Meanwhile, Back Home

I first began covering women’s hockey exactly two years ago—just months after Harvard had dropped its first NCAA national championship game in heartbreaking fashion.

Even then there was talk of the coming Olympic year—if the Crimson was going to win a national championship, it would have to be in the next two years since by then Angela Ruggiero ’02-’04 and Nicole Corriero ’05 would have graduated, and Julie Chu, now a senior, would probably be taking the year off for her second Olympics with the U.S. National Team.

Now that time has come, and another big gun, sophomore Sarah Vaillancourt—last year’s ECAC Rookie of the Year—has also been named to the current Canadian National Team. On the defensive side of the ice, junior Caitlin Cahow impressed so much with her effort last year that she earned an invitation to the U.S. National Team as well.

At the time, when I heard everyone talk about how upside-down the Olympic year makes the national title picture, I did not really get it. I could not fathom women’s hockey without the Ruggieros and the Chus out there on the ice.

Well, last year, Corriero proved that there is depth and skill beyond beyond that upper tier. In fact, as each year goes on, more and more schools add a varsity female program and more and more teams start running with the top dogs.

So what’s the outlook for this season for Harvard?

If the Crimson coach herself has no sense as of right now, a lowly beat writer like me is absolutely clueless.

“It’ll be interesting, but it’s way too soon to tell how it’s going to go for us,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said when asked about this team’s prospects.

Well, the best starting place is right back when I first heard about the havoc the Olympic year wreaks on women’s hockey.

As I was told back then, this year would be all about the play of the goalies.

Let’s see how true this is by taking a quick look at the statistics.

In the last Olympic year, 2001-2002, Minnesota-Duluth beat Brown for the title. In that season, Minnesota’s two freshman goalies had goals-against averages of 1.42 and 1.43, respectively. Brown’s goalie tandem, which also split minutes, had a 1.55 and 1.73 GAA. And all four were in the top nine. Three of the four were in the top four in save percentage.

Pretty darn amazing, especially considering neither team had a consistent starting goalie the whole season.

How does that bode for Harvard this season?

Well, two years ago, senior goalie Ali Boe finished third with a 1.47 GAA. Last year, that number jumped up to 1.86 and her save percentage was 17th-best in the country. Not quite comparable to the two top teams four years ago.

But for just a moment, let’s step back. By placing the onus on the goalie, the implication is that scoring will be down as teams struggle to put the puck in the net.

But the top team in the country right now, St. Lawrence, did not lose any offensive power to the Olympics and had little trouble finding the net during an excellent campaign last year. Or what about Harvard’s own Corriero, who was never named to an Olympic squad.

Or how about the point that a good goalkeeper matters just as much during any year. Minnesota’s championship winning netminder, Jody Horak, was second in the country in GAA. And Mercyhurst’s Desirae Clark—who took her team to triple overtime against Harvard in the NCAA quarterfinal—was the national leader in that category and second in save percentage.

Maybe this time around things will be different. Maybe offense will dictate the cream of the crop, while goaltending will play its usual role as part of the defensive anchor of a team.

Right now there are too many questions—and that’s why they play the game.

With the added mystery, there is just one more important question that immediately comes to mind.

Why not Harvard this time around?

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