Crimson Women's Hockey Mounts Late Comeback to Defeat Quinnipiac

Coming out of the locker for the third period down a goal, the No. 7/8 Harvard women’s hockey team skated to center ice as the loudspeaker in Bright Hockey Center blared the Black Eyed Peas’ 2004 dance hit, “Let’s Get It Started.”

Fergie’s dulcet tones must have inspired the home team, as the Crimson (15-7-1, 12-4-1 ECAC) fired three goals in the first half of the period on its way to cruising to a 4-2 victory against Quinnipiac (15-11-2, 10-5-2 ECAC).

“We’ve dug ourselves a pretty decent hole sometimes this year, and we’ve been very fortunate to comeback,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “We have that kind of ability, which is nice, but you never know if that’s going to run out.”

The Crimson took control early, outshooting the visitors, 8-4, but after failing to find the back of the net in the first frame, Harvard gave up two goals on defensive mistakes in the second.

An offense sparked by sophomore Lyndsey Fry led the Crimson back into the game, and the defense found its form again to hold on to the late lead.

Harvard suffered a drawback early, as junior Kelsey Romatoski was sent to the box in the first two minutes for hooking. But as with the Bobcats’ other three power plays in the first period, the Crimson dropped back and disrupted Quinnipiac’s offensive flow.

In fact, it was Harvard that looked more dangerous when down a player, as freshman forward Samantha Reber hit the pipes and sophomore Kalley Armstrong beat Bobcat goalie Chelsea Laden, but slipped under defensive pressure before shooting wide.

The Crimson would regret those missed opportunities, as almost eight minutes into the second period, Quinnipiac grabbed the lead.

A slip in the back by junior Josephine Pucci allowed the Bobcats to apply the offensive pressure, and when Pucci recovered the puck, her forward pass was picked off by Bobcat forward Kelly Babstock. Crimson keeper Laura Bellamy saved Babstock’s first shot, but the rebound fell to Amanda Colin who slotted it past Bellamy for the game’s first goal.

And after Harvard found itself down a player three minutes later, Quinnipiac made its fifth power play count. Bobcat defender Regan Boulton’s shot from a distance was deflected in front of the net and slid under Bellamy, who couldn’t locate the puck. After a confused scramble, Quinnipiac’s Breann Frykas found the puck first and knocked it home to take a two-goal advantage.

But the Crimson would not go into the locker room empty handed, as Fry picked up the puck on the left wing, skated through the Bobcat defense, and pulled Laden out of her goal enough to flip it behind for her 12th goal of the season.

“I think Fry’s goal in the second got us going,” Stone said. “We gave them two opportunities; their two goals were [the result of] really bad positioning. And so that goal fired us up.”

Down a goal, Stone knew her team could produce more.

“We weren’t sharp,” Stone said. “That was the conversation between the second and third periods: It’s time to step up, get a little more intense intense, and see what happens.”

Fry believes the late goal gave the squad’s forwards some much-needed confidence.

“The goal showed everyone we could burn their defense,” Fry said. “After that period, we talk about that a lot as a forward group, and we knew we could do that without a problem.”

And Harvard’s forwards came out firing, as junior Kaitlin Spurling charged down the ice from the faceoff, barreling towards goal and getting a shot on target before knocking the goal of its bearings.

It was that intensity that typified the Crimson’s third period, as less than a minute later the game was tied.

Fry once again provided the spark, as she worked down the left wing and slipped a pass to the onrushing Jillian Dempsey, who beat Laden with a one-timer.

Harvard now looked like the team that beat Yale 8-0 last weekend, and Quinnipiac’s offense could not muster a response.

Eight minutes later, with the Crimson on the power play, Pucci atoned for her earlier slip when she linked up with Fry for a 1-2 move that opened up the Bobcat defense, allowing her to put away her fourth goal of the season.

And 90 seconds later, the game was iced, as Reber found Dempsey in front of goal, and the junior slid the puck through Laden’s legs to give the Crimson the 4-2 edge.

“We’re fighting for home-ice advantage going into the playoffs,” Fry said. “We know what were playing for, and we knew we had to get it done.”

—Staff writer Peter G. Cornick can be reached at pcornick@college.harvard.edu.