Deep Thoughts For W. Hockey

The Harvard women’s hockey team has thoughts of progressing far in the 2003-2004 season, despite what preseason prognosticators might say.

Take the preseason rankings: Harvard was not picked as the team to beat this year, nationally or in the ECAC.

Originally picked as the fourth-best team in the league, Harvard now sits at No. 3 in the nation behind No. 1 Minnesota and No. 2 Dartmouth, and second in the ECAC behind pre-season favorite Dartmouth.

But the Crimson doesn’t mind one bit.

“This year there’s no pressure,” says co-captain Angela Ruggiero. “I think our team will play more relaxed, plus other teams won’t come in with the same energy as they will if they were facing the No. 1-ranked team.”

The Crimson can’t complain, either.

“I don’t think we deserved to be anything but number two [in the ECAC] right now,” says Harvard coach Katey Stone. “You have to earn something first. It’s such a nebulous process, the polling system, anyways, until you get down to playing games.”

Still, the Crimson has something to prove once the season starts.

The team returns from a successful but disappointing season, in which Harvard lost the National Championship in an epic 4-3 double-overtime loss to Minnesota-Duluth.

“I think kids feel like they have a lot to prove,” Stone says. “It’s nice to have been able to have such a great experience from last year’s national championship, to say “this is where you want to be. Now how are you going to get there, work back from that?””

Having graduated five talented seniors who guided the Crimson to the championship, including Jennifer Botterill ’02-’03, the all-time leading scorer in women’s Division I history, Harvard will have to rely on the depth of its bench and look to last year’s supporting cast to step up and play leading roles for the team.

“There’s no question we did lose five tremendous players, the best class we’ve graduated, as a whole, since I’ve been here at Harvard,” Stone says.

“However, I think we’ve done very well recruiting; I think our freshmen are all going to get to play, and that’s excellent for us,” she continues.

“This year we have an extreme amount of depth,” Ruggiero says. “In my years here, there’s always been a wider gap in the team. I think there are a number of players who could step up and play on the first or second lines, and they’ll have the opportunity this year to prove themselves.”

Tenacious “D”

For an example of the depth Ruggiero was talking about look no further than the net, where sophomore Ali Boe and freshman Emily Vitt will duel for the starting job.

Each looks to fill the shoes of senior Jessica Ruddock, last year’s starter, who was forced to retire from the game prematurely due to a knee injury that precipitated an injury to an already damaged hip.

Despite this loss, the team seems optimistic about having either Boe or Vitt between the pipes.

“So far, I’m not concerned about our goaltending,” Stone says. “Goaltending is going to be solid and steady.”

In a preseason scrimmage against archrival Dartmouth on Oct. 23, each goalie gave up two goals in an equal amount of time, though Boe saw more action on the ice.

“I have absolute confidence in both Vitt and Boe,” says co-captain Lauren McAuliffe. “They’re both great goalies; that’s not going to be a question this year. Whoever plays, I’m going to be happy.”

Boe saw limited action last year in 11 games, posting a 4-0-0 record with a .917 save percentage and an impressive 0.90 goals against average.

But Boe posted those numbers behind a stellar Harvard defense that included Jamie Hagerman ’03 and Pamela Van Reesema ’03, who graduated last year.

“Defensively, we’re going have to be much sharper,” Stone says. “There will be more pressure on us than in the past, simply because there will not be as large a goal margin as there was in the past.”

In addition to a healthy rotation, depth is once again the key to the Crimson’s success.

“Obviously losing two veteran defenseman in Hagerman and Van Reesema, that’s tough, and so there’re some holes to fill,” Stone says. “However, we have the best defenseman in the world playing for us, as well as some other really terrific kids.”

Ruggiero and junior Ashley Banfield cannot be expected to hold the fort on their own.

The Crimson defense will rely on sophomores Jennifer Skinner and Abra Kinkopf and junior Emily Haigh to step up and fill in for the departed blue-liners.

Stone also hopes to use freshman Lindsay Weaver in the mix.

“We don’t have as much depth in that position as we did before so we have to stay healthy,” she cautions.

Deep Impact

The Crimson hopes to have a similarly potent offense, but with a much different style than last year’s team.

“We averaged six goals a game last year,” Stone says. “We’re probably not going to average six goals a game again this year. Three or four would be nice. I would anticipate winning games by one or two goals this year versus a wider spread.”

In the wake of losing Botterill, Kalen Ingram ’03 and Tracy Catlin ’03, Harvard will turn to one of its most potent weapons to add more punch to the offense.

“We’ve got a tremendous amount of speed,” Stone says, “and we’re going to use it.”

This strategy dramatically changes the Crimson’s lineup shifts.

Last season, the first and second offensive lines were set in stone with the occasional maneuverings of a player on each line.

“In the past, everybody said “play more people, play more people,”” Stone says. “But you can’t let that type of player sit on the bench for too long, like a Botterill or an Ingram, when they are so talented and effective on the ice. And that’s why we’ve become so good.”

This season, however, Stone hopes to go deeper in the lineup.

“We’re going to play three lines as much as we can, if not four, which I think will add a depth dimension to our game strategy versus what we’ve done before,” Stone says.

Given that speed is a main thrust of the strategy, employing a deeper bench might become a necessity.

“We need to utilize everyone,” Ruggiero says. “Last year, 7-1 was the average score. Yeah, your stats go up, but you’re not improving the little things—filling in a tight situation, or playing from behind, or facing a tie game or down by a goal. This year, the games will be closer, because of the way the rankings are, but I think that will end up helping us in the long run.”

Sophomore phenom Julie Chu will bear a great deal of the goal-scoring burden on her back, along with McAuliffe and junior Nicole Corriero.

“[Chu] played out of her mind last year,” Stone says. “To anticipate getting better than that performance is awesome. If it’s the same, it’s still awesome.”

“Lauren McAuliffe and Nicole Corriero were tremendous impact players for us least year,” Stone adds. “We’ve brought in some kids who can fit right in those spaces.

One key player to watch will be sophomore Jennifer Raimondi, who will fill in as one of the team’s centers.

“She did a lot of great things for us last year,” Stone says. “[She] really transitioned well, came on strong at the end of the year at the center position versus the wing.”

Fellow sophomore Carry Schroyer and junior Kat Sweet will also play pivotal roles on the wings.

“If Kat’s on top of her game, I’d see her stepping in to one of the top two lines,” Ruggiero says.

The Crimson hopes these players can complement Chu, McAuliffe and Raimondi and put the “pow” back in the team’s power play.

“This is my fourth year at Harvard, and we’ve had the same number one power play all four years. We’ve been number one [in the league in power play percentage] all four years that I’ve been here,” Ruggiero says.

“But the players will be different. And now it’s more of a team effort,” she adds.

“We’re not going to back off as much as I thought we were,” Stone says. “We’re going to be fairly potent offensively.”

Although the Crimson lost a talented class last season, other powerhouse teams around the league did as well, resulting in a leveling effect of sorts.

“It’s not going to be a typical year.” Stone says.

This should make for one of the more exciting and competitive seasons in women’s hockey and Harvard remains optimistic about it’s prospects.

“Providence—that’s our goal for the season,” McAuliffe says. “Everyone knows that’s where we’re going to end up.”

“We’ll go to the Frozen Four this year,” Ruggiero agrees. “Without a doubt.”

—Staff writer John R. Hein can be reached at hein@fas.harvard.edu.