Women's Hockey Beats Dartmouth, 5-0

The Harvard women’s hockey team stayed in Cambridge to practice last week, so the team’s Bostonians hosted teammates for Thanksgiving Thursday. The feast continued Sunday when the Crimson took the ice against Dartmouth. Five different skaters scored goals as Harvard breezed by Dartmouth, 5-0.

The Crimson (8-1-1, 7-1-1) scored two goals on the power play while killing all six Big Green (2-9-0, 2-7-0) power plays to extend its unbeaten streak to seven games.

“During the long week of practice we could focus and tone the little things,” junior captain Marissa Gedman said. “Then Sunday we capitalized on that extra practice.”

Gedman scored her second goal of the year to give Harvard a 4-0 lead midway through the third period, cementing a Crimson win even though Dartmouth outshout its host, 25-19. The Big Green tallied 10 of those shots in the final period, but sophomore Emerance Maschmeyer blocked every one to tally her fourth shutout of the year.

“It was nice that Maschmeyer got another shutout and Gedman, our captain, got a goal,” sophomore Miye D’Oench said. “Both are big leaders on the team and they are proving what they are worth lately.”

While the team’s leaders sealed the win, it was D’Oench who put Dartmouth away late in the second period. Up 2-0 at the time, senior Gina McDonald won a battle along the boards and got the puck up to D’Oench in the offensive zone. From there, D’Oench carved into the offensive zone and found just enough room above the goaltender’s glove to put her team up, 3-0.

“Going from a two-goal lead to a three-goal lead is huge because you kind of break out at that point,” D’Oench said.”

But D’Oench added that the game felt closer than the score indicated, and Dartmouth competed throughout. Gedman felt similarly.

“It’s a huge rivalry so it’s going to be fueled on and off the ice,” Gedman said. “We were expecting that, it’s always fun to have a little bit of rivalry.”

Dartmouth came out and controlled play early, tallying eight shots in the first 10 minutes. Meanwhile, Harvard—playing its first game in over a week—did not come out as strongly in it wanted, Gedman said.

The Big Green also drew two penalties but could not convert on either. Harvard has now allowed just one goal in 48 penalty kills.

When Dartmouth was called for hooking minutes later, the Crimson capitalized. Sophomore Dylanne Crugnale found the back of the net off an assist from Gedman to put Harvard up, 1-0.

“You always want to get the first goal and that was a big one,” D’Oench said.

With the win, Harvard also moved to 2-0-1 in Ivy games and 7-1-1 in ECAC play. Coming into the year, the Crimson was picked to finish third in the ECAC without garnering a first place vote. It now leads the conference with 15 points, one more than Cornell.

“You can definitely feel the energy, the energy is so positive in locker room with coaches and then with the buzz, it’s easy to see things are going well for us,” Gedman said. “Sometimes hard work does not pay off but right now it is for us.”

Harvard has gotten off to its hot start despite facing several Olympics-related departures before the season and multiple injuries in the first couple weeks.

“We were facing a lot of adversity off the bat,” Gedman said. “We don’t pay a lot of attention to our record but weekend after weekend to come up successful is so good for morale. Going into break like we are is something we are so proud of.”

Injuries to an already shallow roster have forced many players to switch lines in the early weeks.

Freshman Sydney Daniels came in as a forward but has increasingly played defense. Sunday, she scored one of the team’s goals, her fourth this year.

Daniels’ success in the face of adversity has represented the team’s success in the face of adversity generally as things have fallen into place for the Crimson.

“Freshman have basically stepped up and especially now everyone is comfortable on the ice and with their role on the team,” said D’Oench, who has played with three different lines herself. “I think that’s huge moving forward.”