Brown, Yale Host Harvard for Weekend Games

Coming off two dominating road performances last weekend, the No. 6 Harvard women’s hockey team (2-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) looks to capitalize on its strong start to the season, when it takes on two more conference opponents this weekend.

On Friday night, the Crimson will travel to Providence to take on Brown (1-1-0, 1-1-0). Harvard will then step onto the ice against Yale (1-3-0, 1-1) in its second road contest of the weekend.

The Crimson outscored its opponents 11-1 last weekend thanks to strong performances on both ends of the ice.

The team’s weekend sweep led to Harvard moving up three spots in the national rankings.

“We were really happy with the way we played last weekend,” co-captain goaltender Laura Bellamy said. “We played really well defensively. Offensively, we kind of had an explosion too. We just want to keep it going.”

Bellamy recorded 30 saves in the team’s 2-0 victory over the Bobcats last Friday night, and the senior is tied for second all-time among Crimson goalies in career shutouts.

The following evening, the team displayed its offensive firepower in its 9-1 routing of the Tigers.

Junior forward Lyndsey Fry recorded a hat trick on an evening when Harvard dominated possession of the puck, recording 49 shots on net to Princeton’s 17.

Co-captain Jillian Dempsey nabbed ECAC Player of the Week honors for her play on the weekend. The forward tallied six points in the Crimson’s first road stint, registering three assists and two goals in the game against the Tigers and also recorded a power-play goal against Quinnipiac.

But Harvard has not let its immediate success affect its work ethic or mentality on the ice.

“The biggest thing for us this year is going to be going into every game working hard, being resilient, and having confidence that we can win against anyone,” Dempsey said.

The team has been hard at work in practice this week preparing for its upcoming road contests—even Hurricane Sandy couldn’t keep the Crimson from hitting the ice for practice on Monday.

“When classes were canceled and everything else was pretty much shut down, we still had practice,” Dempsey said. “We showed up to the rink and had a great skate. That’s the kind of mindset our team has: working hard no matter what.”

Bellamy said a key to success in the weekend’s first matchup against the Bears will be a strong offensive presence.

“Brown has two great goalies,” Bellamy said. “We know whoever they have in the net will be a tough competitor. We’re going to have to do our best to put pucks away.”

Brown’s junior goalie Aubree Moore ended her sophomore campaign with the third-best save percentage (.938) in the country and was a finalist for the ECAC Goalie of the Year award. Moore split time with senior Katie Jamieson, who appeared in 16 games and registered a .910 save percentage on the season.

Brown, which went 8-16-7 last year, enters its contest against Harvard having split its two matchups last weekend. The Bears defeated Colgate, 4-1, and had a solid showing against No. 2 Cornell but eventually lost 2-0.

Sophomore Sarah Robson is expected to be a key player for the Bears squad. The forward led the team with 10 goals last season while tallying a team-high 13 conference points. Robson picked up her first goal of the season in last weekend’s game against the Raiders.

The Crimson will also need to keep watch on an up-and-coming Yale squad. The Bulldogs ended their 2011-2012 with a 1-27-1 overall record, but Yale (1-3-0, 1-1-0) has shown signs of being a different team this year.

The Bulldogs had a promising start to their 2012-2013 campaign with strong play against both opponents last weekend, defeating Colgate 3-0 while only narrowly losing to the Big Red, 3-2.

Freshman Kate Martini leads the Bulldogs with a team-high four points thus far this season, registering one goal and three assists in Yale’s opening games. Fellow first-years Janelle Ferrara and Jamie Haddad have also tallied two points apiece.

Though Harvard comes into this weekend’s contests full of confidence, the team is careful not to discount its opponents.

“Any day in the ECAC and where women’s hockey is now, teams can surprise you,” Dempsey said. “We can’t underestimate anyone. Everybody usually brings a little bit more when they are playing us."