Women's Hockey Advances to Final Four

The No. 6 Harvard women’s hockey team edged Yale by the score of 2-1 on Saturday to wrap up a best-of-three series in the opening round of the ECAC Tournament.

Co-captain Julie Chu’s goal late in the third period propelled the Crimson (23-6-2) to the ECAC semifinals where it will seek its fourth consecutive conference tournament title.

The goal ended a physical series and ensured that Harvard would not have to take the ice yesterday for a deciding third game. Facing elimination and an end to their season, the Bulldogs (15-14-2) came out swinging. The teams were allowed to play fast and hard and Yale took full advantage of the officials’ leniency.

“They had us on our heels at the beginning of the game,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “As much as we talked about coming out and setting the pace, I think Yale set the pace at the beginning of the game. They were desperate to win a game.”

This desperation meant that the outcome of the game was in question throughout.

Harvard held a tenuous 1-0 lead late in the third period when the Bulldogs’ Sarah Tittman found teammate Mandi Schwartz open just outside of the crease. Tittman, working from behind the net, slipped a centering pass through to Schwartz, who knocked the puck past sophomore goaltender Brittany Martin to knot the score at 1.

The goal capped off an extended stretch of conservative and uninspired play from the Crimson.

“We seemed to lose control in our defensive zone,” senior co-captain Jennifer Sifers said. “We started to play scared rather than to win in those last five minutes or so. Once [Yale scored] we realized we better get back at it.”

The Harvard attack was jolted into action, and with 2:07 remaining, Chu picked up the puck near center ice and skated across the blue line into the Yale defensive zone. Taking on two defenders, Chu lifted the puck over the right shoulder of Yale goalkeeper Shivon Zilis. The goal came only 29 seconds after Yale had tied the score.

“I was able to come into the zone with a lot of speed,” Chu said. “I tried to use the player as a screen because she was pretty deep into the zone, and I got a chance to shoot through.”

Harvard’s first goal came on the power play, on a wrist shot from Sifers at 3:28 of the second period. Sifers collected the puck off a Katie Johnston faceoff win, and snuck it past Zilis from the right circle. The Crimson had six power-play opportunities in all, and while it converted on only one, the bigger issue seemed to be the lack of officiating down the stretch.

“There were quite a few missed calls today I thought,” said Stone. “It was way too physical. That’s not women’s hockey.”

“We expected it from Yale,” Sifers added. “They’re a pretty chippy team as it is and we knew that they were going to get desperate. They were playing for their season at this point...it seemed like the refs lost control of the game a little bit.”

Harvard will face fifth-ranked St. Lawrence in the semifinals in Hanover, N.H., on Saturday.