapp gave the Chargers a chance to respond quickly. Despite several dangerous chances, Tuffy remained stellar in between the posts while her teammates cleared out the front of the net.

Play remained competitive as a number of shots just barely missed the net, hitting posts and goalie pads on both sides of the ice. Halfway through the second, a tripping penalty on the Chargers offered the Crimson a chance to extend their lead further. Freshman defenseman Bella Finnegan nearly scored, going coast to coast and deking around a Union defender to get a backhand shot off in front of the net. Unfortunately for the Harvard team, the rookie was unable to capitalize.

The physicality of the game increased as the contest headed into the third period, culminating in a hard check by Hamann into the boards, which earned her a penalty. With a big chance to tie up the game, the Chargers forced Tuffy to make some crucial saves to preserve Harvard’s lead. Sophomore forward Scout Oudemool came up with a huge kneeling block to keep the puck away from the net, helping the Crimson escape the kill unscathed.

With four minutes left in the period, the Chargers pulled their goalie, hoping to capitalize on the extra-skater advantage and force the game into overtime. However, Tuffy continued to excel in net. Then, after earning possession of the puck, Finnegan hit the empty net from just outside the blue line. The shot would’ve been her first career goal, but it was revoked due to an offside call. Regardless, even with the extra skater, Union could not break through Harvard’s defenses. The Crimson ended its regular season campaign with a 2-1 victory on the road.

Leading the nation with a save percentage of .956 and sitting in the top ten for average goals against, Tuffy tallied another 33 saves to her stellar record. Scoring her tenth career goal, McGathey beat out fellow freshman forward Carla McSweeney to lead the team in goals through the regular season.

The Crimson’s victory earns it the home-rink advantage for the first round of playoffs next week, beating out St. Lawrence by just one point, as the Saints fell to Colgate. Harvard will take on St. Lawrence at Bright-Landry Hockey Center for the opening round of post-season play on Saturday, Feb. 21. at 3:00 p.m. EST.

— Staff writer Sofia Zhang can be reached at [email protected].