Women's Ice Hockey Drops Two Overtime Road Tilts

Looking to climb to the summit of the ECAC standings, the No. 7/8 Harvard women’s ice hockey team hit the road this weekend, taking on conference foes Princeton and No. 4/4 Quinnipiac.

A pair of extra-frame goals in both games, however, derailed those plans, as the Crimson fell to the Tigers (9-4-1, 5-4-1 Ivy), 2-1, in overtime before losing to the Bobcats (13-1-3, 7-1-2) by the same score in a similar fashion.

QUINNIPIAC 2, HARVARD 1

After conceding an overtime goal the night before, the Crimson (8-4-1, 5-3-1) looked to flip the script on its opponents as it went into the extra frame for the second consecutive game. However, Quinnipiac forward Melissa Samoskevich had a different idea, as the rookie’s goal with just 55 seconds remaining sent Harvard to its second-straight defeat.

“We didn’t use our speed as well as we could have, and we had a lot of turnovers,” co-captain Michelle Picard said. “Those turnovers killed us in the end.”

It was a quiet first stanza for Harvard, as an offense that had been firing on all cylinders going into the weekend was held to five shots, only two of which were on goal. On the other end, the Bobcats sent 10 shots at Crimson co-captain Emerance Maschmeyer, who had 31 total saves on the day.

While the Bruderheim, Alberta, native was able to prevent the first nine shots from finding the twine, attempt number 10 was the breakthrough for Quinnipiac.

After Harvard senior forward Mary Parker lost possession in her own defensive zone, Quinnipiac forward Taylar Cianfarano passed the puck down the ice to forward Emma Woods, whose backhand shot made its way past Maschmeyer at the 18:48 mark.

Though Harvard piled on pressure in the second stanza, the Crimson was unable to break through until the third frame.

Sophomore forward Lexie Laing split two defenders inside the Quinnipiac defensive zone, forwarding the puck along the boards before sending it back at goal, where it bounced off goalie Sydney Rossman to sophomore forward Karly Heffernan. The Harvard sophomore fired a shot into the top left corner for second goal of the season, bringing the Crimson even.

After both teams failed to gain an advantage in what remained of the third frame, Harvard came out firing in overtime, outshooting Quinnipiac six to one in the first four minutes. Samoskevich’s shot, which was just the second of the stanza for the Bobcats, proved to be the dagger.

“When we play really good opponents it really just comes down to a few mistakes here and there and everything really matters,” sophomore defenseman Chelsea Ziadie said. “This weekend was pretty heartbreaking because it came down to a few mistakes in overtime in both games.”

PRINCETON 2, HARVARD 1

The road trip started off in heartbreaking fashion for the Crimson, as junior defender Kelsey Koelzer’s shot from the right faceoff circle with 2:33 remaining in overtime claimed the Tigers’ second consecutive victory over Harvard.

“[Princeton] capitalized on their opportunities, and we didn’t,” Picard said. “They made a couple more plays than we did and that’s it. That’s what it comes down to.”

After both teams failed to breakthrough in the first two periods, Harvard took the lead via junior forward Sydney Daniels. After senior forward Miye D’Oench’s shot outside the crease was blocked by Princeton goalie Kimberly Newell, Daniels rushed in to tap in the loose rebound.

Though the Crimson had taken the lead, it was the Tigers who were in control for the majority of the game. After Harvard claimed an 11-5 shots on goal advantage in the first 20 minutes of play, Princeton came back to life.

By the end of the game, the Tigers had outshot the Crimson, 39-26, and won 33 of the 54 faceoffs in the clash.

A large component of the momentum shift was penalties. Harvard committed five penalties in the game compared to two for Princeton and was unable to establish a rhythm.

“We had a great start in the first period. We were playing fast, we were playing great Harvard hockey,” Ziadie said. “The penalties gave Princeton more momentum and it was hard to come back from that and gain the momentum back.”

Princeton’s continued persistence paid off with just over eight minutes remaining in regular time.

Defenseman Molly Strabley tied things up for the Tigers, as her shot from the point rocketed its way past Maschmeyer, who had a season-high 37 saves and moved into second all-time on the Harvard saves list.

—Staff writer Julio Fierro can be reached at julio.fierro@thecrimson.com.