WEB UPDATE: Late Goal Gives Harvard 3-2 Win

See full article in Monday's paper.

Just when it looked like the Harvard and Dartmouth women’s hockey teams might be heading towards overtime last Wednesday night, junior forward Liza Ryabkina marked her return to the ice with a game-winning goal for the Crimson. Harvard (6-3-1, 6-3 ECAC, 3-2 Ivy) beat Dartmouth (4-4-1, 4-4-1 ECAC, 3-2 Ivy), 3-2, at Bright Hockey Center.

“I thought it was a great hockey game, and the fans enjoyed it,” Crimson coach Katey Stone said. “There was a lot of up and down, a lot of great plays, and a lot of great saves too.”

Senior goalie Christina Kessler had 27 saves in the match, bringing her season save percentage to .940. The mark is just below her career percentage of .941, a stat tied for first among all NCAA goalies.

Even with the impressive numbers, Kessler stuck to the basics.

“You know, a goalie’s job is just to stop the puck,” she.

Kessler and the rest of the Harvard team got the job done on defense and also showed strong play on the opposite side of the ice. Ryabkina recorded one goal and one assist in her first game of the season after coming back from a dislocated knee. Freshmen Josephine Pucci and Jillian Dempsey each contributed a goal and assist of their own, while co-captain Cori Bassett and junior Kate Buesser added assists as well.

Success throughout the lineup has become characteristic of the Crimson squad, with 15 players recording at least one point so far this season, and was clear in yesterday’s matchup.

“Our team played really, really well as a whole,” Ryabkina said.

While Harvard came out with the victory, the game started with back-and-forth play early in the first period. Neither team seemed to gain an outright advantage, but the Crimson accumulated a 11-2 shot deficit in the frame and didn’t get its first shot on goal until almost 15 minutes in.

“We were off to a slow start,” Stone said. “We didn’t play poorly in the first period, we just couldn’t get to the net and couldn’t get the shots off our stick.”

But with about four minutes left before the break, junior Kate Buesser got the puck behind the Big Green’s net, skated around the front, and crossed it to Dempsey, who was there to put it in for the first goal of the game. But Harvard’s 1-0 lead lasted only a minute, as Dartmouth quickly responded with a goal from sophomore Jenna Hobeika. The period came to a close with the score tied, 1-1.

The Crimson came out strong and regained its lead less than three minutes into the second frame. When Dartmouth was called for an interference penalty, Pucci took only 15 seconds to score and put the Crimson up 2-1.

Once again, the Big Green wouldn’t stay down for long. After a block and save by Kessler, Dartmouth freshman Sally Komarek scored her first collegiate goal off the rebound to make it a tie game.

Both Harvard and the Big Green had several chances to get ahead before the end of the period, but strong defensive play, key saves by both goalies, and a shot off the crossbar kept the score even going into the final frame.

Each team played aggressively in the third period, but the Crimson showed its talent, racking up an 18-4 shot advantage even against a persistent Dartmouth offense.

“Defensively we came out strong in the third,” Kessler said.

Harvard’s offense also had a number of opportunities to score, but as the clock wound down it was still a 2-2 game. Then Pucci got a hold of the puck with a little over three minutes left in the game and took a slap shot on goal. Big Green goalie Mariel Lacina got the stop, but Ryabkina was there for the rebound and snuck the puck over the line to give Harvard the lead.

“It felt amazing,” the forward said. “I think that was one of the most fun times that I’ve had.”

Ryabkina’s goal turned out to be the game-winner as the Crimson held strong and secured the 3-2 victory over the Ivy League rival.

“In the end it was great to come away with a win,” Kessler said, “especially against Dartmouth.”