Early Scoring Extends Women's Hockey Win Streak to Eight Games

Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York.

The Bears, the Bulldogs, the Huskies, and the Dutchwomen.

When considering the recent schedule of the Harvard women’s hockey team, dizziness, confusion, and whiplash are all explicable responses. But there is a more consistent way to summarize the team’s weeklong trek up and down the Northeast.

Win, win, win, and win.

By cruising to a 7-1 victory over Union (4-14-3, 1-8-0 ECAC) in Schenectady, N.Y., the Crimson maintained a perfect start to 2015 and furthered an eight-game winning streak that began in late November. Six players scored for Harvard (10-2-2, 8-1-1 ECAC), which built a 4-0 lead in the first period.

“Offensively we knew that we were going to have to shoot from all angles and crash the net,” senior forward Lyndsey Fry said. “Union likes to keep teams on the perimeter, so to beat them we knew we’d have to just get gritty and go to the net.”

With the Crimson holding a 3-0 advantage after thirteen minutes, sophomore defenseman Abbey Frazer did just that.

Frazer, who scored her first goal of the season in Harvard’s latest win, had been manning the high right corner of the Crimson’s power-play attack. But when junior forward Miye D’Oench blasted a shot, Frazer crashed the net. Intuition, speed, and luck all converged as the puck rebounded to Frazer, who slipped a finish past the Union goalkeeper.

The Dutchwomen didn’t get on the board until nine minutes remained in the game. By that point, the home team faced a 7-0 hole.

“We always talk about what defines Harvard hockey, and good solid defensive zone play is one of the biggest things we value,” senior defenseman Marissa Gedman said. “Solid defense leads to solid offense.”

At the end of the second period, a kill of a Union power play led to perhaps the most exciting offensive moment of the match.

After returning to full strength, Harvard had just enough time to launch a final attack, and sophomore defenseman Briana Mastel cranked a long-distance shot with one second remaining.

The puck collided with senior forward Samantha Reber, who was standing in front of the goal, unmarked. Reber redirected the shot into the net just before the horn sounded to stretch the score to 5-0.

The late finish echoed the Crimson’s previous game against the Dutchwomen, when Harvard also scored a goal late in the second period. In that November contest, the Crimson won 5-2 despite conceding an early score.

Two months later, it was Harvard that struck first. Five minutes into the game, freshman forward Lexie Laing pushed through a crowd around the goalmouth to poke home a finish. She ended the game with two scores and two assists, her second consecutive performance with three points or more.

“Lexie Laing comes from a great hockey background and knows the game as well as anyone,” Gedman said. “Right now she’s just getting the chances and recognition she has worked for.”

After Reber’s exclamation point to end the second frame, the Crimson entered the third period with renewed energy. Mastel blasted a long-range goal in the first six minutes, and Laing lifted the puck above the goalie two minutes later to cap off the day of scoring.

Laing’s first finish of the game sparked a similar offensive flare-up. After eight minutes of play, freshman forward Karly Heffernan buried a wrist shot following a nifty backhanded pass from junior forward Mary Parker. Fry soon added the team’s third goal by redirected junior defenseman Michelle Picard’s long-range effort.

During its streak of wins, Harvard has scored a first-period goal in all eight games.

“We’ve really been making a conscious effort to come out every game with a lot of energy,” Fry said. “[We] try to stay focused on playing our game consistently and not letting our foot off the gas. You never know what can happen, so we just try…to play the same way whether we’re up one goal or five.”

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sdanello@college.harvard.edu.