Brine Ready for Action in Minnesota

She may not have any Olympic medals to her name, but one thing’s for sure.;If the No. 1 Harvard women’s hockey team captures the NCAA championship this weekend, it will be in large part because of junior Jenny Brine.

Take the Crimson’s playoff opener against Cornell, for example. Harvard found itself down 2-1 to the eighth-seeded team in the third period.

Enter Brine.

The forward netted two power-play goals to put her team on top, 3-2. And she hasn’t stopped since.

Brine is averaging more than a goal per game in this year’s ECAC and NCAA playoffs, making her the Crimson’s leading goal-scorer in the postseason.

She’s also added two assists to go with her six playoff tallies.

“The playoffs are an exciting time every year,” Brine says. “You just want to put the puck to your teammates. We’ve really been pushing, and it’s great to do something for the team.”

It’s not just the postseason that gets Brine going. She has made a habit of producing points since she first arrived at Harvard in the fall of 2005.

With superstars Julie Chu ’07, senior Caitlin Cahow, and junior Sarah Vaillancourt away from the team training for the Olympics, Brine was able to make a name for herself immediately, leading the team in goals scored in her freshman campaign.

“Since she arrived, she has always been a solid contributor to the offensive effort,” Cahow says. “She’s gritty, she’s very smart with the puck, she sees the puck very well, and she’s one of the best finishers I’ve ever played with.”

That season, Brine also got the opportunity to travel out to Duluth, Minn., the site of this year’s Frozen Four.

Though the Crimson lost both contests against Minnesota-Duluth by scores of 6-1, Brine still remembers the trip.

“The atmosphere in Duluth—we went there freshman year and had a really good time,” Brine says. “But we want more.”

The times have changed for Harvard, as the Crimson, boasting a 32-1 record, enters this weekend’s tournament as the top seed. Brine also has only gotten better.

She has spent this season as the first-line center alongside Vaillancourt and, most recently, classmate Sarah Wilson.

Spending the bulk of her ice time with Vaillancourt, a top-three finalist for this year’s Patty Kazmaier Award, has helped improve Brine’s already impressive game.

“Playing with a player like Sarah is always going to make you play to a higher level. She’s always very demanding in practice and expecting the best from you,” Brine says. “You have to bring your game.”

“[Vaillancourt]’s always setting her linemates up for great opportunities, and it’s a lot of fun to play with her,” she adds.

Vaillancourt has only good things to say about her linemate.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” Vaillancourt says. “[Brine’s] been contributing everywhere, from scoring very important goals and making very important plays, offensively and defensively. She’s winning her faceoffs and she’s been doing an amazing job killing penalties.”

Brine’s hard work is evident in her stats. She’s second on the team with 42 points, 19 goals, a plus-27 plus/minus rating, and 23 assists, trailing only Vaillancourt in each category.

She’s also one of Harvard’s most consistent scorers. Brine is currently on a 14-game point-scoring streak, and recorded an 11-game streak earlier in the season. Those points have helped move her up to 15th on the Crimson’s all-time scoring list.

“She’s been great, she’s been consistent, she comes up with goals when we need them, she’s been playing great defense,” head coach Katey Stone says. “She’s doing what she needs to do for her team.”

For Brine, this weekend represents a chance to return to Duluth and skate in the tournament she has been waiting for three years to experience.

“Every year this is something we’ve been really striving to get to, and it’s an awesome feeling to be here,” she says.

You can expect Brine to be a key player in Harvard’s attack as it faces off against Wisconsin tomorrow evening in the Frozen Four semifinal game.

“She’s definitely a clutch player. I think she has all the elements of the game really well down,” Cahow says. “You’re going to see a lot of great things from her this weekend.”

After all, Brine has waited a long time to get back to Minnesota.

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kdleist@fas.harvard.edu.