Before the Playoffs, Icers Want Payback

No matchup evokes emotion from members of the Harvard women’s hockey team quite like a game against Dartmouth. But then, few rivalries in any collegiate sport stack up to the storied battles between the Crimson (22-2-1, 12-2-0 ECAC) and the Big Green (18-5-2, 10-3-1)—especially when they can boast national rankings of No. 1 and No. 3, respectively.

Co-captains Lauren McAuliffe and Angela Ruggiero hope for a decisive victory in what might very well be their final outing against Dartmouth.

“Considering it could be the last time I play Dartmouth in my career and how many times they’ve beaten us in the past, I really really want to beat them bad,” Ruggiero said.

The game is also setting up to be a deciding factor in the tight race for a spot in the Frozen Four. Dartmouth led No. 4 St. Lawrence and No. 5 Wisconsin by only one and two points, respectively, in the latest poll.

“They’ve lost four of their last five games. If we can beat them, we could be the final nail in their coffin as they make a bid for the Frozen Four,” Ruggiero said. “It would be nice to walk away with a decisive victory against them.”

McAuliffe put it more bluntly. “Now, not winning is not even an option for us.”

But the archrivalry and the emotion surrounding tonight’s contest is by no means limited to the captains.

“We want to beat ’em really bad, but more than anything we want to get the ‘W,’” said sophomore Jennifer Raimondi, who scored the lone goal in Harvard’s 2-1 loss to Dartmouth Jan. 11.

“That first game, there were a lot of nerves on the ice. It was our first big game in Ivy competition,” said sophomore winger Julie Chu. “Now, we have a little something to prove.”

Harvard followed this with a disappointing 6-3 loss to Princeton. Since then, the Crimson have gone on a nine-game winning tear, including a sweep of No. 4 St. Lawrence, who dethroned Dartmouth from the No. 1 spot with back-to-back wins of their own Valentine’s Day weekend.

“We’ve come a long way since [the first loss to Dartmouth],” McAuliffe said. “We’re feeling pretty good about where we are right now and how far we’ve come.”

This past week, Harvard concentrated on improving its forecheck in the defensive zone, as well as overall special teams in anticipation of Dartmouth and beyond.

“We don’t like people coming into our house and beating us. We’re going come into there’s and hopefully give them some payback,” Raimondi said.

Ever since a lucky bounce of the puck trickled by sophomore Ali Boe for the second and deciding goal in Dartmouth’s victory over the Crimson, Boe has been hungry.

“We’ll definitely be trying to get a little revenge because we outplayed them last time,” Boe said.

When she isn’t eating pucks in net, Boe hopes to send back some rubber pill regurgitation to the third-best offense in the nation. While Boe will rely on Harvard’s defense—tops in the nation, allowing only 1.24 goals per game—to help clear out the puck, she might have the added help of an injury-laden Big Green squad.

USCHO.com reports that Dartmouth’s star player Cherie Piper is likely out for tonight’s game after suffering a concussion this past weekend, while teammate Gillian Apps is questionable with a shoulder injury sustained in the first game against St. Lawrence. Both Piper and Apps are members of the Canadian National Team.

Their absence, however, does not stop Dartmouth’s offensive threat—the team’s top scorers have been Katherine Weatherston and Tiffany Hagge, each of whom have tallied 36 points on the year.

“We’ve prepared as though everyone on their team will be playing,” Boe said. “They’ve got more than two great players, and it’s going to be a big game regardless.”

Another area of concern for the Big Green of late has been its situation between the pipes. In its 2-1 victory over Harvard earlier in the season, the play of Christine Capuano held Harvard in check throughout the game—especially in fending off the mad rush of Harvard shots that came late in the third period.

As of late, however, Capuano has been pulled twice—once against St. Lawrence after giving up three goals in the first two periods and the second time after Princeton put three goals by her in the first period of Dartmouth’s last game. Regardless of the goaltender, putting goals on the scoreboard is Harvard’s number one priority.

“Half the battle is getting chances, while the second half is getting the puck in the net,” Raimondi said. “We’re going to be firing on all cylinders. That’s for sure.”

Only tonight will tell which team catches the fire, and which gets burned as a result.

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

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