Women's Hockey Hits New York Looking To Make Up Ground in the ECAC

At the halfway point of ECAC play, the Harvard women’s ice hockey team finds itself in a familiar spot near the top of the standings.

With a conference record of 7-3-1 (10-4-1 overall), the No. 8/9 Crimson sits eight points behind first-place Quinnipiac (17-1-4, 10-1-3 ECAC), but Harvard has three games in hand by virtue of the two squads’ differing schedules this past month.

The No. 4/4 Bobcats are not playing conference games this weekend, giving the Crimson a golden opportunity to make up ground in the standings. To earn the points it needs, however, Harvard will have to travel to upstate New York for two difficult matches at St. Lawrence and No. 5/5 Clarkson.

“We got two wins against two good opponents last weekend to get the year started, so we’re hoping to build on that this weekend,” said Crimson defenseman and captain Michelle Picard. “The opponents are even tougher, so it should be an exciting weekend of hockey for us.”

No. 8/9 Harvard at St. Lawrence

The Crimson starts off the weekend Friday night (7 p.m.) against the Saints (11-10-1, 5-5-0) at Appleton Arena in Canton, N.Y.

Despite St. Lawrence’s middle-of-the-road standing in the ECAC, the Saints have always given Harvard a challenge. Dating back to the 2011-2012 season, seven of the past eight matchups between the two teams have been decided by a goal or less (including two ties).

This Friday, St. Lawrence will be looking to avenge a close loss back in October, when the Crimson emerged with a 3-2 win in Cambridge. The Saints actually outshot Harvard, 30-19, in that encounter, and will aim to capitalize on more of their chances this time around.

To counter, the Crimson will likely call on leading goal-scorer and Preseason All-ECAC senior forward Miye D’Oench for the second time. D’Oench had a memorable performance last time out against the Saints, scoring one shorthanded goal and another on the power play to lead her team to the win.

“We have a better idea of what to expect from them this time, but our game plan is pretty much the same,” D’Oench said. “Both teams have improved a lot since October, so it’ll be pretty different from the last time we lined up against them.”

Senior goalie Emerance Maschmeyer, a four-year starter and fellow Preseason All-ECAC honoree, is another player who is key to Harvard’s hopes on Friday. Despite splitting games last weekend against Brown and Yale, St. Lawrence has recently been hot offensively, outshooting the Bears, 42-15, and the Bulldogs, 34-22.

No. 8/9 Harvard at No. 5/5 Clarkson

Clarkson, much like Harvard, will be looking to make up ground in the ECAC standings when the two teams face off Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.) at Cheel Arena in Potsdam, N.Y. The Golden Knights (17-3-2, 5-3-2) sit directly behind the Crimson at fourth place in the ECAC, three points back of Harvard with a game in hand.

The matchup between the two teams who shared the regular season conference championship last year has historically been a great one. The last four games have all been decided by a goal or less—including two ties, but the Crimson has not emerged victorious since 2013.

Both squads have momentum on their side heading into the clash, as Harvard outscored Cornell and then-No. 10/- Colgate by a combined 8-2 margin last weekend, while Clarkson did even better, dispatching Yale and Brown by a combined 12-2.

The Golden Knights have been boosted the entire year by a strong offense, which averages an ECAC-leading 3.59 goals per game.

“One of their main strengths is that their defense is also an offensive threat,” D’Oench said, “We need to not just contain their forwards but also block outside shots and angle their defensemen well.”

Senior defenseman Erin Ambrose leads the charge for Clarkson, as she ranks among the ECAC’s top 10 point-getters in conference play despite being a blue-liner.

Picard, the anchor of the Crimson defense, can be confident, however, knowing that her team has been one of only two squads all season to keep the Golden Knights scoreless. The two played to a 0-0 tie the last time they met at the end of October.

“We know we can contain them if we just play our game,” Picard said. “We need to play to our strengths and use our speed to put pressure on them.”

—Staff writer George Hu can be reached at george.hu@thecrimson.com.