W. Hockey Ekes Out Win in OT Thriller

Though co-captain Angela Ruggiero anchors the Harvard women’s hockey team’s game every time she takes the ice, Friday night with just a single shot she demonstrated why she’s also the wind behind the Crimson’s sails.

After a number of slap shots late in the game were snuffed by incredible save after incredible save by St. Lawrence goalie Rachel Barrie, Ruggiero finally put one through at 2:10 in overtime to give Harvard a dramatic 3-2 victory.

“We definitely expected a battle today,” Ruggiero said. “I don’t know [if we expected] an epic battle like this going into overtime, but a battle.”

Although it might not have seemed quite as good a scoring chance as a number of third-period and overtime breakaways, Ruggiero got it done in the clutch.

With just under three minutes left before the end of regulation, Ruggiero received the puck from freshman forward Katie Johnston in the right circle and after one fake, wristed it in for the game-winning score.

“I didn’t see if it went in,” sophomore forward Julie Chu said. “I just heard the post, and then everyone in back was [jumping up and screaming].”

The offensive surge late in the game was reminiscent of the Crimson’s earlier season battles against Dartmouth. In this game, unlike in the contest against Big Green goalie Christine Capuano, Barrie could not quite stop everything down the game’s stretch.

“We got tired in the third period, seemed like we were worn down,” Saints coach Paul Flanagan said. “The back-to-back penalty kills there tired us out, and then we went right back to penalty killers on the powerplay, and I think that tired out [Gina] Kingsbury and [Rebecca] Russell because they were killing and then right back up on the powerplay.”

Despite Harvard’s offensive dominance in the final two frames, the Crimson was playing catch-up for a bit, throwing the puck at the net every one of the few chances it had in the first period of play.

Ruggiero changed all that. After intercepting a pass in Harvard’s defensive zone, Ruggiero sent the puck airborne, flipping it forward in the air and down ice where Chu was skating towards the Saints’ zone.

“I’ve tried it a few times in practice, just playing around,” Ruggiero said. “It was sort of like a [punter], they kick it, and its in the air, and it gives your forwards time to get up in the play and the defensemen have to stand there waiting for it.”

When the puck hit the ice, Chu picked it up and pushed it forward with a two-on-one advantage with fellow second-year Jennifer Raimondi on the fast break.

“I have to be honest, I was thinking, ‘I’m going to get rocked here,’” Chu said. “If I keep watching it too far up, it blinds everything out. I’m not very good at that. I just close my eyes and hope it falls close by.”

After skating out to the left side in order to draw the defender, Chu sent the puck across to a wide open Raimondi, who shot it top shelf past Barrie with 35 seconds left in the opening period.

At 5:08 in the second period, following the second unassisted St. Lawrence goal—this time by its leading scorer Kingsbury—the Crimson was once again down a goal and still struggling to build much offensive pressure.

“I want us to play 60 great minutes of hockey, but we didn’t today,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone. “I’d like us to get some momentum right off the bat.”

The turn of the tide came 12 minutes into the second period when the Crimson once again notched the score while playing with a one-man advantage on the ice.

The goal was not on a power play situation, but rather on a stroke of luck after Saints forward Whitney Carbone was nailed in the leg while blocking a shot.

While Carbone limped off the ice, Harvard took advantage and continued the pressure, leading to a rebound that freshman forward Liza Solley picked up and shot into the back of the net for the score.

Three big saves by sophomore Ali Boe in goal for the Crimson also sparked Harvard’s turn around in the period, the last one on a dive back across the net to stuff the St. Lawrence assault.

From then on, the Crimson neutralized the Saints’ forecheck and kept the pressure on throughout the third and overtime periods.

Prior to this weekend’s series, Flanagan had stated that he felt the key to beating Harvard’s depth was to keep the quick Crimson forwards in front of the defense and in their own zone.

“At the beginning, we got a little rattled by their pressure,” Chu said. “The great thing is that we kind of chipped away at it and figured it out a little bit at a time. Once we settled in, we got a little more poised with the puck and I thought we were a lot more successful.”

In the opening 12 minutes of play, Harvard was called for icing five times, unable to retain possession of the puck past the midline of the ice and into their offensive zone.

But as the game went on, the momentum gradually shifted the other way, as the Crimson flung shot after shot at the Barrie.

“[Harvard] adapted,” Flanagan said. “They started springing the high forward and trying to get behind our defense and that gets our defense back off the line and neutralizes that forecheck a little bit.”

Barrie made 43 saves in the loss, while Boe posted 20 at the back for the Crimson.

—Staff writer Gabriel M. Velez can be reached at gmvelez@fas.harvard.edu.